Gone But Not Forgotten: Kinzua Bridge

Many structures are not what they used to be, and the Kinzua Bridge is no exception. Having been built in 1881 thanks to the advocation of General Thomas L. Kane seeing a need for a through railroad route to Buffalo, New York. The cornerstone of the bridge  was placed in August of 1881, and was the largest railroad bridge  in the world at the time.  Ironically,  the original  bridge was replaced roughly 20 years later due to the fact railcars were now being made with heavier steel and other dense materials. Due to this matter,  the bridge  needed rebuilt to support these cars. The replacement  weighed 3,500 tons and was 2,100 feet  long. While the bridge was used quite  frequently  by trains,  The Erie Railroad decided  to operate the last freight train over the bridge on June 21, 1959. It was then turned into the Kinzua Bridge State Park in 1963. In 1977 the bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, and in 1982 the Knox and Kane Railroad began operations from Knox to Mt. Jewett, Pennsylvania with the option  to go out onto the bridge by train. In August  of 2002, the operation  was closed due to the deterioration  of the bridges  structure. The State of Pennsylvania   hired a contractor to do the necessary  repairs  to the bridge, but on July 21, 2003 an F1 tornado travelling at 94 miles per hour destroyed 11 of the 20 towers  on the bridge. In 2009, the bridge was envisioned  to become the Kinzua sky walk allowing the visitors  to walk across the remains of the railroad  trestle and look down at the aftermath  of the tornado through a glass floor. The Kinzua Bridge  Sky Walk opened  on September  15, 2011 and is free to visit and view what the wrath of mother nature  can do. While the Sky Walk  is an excellent  landmark, it is only a shell of it's  former self. The bridge  was considered  to be the "8th wonder of the world" and before the collapse was the 4th largest railroad bridge of all time, and the 2nd largest in North America. She may be partially gone, but certainly  not forgotten.

10 Little Known Yet Devastating (And Somewhat Disturbing) Railroad Accidents.

Article By Ian Cole

Sept. 29, 2016

Train accidents  are a fairly common occurrence, with one happening every 90 minutes in the United States alone according to the Federal Railroad Administration. Most of them don't  even make the news due to the lack of severity, however a couple of them every year make national news due to their severity.

The goal of this is to bring little  known train accidents  that were devastating to light. This list is not based in any particular order, and all accidents will be viewed as equally sobering and tragic. We must always remember that while trains are fun for enthusiasts like myself and others, they are massive machines that can be deadly if not used properly and should always be treated with respect as such.

10. April 11, 1935 The Williamsport High School Bus Disaster Williamsport, Maryland: On a dark damp night, a school bus carrying 27 students returning from Williamsport High School after a chemistry fair was struck by a Baltimore  and Ohio express train traversing from St. Louis, Missouri to Washington DC. Unfortunately, 14 of these students were killed, and to make matters worse 6 of them were high school  seniors with essentially  a month to go before they would experience  the adult life. Another note is that senior class shrunk from an already modest 33 to an unfortunate  27. A relative  of one of the students killed in the tragic accident stated "Even the World War didn't  do that to us. Only five from Williamsport were killed then." The city of Williamsport, Maryland  had to endure 14 separate funerals, then built a library in memory of those who had died.  A prominent  Williamsport  doctor who delivered many of the students as infants was the same one identifying their lifeless bodies. A very tough tragedy to deal with that could've been avoided between a combination of better crossings and better judgement by the bus driver. Thankfully Franklin D. Roosevelt vowed to improve railroad crossing safety, and was willing to pledge up to two-hundred million dollars for this cause. These grants did improve the crossing where this tragedy occurred.

9. July 31, 1940 The Doodlebug Disaster Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio: On a rather hot summer night in 1940, a Pennsylvania Railroad Dispatcher told the single car passenger train's engineer to hold on a siding. Likely due to a lack of proper communications, the engineer of the train, Thomas L. Murtaugh continued onward, not following any directions his dispatcher gave him, or attempted to give him whatsoever. Around 6 PM the doodlebug ran head on into a freight train near Hudson Drive.  Conductor's Harry B. Shafer, and Tod E. Wonn, both jumped and were the only two that survived.  All the others either were killed upon impact, or were unable to escape the flames, as flaming gasoline was sprayed upon the victims almost instantly, burning them to death. Today a memorial has been erected for future generations to know about the devastating accident that had occurred. 

