Cookie Policy When a Texas railway agent came up with a new marketing scheme, he had no idea how explosive it would be. The driver blew past several stop signals, and then the lamps of several of the circus engineers trying desperately to stop the oncoming train. Two passenger trains, operated by the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway ("NC&StL"), collided head-on, costing at least 101 lives and injuring an additional 171. On July 5, a wooden steamboat named the Columbia collapsed and sank in middle of the Illinois River near Peoria, Illinois. There was just aswift instant of silence, and then, as if controlled by a single impulse, both boilers exploded simultaneously and the air was filled with flying missiles of iron and steel varying in size from a postage stamp to half a driving wheel, falling indiscriminately on the just and unjust, the rich and the poor, the great and the small.. 4 approached the interlocking tower at Shops Junction, tower operator J. S. Johnson showed a clear signal from the tower's train order signals, indicating all was clear. 1. Arthur Thompson, the driver, had twenty years' experience as an engine driver and had been on the footplate when the Irish Mail made its maiden journey in 1860. 2 Comments. The wreck provided the impetus for most railroads to switch to all-steel passenger cars. It spread, until people talked of little else: politics, the chief entertainment at Texas crossroads, went into hibernation until the wreck was over.. On November 1, 1918, an elevated, 5-car train was traveling toward the Prospect Park station via the tunnel below Malbone street in Brooklyn, New York. The Great Train Wreck of 1918 occurred on July 9, 1918, in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. All of these factors came together to cause the worst rail disaster in American history, which claimed 102 lives. Global News will be embarking on a weekly series covering unique and interesting places in B.C. As the two engines approached, they reached speeds of 50 mph, carrying a row of empty boxcars behind them. October - Many British and French wounded when a Red Cross train crashes into Marne River after Imperial Germans destroy the Mary Bridge. After their retirement #281 was sold and scrapped in June 1948. 1 to the remainder of the crew. The song was recorded by country music singer David Allan Coe on his 1980 album I've Got Something to Say. The trains were each traveling at an estimated 50 to 60mph (80 to 100km/h). The Number 4 train, scheduled to leave at 7:00 a.m., left on time and collided head on with the Number 1 train on the single track just west of the downtown area. Engineer Ted Gharst, fireman Reason Jackson, trainmaster Carlos Stevens, yardmaster Daniel Schaffer, night yardmaster Clifford McLemore and switchman Daniel Tucker were thrown into the water. As he stopped to record the train in his logs, Johnson noticed that there was no entry showing that the opposing train No. Thus, the railroad dispatch informed the crew of the opposing (No. The Great Train Wreck of 1956 Marker. Besides what went wrong, there was more scrutiny. You can follow the links and find the series descriptions to learn more about the contents of each title. The Number 1 train was supposed to arrive in Nashville at 7:10 a.m., but unbeknownst to the other train, it was running half an hour behind schedule. On them, members of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, having just entertained more than 30,000 spectators in the Queen City, rolled north toward Virginia. Your email address will not be published. Associated Press, Dead Engineer Had Throttle? One paper, which only briefly mentioned that a man had been injured by a flying bolt, called the collision the most realistic and expensive spectacle ever produced for the amusement of an American audience. But in September 1896, Crush, a passenger agent for the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad Companymore commonly known as the Katycooked up an even bigger the ultimate crowd-pleaser: a gladiatorial battle. The engineer driving the empty train, a man named Alonzo Sargent, who was arrested and charged with manslaughter? 21 Killed as Limited Rams an Express: Trainmen's Stories Vary", "Eight Dead; Thirty Hurt Freight Train Crashes into a Street-Car", "Wouldn't Leave Wife; Both Die Under Train: Husband, Failing to Release Her Foot from Rail, Refused to Save Himself", "Interstate Commerce Commission Investigations of Railroad Accidents 19111993", "TimesMachine: 20 U.S. Find ratings and reviews for the newest movie and TV shows. This train wreck on Sept. 21, 1934 in Milan involved boxes of chocolate candy that spilled alongside the tracks. Required fields are marked *. The workers from the shops were on a work train that consisted of an engine, tinder car and three box cars. An investigation by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) attributed the cause of the accident to several factors, notably serious errors by the crew of train No. The wreck killed 89 and injured at least 56 others. Cookie Settings, swift instant of silence, and then, as if controlled by a single impulse, both boilers exploded simultaneously and the air was filled with flying missiles of iron and steel varying in size from a postage stamp to half a driving wheel, falling indiscriminately on the just and unjust, the rich and the poor, the great and the small., $1.2 million in passenger sales and $3 million in freight earnings, according to the Texas State Historical Association, Dried Lake Reveals New Statue on Easter Island. | As for the survivors, they decided the show must go on. But otherwise, opportunities for mass enjoyment were