On December 20, 1917, an express train crashed into the rear of a local passenger train at Shepherdsville, Kentucky, in a collision that would leave 49 dead, and as many seriously injured. With Christmas fast approaching, many of these had been to Louisville for a day of shopping, and were heading to their homes in Shepherdsville, Bardstown, Springfield, and places in between. Christmas would never be the same for them or their families. This is the story of that horrendous crash, and of the people whose lives were changed forever.