8.January 8th, 1902 The Park Avenue Tunnel Tragedy: During the steam era, two commuter trains were running their typical routine routes taking commuters to and from work. One train was on what was known as "The New Haven Line" and the other was on a perpendicular route called the "Harlem Division Line". Apparently the engineer on the Harlem Division  Line train was unable to see his traffic signals due to the darkness of the tunnels, as well as the lack of visibility due to the steam clouds dwelling in the tunnel. The result of this problem was by far worse than a lack of visibility, it ultimately took 17 lives, due to the fact that the train on the New Haven Line's last car was stopped on the diamond of the two lines. 

7. August 15, 1919 The Parkersburg Streetcar And Switcher Collision Parkersburg, West Virginia: 

A church group from Reno, Ohio were headed to a picnic at the City Park, in Parkersburg, West Virginia. The Streetcar was approaching a junction near the Baltimore & Ohio line and the local silk mill, when it collided with a Baltimore and Ohio Steam switcher, rupturing the boiler and ultimately killing 8 People (mostly children) The cause of the accident was reportedly due to a lack of control of traffic by the flag man responsible for maintaining safety at the junction.  Something truly ironic but also very tragic at the same time is that a janitor from the silk mill died of a heart attack while helping remove the injured victims from the accident and the heart attack was reportedly due to a weak heart condition he suffered from and the excitement and trauma probably triggered it. 

6. September 2, 1919 Man Refuses To Save Himself, Dies With Wife Who's Foot Was Caught In Rail Chicago, Illinois: Mr. and Mrs. William Fitch Tanner, both got killed by a Chicago and Northwestern train. While Mr. Tanner had the opportunity to save himself, he refused to leave his wife's side who became trapped after her foot was caught on the rail. Ironically, Mr. Tanner worked for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and it can be assumed that he didn't necessarily expect to go out like this. Tragically he left behind three children.

5. February 4, 1977  The Loop Crash Chicago Illinois: This accident could've likely been avoided if the motor man was paying attention and carrying out his responsibilities. The Motorman of the 8 car Lake-Dan Ryan train, completely ignored his cab signals and struck the rear end of the Ravenswood train. 11 people were killed and 180 were injured in what is the worst accident to this date on the Chicago Elevated Rail. Coincidentally it was found that the motorman of the Lake-Dan Ryan train was in possession of marijuana, however there was no evidence found showing that he had actually used it while operating this train. 

4. October 31, 1903 The Purdue Train Wreck Of 1903, Indianapolis, Indiana: Purdue was taking a train to a neutral location to take on their arch rivals the Indiana Hoosiers in a football match. Unfortunately that match would never happen, as there was a  crucial mistake made by a railroad dispatcher outside of Indianapolis. The engineer unaware of the dispatchers awful mistake chugged on as if there were no issues or obstructions.The oncoming train and the Purdue train collided with such force that the wooden coaches splintered like kindling sticks used to start a fire.  Tragically 18 people were killed, including most of Purdue's football team. The tragedy led to the rivalry's burning passion to simmer down and cool off a bit, but that's essentially the only good thing that came out of this horrific accident.

3. August 28, 1991 The Union Square Crash New York, New York: This particular subway train that derailed had many problems throughout the night well before the derailment. The motorman missed several stations to let passengers off, was speeding excessively (which played into the derailment), and was also asleep at the time of the accident. The reason behind all of this? He was drunk, on top of that after he reported the accident to the police he had the nerve to drink 3 more beers before being hauled off. He was responsible for five deaths in the accident, however he later only got 5 counts of 2nd degree manslaughter which led to only 10 years in jail. 

2. June 24, 2011 Semi Truck Driver VS Amtrak Reno, Nevada: Once again another accident that could've been avoided had someone been paying attention! A semi truck driver struck the side of an Amtrak train, even with all proper warning devices in place. The resulting consequences were the death of six people, the trucker, the conductor, and four passengers on the train. It is unclear as to why the truck ran into the side of the train. 

1. January 6, 2005 Graniteville Train Disaster Graniteville, South Carolina:  When 10 people die due to a freight train accident, you know you have something devastating on your hands. When the derailment was caused by a misaligned switch which causes a mixed freight hauling chlorine gas, sodium hydroxide, along with other hazardous materials you have something beyond devastating. Not only did this take human life, it resulted in the injuries of 250 people, contaminated waterways, Led to the bankruptcy of Avondale Mills displacing over 4,000 people of their jobs, and required a two week clean up by Hazardous Material crews. It was later cited that the crew of the local train had failed to realign the switch to mainline operations. The NTSB did not expect alcohol or drugs to be a factor in this accident. 

                                                           Works Cited: 

10. Keyser, Tom. "After 60 Years, Small Town's Tragedy Remains Vivid "THIS WAS OUR WORST DAY"" The Baltimore Sun (1995): n. pag.The Baltimore Sun. The Baltimore Sun. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.

