A fatal accident in 1937

Question

There was a fatal accident in the Potomac Yard - MD in April 1937. Samuel C Lyles was a car repairer and passed away April 14, 1937, but I am unable to find any record of that event. Where can I find information on this accident?

Textual Reference Branch, Archives II · Answer

Freida 
 
 Thank you for posting your question on History Hub!

The Records of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), Record Group 134 is in the custody of this unit. The series: Railroad Accident Investigation Reports, 1911-1963; Entry A1 48; Record Group 134 is made available through the DOT Online Digital Special Collections database: https://dotlibrary.specialcollection.net/Home which is keyword searchable. We searched for this particular accident but were unable to locate a reference to it. For the most part the ICC's accident investigations dealt with collisions, explosions and/or derailments in which there was major damage to the train. We do not generally have in our holdings ICC investigation of deaths of individuals that died as a result of an accident that involved a train. 
 
 Newspapers are usually the best source to find information on railroad accidents/deaths of individuals. NARA does not have in its holdings a collection of newspapers. We searched the online database provided by the Library of Congress, Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers but were unable to locate a reference to this particular accident. (Although we did find an obituary for Samuel C Lyles). https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ . The Library of Congress and DC Public Library have microform copies of newspapers.

We hope this assists you with your research! 
 
 Sincerely, 
 
 Textual Reference Archives II Branch (RR2RR) 
 [24-23601-AER]