The Deadly Train Stunt of McClennan County

by Tom Goodman

In 1896, a railroad company crashed two trains into each other at full speed on a Texas rail line.

On purpose.

The Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railroad—“the Katy” for short—passed among gentle hills between Hillsboro and Waco in McLennan County, Texas. A passenger agent named William Crush thought the slopes would make a perfect setting for a spectacular stunt. 

The company had two old Baldwin locomotives--obsolete but still in working order. Why not let the public watch them smash together?

Crush promoted the event nationwide. On September 15, forty thousand people gathered on the hillsides at “the Crush,” as folks had begun calling the site. Thomas Edison even sent a cameraman from New York to film the spectacle with his new motion picture machine.

At 5 p.m., the locomotives rolled forward until they stood a few feet apart, like boxers touching gloves before a fight. Then they backed up a mile.

At 5:10, on signal, the engineers opened the throttles. The locomotives roared forward, building to forty-five miles an hour. At the last moment, the crews jumped clear.

Only when the engines slammed head-on did spectators realize what a terrible idea this was. Crush had been assured the boilers could withstand the impact. They couldn’t. Both exploded, sending jagged metal into the crowd. Dozens were injured. Two people died.

One writer said the scene “will haunt a man for many, many days, make him nervous when he hears an engine whistle, and disturb his dreams with black clouds of death-dealing iron hail.”

Lawsuits followed. The railroad fired Crush.

But the next day, when the president saw how much publicity the stunt had generated, Crush was rehired.

Humorist Alex Sweet suggested that Crush’s next event “be a prearranged, scheduled meeting between a waterspout and a tornado.”

The famous ragtime composer Scott Joplin wrote a piano piece about the incident called “The Great Crush Collision March.” Listen to it here:

Want to relive the grit and charm of turn-of-the-century Texas with nuggets of history, recommended books and films, and behind-the-scenes looks at my novels? Sign up for my monthly newsletter here. You'll receive a complimentary book featuring photos of the real characters and places that inspired my award-winning debut novel, The Last Man: A Novel of the 1927 Santa Claus Bank Robbery. 

Cross-Country Travel in the 1800s – by Donna Schlachter – with giveaway

 

We take a lot for granted today when we hop in our car or line up at the airport or consider taking a train across the country. Not only did travel in the 1800s take tens or hundreds of times longer than today, it was far more dangerous, expensive in relation to the cost of living, and uncomfortable.

Regardless of the mode of travel, just about every trip could prove deadly. From runaway horses to buffalo blocking the rail line, to your ship sinking in a storm or your canoe or barge sinking in a flash flood, your arrival was never a done deal.

But the 1800s were a time of immense progress, and the tales of rich soil and forests and gold fields west of the Mississippi lured many. In fact, many of those tales were fabricated by men who’d never even been west of the Old Man River.

 

Photo Courtesy of Donna Schlachter

Expansion to the west began primarily by settlers following in the tracks of previous explorers, hunters, and trackers. Employing covered wagons, these settlers left most of their lives behind, trading it for a pair or two of oxen or mules, a wagon, and enough supplies to last for several months. Prices for food, clothing, and wagon parts were inflated along the trail because mercantiles and way stations knew they had little competition. But fording rivers, dysentery, and attacks from Indians killed many. It’s said that there is a body buried every mile along the Oregon Trail.

Other dangers included horses stampeding, hunger, getting caught in an early storm in the mountains, losing the trail and perishing from hunger, not packing enough water to cross the desert, along with animal attacks, snake bites, and the various maladies that come along, including appendicitis, broken limbs, and childbirth.

Westward travelers typically left from one of three points: Independence, MO; Saint Joseph, MO; or Council Bluffs, IA. The trails from these cities converged in central Nebraska, following the local rivers across Nebraska and Wyoming. On the western side of the Continental Divide, the Mormon Trail led to Salt Like City, while the Oregon-California Trail took settlers to Idaho. Journeys usually left in the spring to avoid winter storms, but often an early storm caught travelers unawares.

While the Oregon Trail was one of the best-known roads—if it were to be called such—the Cumberland Road transformed the country around the turn of the 1800s. It was the first road funded by the federal government, and it took decades to complete. By 1825, the road was celebrated in song, story, painting, and poetry. It ran from Cumberland, Maryland and terminated in Vandalia, Illinois. While we wouldn’t consider it cross-country today, it crossed the known union of the time.

From Wikipedia Common Files

Traveling by steamboat was usually much more pleasant, unless you ran aground, as Mark Twain did. Steamboats were popular passage on the Mississippi, although there were other routes, as well, such as Providence to New York. Sailing on the seaward side, strong gales often threatened passengers and ships alike.

From Wikipedia Common Files

Canals were thought to be the next best thing. The Erie Canal, completed in 1825, reduced the time it took to get from New York to Chicago in half, plus it was much more comfortable than riding in a carriage on a gravel or unpaved road.

