February 6, 1951: The Woodbridge Wreck

February 6, 1951: A Pennsylvania Railroad train derails on a temporary wooden trestle in Woodbridge, Middlesex County, New Jersey, killing 85 passengers. It is the deadliest rail disaster in New Jersey history, and the deadliest rail disaster anywhere in America since the Malbone Street Wreck, outside Prospect Park in Brooklyn, on November 1, 1918. 

Around 5:00 PM, Pennsylvania Railroad train Number 733 left Exchange Place station in Jersey City. It was to head down the PRR's Main Line to Rahway, where it would branch onto the North Jersey Coast Line. The Central Railroad of New Jersey was on strike, so No. 733 had more passengers than usual: Over 1,000 people on 11 cars.

At the time, there was a temporary wooden trestle near the Woodbridge station. The express was meant to bypass that station. The normal speed limit for a train doing so was 60 miles per hour. On the temporary trestle, the limit was 25.

A recent photo of the Woodbridge Station

But as the train approached the station at 5:43, the engineer, Joseph Fitzsimmons, only dropped the speed to 50. The tracks shifted under the weight of the locomotive, and 8 of the 11 cars derailed. The 3rd and 4th cars fell down a 26-foot-high embankment. Most of the 85 people killed were in one of these cars. The 5th and 6th cars were left hanging in mid-air over a street, and some people jumped out, some of those dying.

No one was charged with any crime as a result of the wreck. Fitzsimmons was kept on the payroll by the Railroad, but he never operated a train again.

Today, there is a memorial plaque outside the Woodbridge station. New Jersey Transit operates commuter lines, but even their express trains on the Coast Line usually stop at Woodbridge.

The successor to the main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad, NJT's Northeast Corridor, has a station on the other side of the Township of Woodbridge, in the Iselin section of town, known as Metropark. Amtrak also uses that station. It should not be confused with the main Woodbridge station, which is in downtown Woodbridge.

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February 6, 1951 was a Tuesday. Major League Baseball and the NFL were in their off-seasons. There were no NHL games played on the day. But there were 3 NBA games:

* The New York Knicks beat the Baltimore Bullets, 91-82 at the Baltimore Coliseum. Harry "the Horse" Gallatin led all scorers with 29 points. This version of the Bullets went out of business in 1954. A new one started in 1963, moved to Washington in 1973, and became the Washington Wizards in 1997.

* The Philadelphia Warriors beat the Tri-Cities Blackhawks, 97-77 at the Philadelphia Arena. The Warriors moved to San Francisco in 1962, and changed their name to the Golden State Warriors in 1971. The Blackhawks represented the region now known as the Quad Cities: Moline (where they actually played) and Rock Island, Illinois; and Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa. After this season, they became the Milwaukee Hawks; in 1955, the St. Louis Hawks; and in 1968, the Atlanta Hawks.

* The Indianapolis Olympians beat the Rochester Royals, 78-76 at the Butler Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. This arena was renamed the Hinkle Fieldhouse in 1966, after Butler University's longtime coach Tony Hinkle.

The Olympians were named for the members of the 1948 U.S. Olympic Team they'd signed, including Alex Groza, Ralph Beard and Cliff Barker of the 1948 and '49 National Champions from Kentucky. They won a Division Championship in 1950. The point-shaving scandal of 1951 got those 3 guys banned, and the franchise folded in 1953.

The Royals became the Cincinnati Royals in 1957, the Kansas City Kings in 1972, and the Sacramento Kings in 1985.