Over 500 people once perished in a train disaster in the mid 40's. The train did not collide with anything, de-rail, catch on fire, or become victim to a broken bridge, so what caused the unexpected deaths?

picqero

In Salerno, Italy in 1944 nearly 600 people died in a tunnel when a train being pulled by two engines stopped with the engines pushing against each other - one in forward and the other in reverse. This caused a slow but fatal build up of carbon monoxide gas in the tunnel which killed all the crew and passengers. Apr 06 05, 10:54 PM

peasypod

Nice One Pic. Yep, on the night of March 2nd, 1944, Italian freight train number 8017 left Salerno, headed south through the Appenine mountains. Over 650 people had stolen a ride on the 47-car train, intending to barter cigarettes and other items with farmers in exchange for milk, eggs, and other rationed foods. The train passed through Balvano, which lies between two tunnels. In the first tunnel, the train waited nearly an hour for a downhill train with locomotive trouble. In the second, the mile-long Galleria delle Armi, the overloaded train stalled fighting the steep grade, leaving all but the last three cars trapped inside the tunnel. Apr 07 05, 7:45 AM

TonyTheDad

carbon monoxide poisoning Jun 02 05, 8:49 PM