One of the worst disasters in the history of the storied B&O Railroad occurred on December 23, 1903 about two miles outside of Dawson, Pennsylvania.  The Duquesne Limited, lead by veteran engineer William Thornley, was heading east from Pittsburgh when it crashed at approximately 7:45 PM. The train was made up of an Atlantic style engine, two Pullmans, three day coaches, a baggage car, a sealed express car, and a dining car.
	The accident was caused when castings on a westbound freight train failed on a sharp reverse curve in the track, allowing a carload of 60-foot bridge timbers to be dumped on the eastbound track.  By the time Thornley noticed the blocked track it was too late.  Traveling at about 60 miles per hour, the Limited plunged into the debris.  The impact derailed the engine, which caused it to topple onto its right side before violently veering left into an embankment.  The sealed express car was thrown clear over the engine into the river.  The baggage car also went over the bank, but did not land in the water.  The first day coach, known as the smoker, followed the baggage car, but the train had lost momentum by this time.  Instead of being thrown clear of the engine, it veered to the right.  As the smoker, which was at full capacity, slid along side the engine, the steam dome caught and was ripped open at window height.  The scalding steam filled the coach, literally cooking all the passengers inside to death.  Every other car but the dining car was derailed, but none left the roadbed.
	Sixty-five people lost their lives in the accident, including engineer Thornley.  Most of the dead were riding in the smoker, but several other passengers were killed in the front of the second coach.  Other members of the train’s crew who perished in the accident include fireman Thomas Cook and conductor Louis Helgroth.
	Further disaster was avoided because of the diligence of Thomas J. Dom, who was the train’s baggage master.  Dom ran to the front of the train after the wrecking had stopped and heard someone calling from the hillside.  There he found Helgroth, who was badly burned.  Helgroth told him that another westbound train was due to come through the area.  Despite suffering a head wound, Dom ran up the tracks, set fire to his coat, and flagged down the train before it plowed into the wreckage.  Helgroth died later at the hospital.
	One of the more compelling stories that came out of the accident was that of Ambrose Good, who was one of the casualties.  Good, a young man who had recently emigrated from England to McKeesport to work in a steel mill, was on the Limited heading to New York.  There, he was to pick up his childhood sweetheart, Lillian Bennett, who was on a ship from London.  The two of them were to be married on Christmas Day.  She did not find out about his death until the ship docked Christmas morning.

Sources: 
1.	http://www.gendisasters.com/pa/trains.htm
2.	http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/search/pages/
-search year “1903” and phrase “Duquesne Limited”
-New York Times (December 24, 25, and 27), New York Tribune (December 24, 26, and 27), Washington Post (December 24, 25, and 26).