The Great Dismal Swamp train derailment occurred on the afternoon of May 18, 1986, when a special Norfolk Southern employee passenger train derailed at the Great Dismal Swamp near Suffolk, Virginia. The accident injured 177 passengers; 18 were seriously injured and needed to be airlifted to nearby hospitals in Norfolk, Virginia. The train was pulled by Norfolk and Western 611, a class J4-8-4steam locomotive, which was restored to operating condition for excursion service in 1982.
On the afternoon of May 18, 1986, at 1:31 P.M., No. 611 departed Norfolk, Virginia, pulling a Norfolk Southern (NS) excursion train to Petersburg, Virginia. The train consisted of 23 passenger cars with Robert B. Claytor at the throttle.[2][3] When the train was running at 58mph (93km/h) near the Great Dismal Swamp in Suffolk, Virginia, two of the passenger cars struck a faulty switch on the main line derailing them and the other 12 passenger cars with them.[4] The locomotive, the first six cars, and the last two cars stayed on the rails undamaged.[4][1] 177 passengers were injured while 18 of the most seriously injured needed to be airlifted to hospitals in Norfolk for treatment.[1][5] Eleven of the derailed passenger cars were repaired, but the two open-air cars, the Missionary Ridge and Queen and Crescent Club were a total loss and scrapped.[5] The other damaged car; the W. Graham Claytor, Jr., was donated to the VMT.[5][6] After the wreck, NS decided to limit the steam locomotives, including No. 611, to 40mph (64km/h) while pulling excursions on their rails.[5]
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