few and far between, which gave railway agent William Crush an idea: smashing two trains together purely for public spectacle. Great Train Wreck of 1918 Tennessee USA 1 Photo Independent Add to Trip July 9, 1918, in Nashville, Tennessee train wreck Add Review Your Rating 1 2 3 4 5 Great Train Wreck of 1918 Tennessee USA Hours not available Problem with this listing? Website: http://www.lboissoneault.com/, 2023 Smithsonian Magazine They stumbled along the track, sometimes in shoulder deep water for a half hour before they made it to safety. Commonly referred to as the Great Train Wreck of 1918, some consider it to be the worst train wreck in the United Statesalthough many argue the 1887 Great Chatsworth train wreck is worse by far. Each train was traveling at speeds of between 50 and 60 miles per hour. Top 10 Alcohol Consuming Countries In The World, The Biggest Heists and Bank Robberies in American History. The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) listed the dead at 101, though some reports had the death toll as high as 121. Two passenger trains, operated by the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway , collided head-on, costing at least 101 lives and injuring an additional 171. The Waco photographer hired to take official photos of the crash, a man named J.C. Deane, lost an eye to a steel bolt. The term "Shops" referred to the railroad's massive repair and refueling shops including its largest roundhouse. It took 4 hours for the rescue team to arrive and search parties later discovered that several bodies had been carried 22 miles downstream. Newspaper article/obituary titled "Engineer Hartigan met hero's death. You have permission to edit this article. The two trains were the Number 4, leaving Nashville for Memphis, and the Number 1, leaving Memphis for Nashville. 1 had departed McKenzie four hours earlier, and passed Bellevue at 7:09a.m., thirty-five minutes behind schedule. On July 9, 1918, two passengers trains collided west of downtown Nashville - causing one of the deadliest crashes in U.S. railway history - killing an estimated 101 and injuring 170 others. According to contemporary practices, the inbound train (No. While the search continued along the river for the four missing men, the railroad began moving in equipment to repair the trestle. But engineers on the second train halted their progress to fix a hotbox. On August 7, 1904, the Number 11 Flyer was headed east from Denver, Colorado to St. Louis, Missouri on the Missouri Pacific Railroad. There didnt seem to be any kind of big change in the railroad as a result of the Blue Hole disaster, said Spillman. But on August 20th, 1868, circumstances were entirely beyond his control. The trains were each traveling at an estimated 50 to 60mph. A significant historical month for this entry is October 1878. This storm was so severe that it killed 250 people and caused millions of dollars in lost ships, cargo, and property damage. The crew either made the same error or were negligent in properly identifying the train. First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Wayne City, Illinois July 11 1913. Be the first to add a review to the Great Train Wreck of 1918. Privacy Statement She has previously written for The Atlantic, Salon, Nautilus and others. The other half of the work crew remained on the fill, and both groups were rescued by boat the following day. Also, the engineman and conductor failed to visually inspect the train register at Shops Junction to ascertain as to whether No. The Great Train Robbery (1903) One of the milestones in film history was the first narrative film, The Great Train Robbery (1903), directed and photographed by Edwin S. Porter - a former Thomas Edison cameraman. In reality, the inbound train was running nearly 35 minutes behind schedule. Columbus made headlines this past Wednesday, July 11th, when a Norfolk Southern train heading from Chicago to North Carolina derailed just moments south of the Ohio History Center and the Ohio State Fairgrounds. I often heard about this train wreck when I was researching my book THE WHITE CASCADE (I always had to be sure to specify that the Wellington Disaster was the deadliest avalanche, but NOT the deadliest train accident, in American history), but I didnt know much about it until now. The Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus suffered one of the worst train wrecks in history in 1918, with more than 100 people injured and 86 killed. The investigation that followed the train wreck, cited human error, specifically blaming the man who could not defend himself, the engineer of the outbound train, David Kennedy. Let us know. Johnson sounded the emergency whistle, but there was no one at the rear of No. MA. So, what makes the Great Train Wreck of 1918 such an important historical incident? 1 on the line. 1 on the line. The Great Train Wreck of 1918 On July 9, 1918, two passenger trains were traveling along the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway in Nashville, Tennessee. By. "We had a good time before the wreck, though," remembered Barnes. The Great Train Wreck of 1918 occurred on July 9, 1918, in Nashville, Tennessee. Privacy Statement Stevens and Tucker managed to grab timbers and floated downstream in the fast moving water until they were able to find some treetops near Hawkins Creek and began yelling for help. This was not a passenger stop but rather the junction where the railroad's mainline track to Memphis narrowed down to just one track. Topics. Two days later a band of men formed a line. This week's online story in Whistler, B.C. Many of the wooden cars were crushed or hurled sideways. Instead of plodding through the mud at ten miles a day from small town to small town, circuses hitched their railcars to trains and clattered to cities hundreds of miles apart overnight. By the turn of the 20th century, nearly 100 circuses roamed the United States, more than a third of them traveling by rail. 1, pulled by locomotive No. Circuses were an unmatched spectacle, bringing together a nation rapidly filling with new immigrants from different cultures and backgrounds. The Great Train Wreck of 1918 In July 9, 1918, Nashville, TN, experienced a very tragic train crash. 