The 1953 New York Central Railroad accident occurred on the four-track mainline 2.4 miles east of Conneaut, Ohio at 10:02 P.M. on March 27, 1953. The accident sequence began when an improperly secured load of large pipes broke loose from a gondola car on an eastbound freight train. The loose pipe, dragged by the moving train, damaged the westbound passenger track. A passing westbound freight train crew notified the first train and stopped to assess what had happened. A fast westbound passenger train could not stop and derailed from the damaged track, colliding with the westbound freight on the adjacent track. Finally, an eastbound fast passenger train struck the derailed equipment from the first two trains. There were 21 deaths and 49 people were injured. This accident holds the record for