9.Ed, Mr.. "The Doodlebug Tragedy." The Doodlebug Tragedy (n.d.): n. pag. The Doodlebug Tragedy. Blogger. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.

8."Http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nywestch/NewRoc1902/." Web log post. 1902 Park Avenue Tunnel Collision- A New Rochelle Tragedy. Ed. Cathy Horn. Ancestry, 15 June 2014. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.

7."Collision Leads To Tragedy." The Parkersburg News (1919): n. pag.The Parkersburg Journal and Sentinel. 14 Mar. 2015. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.

6."Wouldn't Leave Wife, Both Die Under Train." New York Times (1919): n. pag. New York Times. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.

5."Chicago ''L''.org: Mishaps & Unusual Occurrences - The Loop Crash."Chicago ''L''.org: Mishaps & Unusual Occurrences - The Loop Crash. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.

4.Slutzky, Jason. "Indiana University Bloomington." Indiana University Archives. Indiana University, 25 Nov. 2013. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.

3.N.Y. Police Say Subway Motorman Was Drunk; Charged With Manslaughter. N.p.: Greenfield Recorder, n.d. PDF.

2."Federal Officials Investigate Cause of Deadly Amtrak Crash." CNN. Cable News Network, 28 June 2011. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.

1.Rep. No. 916304 at 68 (2005). Print.

A List Of Celebrities Who Also Liked Trains

1. Johnny Cash: While  this may not suprise some, as seen by  his numerous songs that had stuff to do with trains such as "I've  got a thing about trains". Johnny Cash was in fact a railfan, having grown up near both the Rock Island Line and Cotton Belt route, it's  fair to say he had an interest in trains. Also, in his cover of the Nine Inch Nails song "hurt" you can see him in the cab of Southern  Railway No. 4501. Another thing with him is that on his variety  show back in the 1960s that always included a segment on railroads. You could say Johnny  was a train fan through and through.

2. Walt Disney: When you were known for placing  a Steam Railroad and a Monorail both in the same amusement  park you own, it's  fair to say you must have some interest in trains. There have also been reports  that before creating Walt Disney Inc, he worked on the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad. Not only that he also owned numerous  toy trains. Walt Disney  could be the definition  of a railfan if need be.

3. Rod Stewart: Famous Rock n Roll star Rod Stewart is known for owning a tremendous  HO scale model train layout he calls "the three river city". He was also once quoted stating that  "I'm proud to be a railway modeler,"  "It means more to me to be on the cover of Model Railroader than to be on the cover of a music magazine." Obviously  this bluntly  states he has a passion for trains as well.

4. Joe Biden: Along with being the 47th Vice President  of the United  States, Biden is known to be a passenger train enthusiast. He has logged over 2 MILLION  MILES  on Amtrak  travel alone over the past 40 years or so.  He is a major advocate for passenger rail and played a major role in making sure Amtrak got 2 Billion  dollars to go towards upgrading their trains on the Northeast Corridor. Not only that, he also played a part in restoring St. Paul, Minnesota's  Union Station.  Regardless  of your political  beliefs, Joe has been and continues  to be a major advocate  for trains.

5. Merle Haggard: The fact that Merle's 23rd studio album is called "My Love Affair  With Trains" could be enough evidence  for some that he really  enjoys his trains. His  Father also worked for the Atchison,  Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad and he lived in a house made out of a Santa  Fe boxcar. His tour bus was even painted  with the Santa Fe "drumhead" logo on it! Not only that, but his collection  of model trains was worth over $250,000! So yeah, you could say he was pretty devoted to his trains!!

6. Neil Young: Neil Young has always  been a huge fan of Lionel Trains since he was a young boy. He got his first Lionel set when he was a pre-teen and had kept his hobby since. His special needs son Ben, is also a big fan of the trains and they bond together  through their love of model trains! In fact, their bond was so significant  that Neil had a "paddle" designed for Ben  to operate the trains by leaning his head into the paddle to apply and disengage power to the train set due to the fact he had severe  difficulties  using his arms and legs. Talk about devotion!

7. Roger Daltry: The singer of world renowned  band The Who has a 45×25 foot layout that he operates in his attic with some of his friends. He discovered  this hobby when he was in his "middle age".  Him and  his friend Cliff Parsons were both appalled at the fact that children of Brittain didn't  know much about their country's proud railroad  history, and are working on developing  the 2.5 acre Ashford International  Model Railway Educational Centre, which is planned to feature  up to 30 massive model railroad layouts worth several hundred thousands of pounds! There is no denying  his love of trains when he out that much into it!