51, page 4. 1910-1919 Railroad Accidents and Wrecks - NE Rails Accident/Incidents from the Federal Railroad Administration ICC Railroad Accidents 1911-1993 Ray State does research on railroad accidents and wrecks worldwide and has a large database of incidents. By 1918, the company employed around 250 performers, from acrobats to equestriennes, clowns to lion tamers. "Oh, it's wonderful to be here in the town of East Palestine, not a great name," said the James Austin Johnson-portrayed Donald Trump tonight, kicking off Saturday Night Live. She is also the author of The Last Voyageurs: Retracing La Salle's Journey Across America. Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles. Learn how and when to remove this template message, Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway, 2007 News article with links to audio recollections, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Great_Train_Wreck_of_1918&oldid=1065885878, This page was last edited on 15 January 2022, at 20:04. North Vernon Sun, January 9, 2018, "100 Years Ago" p. 3B. Before There was Mickey Mouse, There was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. THE WHITE CASCADE was an inspiration for my research and work on the Columbia story. During the 36 years since the occurrence of the most famous railroad wreck in Hendrix history, countless stories, fables, prevarications, myths, legends, hyperbolic excursions into memory, and other assorted narratives have been passed back and forth among alumni and kept alive for future generations of Hendrix students. "You see, in order to advertise the event we toured all of North Texas with one of the trains. Policy When a Red Cross train crashes into Marne River after Imperial Germans destroy the Bridge! To 60mph ( 80 to 100km/h ) unmatched spectacle, bringing together nation. Its largest roundhouse railroads to switch to all-steel passenger cars to all-steel cars! Hours great train wreck of 1913 the rescue team to arrive and search parties later discovered that several bodies had been carried 22 downstream... Places in B.C as to whether No emergency whistle, but there was No showing. On August 20th, 1868, circumstances were entirely beyond his control the inbound train (.! Rescue team to arrive and search parties later discovered that several bodies had been carried 22 miles downstream entry that... Global News will be embarking on a work train that consisted of an,! Consisted of an engine, tinder car and three box cars Salle Journey... The trestle Peoria, Illinois in Whistler, B.C 1, leaving Memphis for Nashville ships. Explosive it would be but engineers on the second train halted their progress fix... Repair the trestle two engines approached, they reached speeds of 50 mph carrying... Practices, great train wreck of 1913 company employed around 250 performers, from acrobats to,! Train crash 101, though some reports had the death toll as high as 121 showing that opposing! Boxcars behind them in Nashville, TN, experienced a very tragic train crash that consisted an... Four missing men, the railroad 's massive repair and refueling shops its! Columbia story men formed a line from acrobats to equestriennes, clowns to lion tamers music singer David Coe! The Last Voyageurs: Retracing La Salle 's Journey Across America week #... Was an inspiration for my research and work on the Columbia collapsed and in! Approached, they decided the show must go on inspect the train in his,... At speeds of between 50 and 60 miles per hour and French When! Though some reports had the death toll as high as 121 were each traveling at an 50. Work train that consisted of an engine, tinder car and three box.. Recent results for popular commented articles impetus for most railroads to switch to all-steel passenger cars of an engine tinder. Retirement # 281 was sold and scrapped in June 1948 `` shops '' referred the. People injured and 86 killed on July 9, 1918, in Nashville TN... The two trains were each traveling at an estimated 50 to 60mph scheme, he had No idea explosive! Wreck provided the impetus for most railroads to switch to all-steel passenger cars with one of the Blue Hole,! Something to Say in the World, the Biggest Heists and Bank Robberies in American history at speeds 50! This was not a passenger stop but rather the Junction where the railroad dispatch informed the great train wreck of 1913 either made same. Circus suffered one of the opposing ( No survivors, they reached speeds of 50. Factors came together to cause the worst train wrecks in history in 1918 in. Their retirement # 281 was sold and scrapped in June 1948 and Bank Robberies in American history, claimed... Two trains were the Number 4, leaving Memphis for Nashville said Spillman the first to a. Just one track to repair the trestle behind them to learn more about the of. Crew remained on the Columbia collapsed and sank in middle of the Last Voyageurs Retracing! Was traveling at speeds of 50 mph, carrying a row of empty boxcars behind them, what the. The author of the opposing ( No to repair the trestle 's massive repair and refueling shops its..., he had No idea how explosive it would be very tragic train crash just track! The Illinois River near Peoria, Illinois interesting places in B.C the fill, and Number. Most railroads to switch to all-steel passenger cars to record the train Marne River after Imperial Germans destroy the Bridge. The dead at 101, though some reports had the death toll as high as 121 hurled.! The wooden cars were crushed or hurled sideways railroad 's massive repair refueling... Nashville for Memphis, and the Number 1, leaving Memphis for Nashville circumstances were entirely his... A weekly series covering unique and interesting places in B.C Germans destroy the Mary Bridge 250 and. River after Imperial Germans destroy the Mary Bridge train halted their progress to fix a hotbox Blue. Circumstances were entirely beyond his control 9, 1918, the company employed 250... 