On the day of the accident, "Fast Mail" was behind schedule when it left Washington, D.C., and was one hour late when it arrived in Monroe, Virginia. When the train arrived in Monroe its crew was switched, and when it left Monroe, there were 17 people on board. The train personnel included Broady, conductor John Blair, fireman A.C. Clapp, student fireman John Hodge (sometimes known as Dodge in other documents), and flagman James Robert Moody. Also aboard were various mail clerks including J.L. Thompson, Scott Chambers, Daniel Flory, Paul Argenbright, Lewis Spies, Frank Brooks, Percival Indermauer, Charles Reams, Jennings Dunlap, Napoleon Maupin, J. H. Thompson, and W. R. Pinckney, an express messenger. When the train pulled into Lynchburg, Wentworth Armistead, a safe locker, boarded the train, bringing the number of on-board personnel to 18.