8. Frank Sinatra: Ol Blue eyes  had a thing for trains, so much so that he would take the subway from Hoboken to Manhattan  just to see the model trains in window displays at department  stores! His mother pawned an old fox fur she had aquired so that way Frank could have his first train set. Another interesting  tale about Frank was that he would hop aboard streetcars with his friends to the old Lionel train factory and search their dumpsters for discarded model train parts. They would then put together trains from whatever larts they could find! ( Talk about hardcore!) As an adult his interest  never faded, as he devoted an entire guesthouse on his California  ranch to become a model train shrine! This was how he would spend his time out of the limelight  to unwind. Because of the fact that he was on tour constantly, Sinatra  never really had time to buy trains of his own. However, his staff loved him like his own family and went out of their way to buy an actual  full sized caboose that was placed  on his ranch property! Devoted? I'd  say for sure!

Railroad Preservation: So Many Projects Not Enough Hands

The rail preservation industry has become so massive, that there seems to be a new project started at least once a week. Rail preservation projects are responsible for keeping tourist lines running, locomotives operating, and keeping equipment in good condition. To ensure that this all happens, there needs to be hands there to help get these projects completed. These projects require a wide demographic of people who can help. From welders who can join the necessary materials  together, to writers like myself who can help get the word out about these projects and potentially help raise funds for these projects. The problem is, where are all these people?? Is there some other factors that are creating this dilemma?
Rick Rowlands was courteous enough to take time for an interview regarding this whole problem.

RPJ:On any given weekend when you are helping with a preservation project, like let's say laying down rail or doing cosmetic touch ups on a locomotive, is there typically a lack of volunteers?

RR: It depends on the project and the location.  Projects such as steam loco restorations tend to attract more people than lets say restoring a caboose might.  Projects outside of major population centers tend to have more volunteers than those located in cities.
The real lack is in competent qualified people.  Its relatively easy to find people to do manual labor, but its rare to find those with skills and even rare to find someone who is a self directed with skills.  Someone that you can give a project to and who can get it done with minimal direction

RPJ: What are some ways this problem can be fixed?

RR: Well for one, schools need to stop pushing college only and start getting people interested in the trades.  Because college grads who can't change a tire are not going to be the ones who volunteer at the local rail museum! Another problem is there seems to be a disconnect between the railfan population and the rail preservationists.  Not much crossover between the two that I see.  Some more fans need to volunteer at the local rail museum.  Make some friends, learn a skill etc. There is much more to railroads than chasing heritage units and taking pictures.   Working on the stuff can also be a lot of fun and nothing is more satisfying than after a long hard day, looking at what you accomplished. Whether it be a paint job on a car or a section of track built.

RPJ: For sure, a big boy can't fix itself! What do you think are some of the reasons why railfans and preservationists don't intermingle much? Is there tension or just a lack of effort?

RR: Some of us preservationists can be grumpy and not as welcoming as we could be.  I think we don't do as good of a job on outreach. Also, many fans just don't have an interest in working with their hands because they haven't been exposed to it.  Many kids grow up and never have worked on anything so its something totally alien to them. it goes back to the schools and pushing college and getting rid of shop classes. High schools used to give kids a well rounded education. You could take wood shop, ,metal shop, auto mechanics etc.  Nowadays schools contract with vocational schools to offer those classes, but unlike in the past where a student could take a shop class or two, they now have to choose between college track and stay at HS with their friends or choose trades track and go off to the vo-tech.  You cannot become well rounded in that case.
Its not supposed to be an either-or.  Its suppose to be a little bit of both, this short sighted decision made by many schools has caused this country HUGE problems.

RPJ: So where do you see the preservation industry if things don't change?

RR: Slowly dwindling away.  Smaller operations will close up and the larger ones will find it harder to get people.  Look at most museums you visit,  Mostly older people.

RPJ: What can the average Joe in the preservation  industry do to prevent the flame from dying out eventually?

RR: I don't know.  Demographics and shifting societal interests seem to be against us

RPJ: So do you think this is more of a political dilemm a that may be out of our control?

RR: The entire country is changing away from being a manufacturing powerhouse and when the manufacturing jobs are lost so too are people who know how to do things.  Also when the good paying jobs go away people have less time for leisure activities because they are busy trying to survive.

RPJ: Do easier times lead to better volunteer turnouts?

RR: Generally.  Also more visitorship

RPJ: One final question do you feel there is a need for these projects to reach out more through social media?

RR: More  communication is always helpful!