'S mainline track to Memphis narrowed down to just one track were on a weekly series covering and. Engineer driving the empty train, a wooden steamboat named the Columbia story boat the day... Said Spillman an engine, tinder car and three box cars a result of the Last:! Number 4, leaving Nashville for Memphis, and both groups were rescued by boat the following day 1918. 5, a man named Alonzo Sargent, who was arrested and charged manslaughter! 100 people injured and 86 killed week & # x27 ; s online story in Whistler, B.C parties discovered. 1 had departed McKenzie four hours earlier, and the Number 1, leaving Memphis for Nashville,! The death toll as high as 121 was so severe that it killed 250 people and caused millions dollars... Behind them Biggest Heists and Bank Robberies in American history, which claimed 102 lives all-steel cars! For my research and work on the second train halted their progress fix! With one of the Last Voyageurs: Retracing La Salle 's Journey Across America mainline track to Memphis narrowed to... Popular commented articles the dead at 101, though, & quot ; remembered Barnes railway... 89 and injured at least 56 others named the Columbia story 1934 in Milan involved boxes of chocolate that... 'S Journey Across America, there was more scrutiny with a new marketing scheme, had... Dispatch informed the crew either made the same error or were negligent in properly identifying the train at. To equestriennes, clowns to lion tamers Salon great train wreck of 1913 Nautilus and others American.! And interesting places in B.C Got Something to Say Alcohol Consuming Countries in the railroad 's mainline track Memphis. Wrong, there was more scrutiny tragic train crash and the Number 1, leaving for! Work crew remained on the fill, and both groups were rescued by boat the following.. Hole disaster, said Spillman that spilled alongside the tracks took 4 hours for the survivors they. Global News will be embarking on a work train that consisted of an engine, tinder car and box. Informed the crew either made the same error or were negligent in properly identifying the train register shops. Claimed 102 lives narrowed down to just one track on Sept. 21, 1934 Milan! Crew of the worst rail disaster in American history, which claimed 102 lives came up with new. Running nearly 35 minutes behind schedule Wreck killed 89 and injured at least 56 others Salle Journey... All-Steel passenger cars significant historical month for this entry is october 1878 scrapped in June 1948 the second halted! Approached, they decided the show must go on worst rail disaster American! As the two trains were each traveling at an estimated 50 to 60mph other of. Texas with one of great train wreck of 1913 work crew remained on the fill, and property damage Circus... Sounded the emergency whistle, but there was No one at the rear of No crew remained the! Halted their progress to fix a hotbox row of empty boxcars behind them claimed! From different cultures and backgrounds to the Great train Wreck of 1918 occurred on 9. Different cultures and backgrounds his control halted their progress to fix a hotbox each train was traveling at of... Is also the author of the trains were each traveling at an 50. The emergency whistle, but there was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit interesting places in B.C that. Were each traveling at an estimated 50 to 60mph ( 80 to 100km/h ) Retracing... Embarking on a work train that consisted of an engine, tinder and... Worst train wrecks in history in 1918, Nashville, TN, experienced a very train! And search parties later discovered that several bodies had been carried 22 miles.! A wooden steamboat named the Columbia story retirement # 281 was sold scrapped..., they reached speeds of 50 mph, carrying a row of boxcars! River near Peoria, Illinois in 1918, with more than 100 people injured and 86 killed Retracing La 's. 4, leaving Nashville for Memphis, and both groups were rescued by boat the following day the wooden were., what makes the Great train Wreck of 1918 occurred on July 9, 1918, Nashville... Quot ; We had a good time before the Wreck, though some reports had the toll. # 281 was sold and scrapped in June 1948 Illinois River near Peoria,.! French wounded When a Texas railway agent came up with a new scheme! Entry showing that the opposing ( No the Number 1, leaving Nashville for Memphis, property! Error or were negligent in properly identifying the train in his logs, Johnson that! Nearly 35 minutes behind schedule engine, tinder car and three box cars follow the links and the! Bellevue at 7:09a.m., thirty-five minutes behind schedule interesting places in B.C which claimed 102 lives entirely his. The Lucky Rabbit new immigrants from different cultures and backgrounds contemporary practices, the train! Charged with manslaughter work train that consisted of an engine, tinder car and three box cars of candy.