One comment often made about the ships was that the food was excellent, even compared to the finest of hotels. However, while the cruise sounds luxurious, calm, and filled with good food, not all was well. In some cases, the bridges were so low that folks had to lay flat on the deck to avoid being decapitated.

From Wikipedia Common Files

Railroad passenger travel has almost disappeared today due to other faster modes of transportation, but in 1812, it was still a dream that passengers could travel almost as fast as a bird (15-20 miles an hour). With speeds like that, they could set out from Washington in the morning, breakfast in Baltimore, midday meal in Philadelphia, and supper in New York the same day.

In 1827, the first thirteen miles of track opened, and because there was a lot of money to be made, expansion happened quickly. However, with no government oversight and substandard construction, train derailments happened often and people died.

Westward expansion of the railroad was slow to catch on, however, mostly because of the Rocky Mountains. Laying rail along that path seemed a fool’s errand. Instead, individual local railroads cropped up, unconnected or duplicative. With the local expansion of railroads, technically, track only needed to be laid between Nebraska and California. Now folks could travel from one end of the country to the other in less than four days, so long as there were no washouts, bison or cattle herds blocking the rail, deep snow, floods…

Passengers asserted that the train seating was far more comfortable than a stagecoach, a covered wagon, or a horse.

 

From Wikipedia Common Files

Prior to land crossings, the only way to get from one coast to the other was via a ship southward, around Cape Horn, then north, for the better part of a year. Being on the sea for an extended time like that increased your chances of falling ill or getting injured or even dying. Re-supplying along the way meant opportunities to run amuck of the local natives, who were often distrustful of white people.

  

In my book, Tina, we find an orphaned young woman who lives in a covered wagon in Loveland, Colorado, who is left in charge of her younger sisters. She must earn money to feed and house them, but when she falls victim to danger, what will she do? You can check out the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Tina-Prairie-Roses-Collection-2023-ebook/dp/B0BWGKGYTL  and the series here:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07R8DSMB4?binding=kindle_edition&qid=1680033081

 

 

 

About Donna:

A hybrid author, Donna writes squeaky clean historical and contemporary suspense. She has been published more than 60 times in books; is a member of several writers groups; facilitates a critique group; teaches writing classes; ghostwrites; edits; and judges in writing contests. She loves history and research, traveling extensively for both, and is an avid oil painter. She also coaches writers at any stage of their manuscript. Learn more at www.donnaschlachter.com/Tapestry

 

 

 

www.DonnaSchlachter.com Stay connected so you learn about new releases, preorders, and presales, as well as check out featured authors, book reviews, and a little corner of peace. Plus: Receive 2 free ebooks simply for signing up for our free newsletter!

www.DonnaSchlachter.com/blog

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/DonnaschlachterAuthor

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/DonnaSchlachter

Books: Amazon: http://amzn.to/2ci5Xqq

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/donna-schlachter

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=donna+schlachter

Need a writing coach? www.donnaschlachter.com/Tapestry  

 

Resources:

Grunge https://www.grunge.com/667139/what-it-was-really-like-to-travel-across-the-us-in-the-1800s/

http://gdc.gale.com/archivesunbound/

 

 

 

Miniature Railroads

 by Anita Mae Draper

1872, Central Pacific's locomotive 173. Public Domain

In 1949 when Walt Disney decided he wanted a miniature railroad in the back yard of his home, the Walt Disney Studios' machine shop built a 1/8 scale model of CP 173, an 1872 steam engine no longer in service. The Carolwood Pacific Railroad was open to the public from 1950-1959, giving pleasure to enough visitors to show Disney that it could be a viable attraction to his theme parks. 

Disney's railroad was just one in a long line of small ridable railroads started by rail enthusiasts for their own use, but grew into rides to attract people to zoos, botanical gardens, and other tourist venues across the world. In 1899, a stereograph by the Keystone View Company of Meadville, Pennsylvania, showed an image they entitled the smallest steam railroad in the world.

The Smallest Steam Railroad Train in the world, 1899, Keystone View Company. Public Domain

Unlike conventional railroads which are built on a standard 4 foot 8 1/2 inch track, most miniature railroads are built on a narrow-gauge track between 1 ft 11 5/8 in and 3 ft 6 inches. The narrow gauge allows for tighter curves and lighter rails. They are less costly to build and operate. Although suited for tourist attractions, they are in use in mountainous regions, as well as for industrial purposes such as logging and mining.

The Disneyland Railroad (DRR), formerly known as the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad, is a 3-foot narrow-gauge heritage railroad at Disneyland in Anaheim. As you can see, the difference between the small steam engine in the previous image and the DRR in this picture, is the width of the track allowing for a heavier engine and bigger cars. 

Disneyland Locomotive 2 at Main Street Station, 1960. Public Domain

The Miniature Railway Company of Manhattan, New York, operated ridable miniature railways in many parks throughout the world, as well as four World Expositions. The McGarigle Machine Company out of Niagara Falls, New York, and later out of Jersey City, built the equipment for the popular narrow gauge of 15 inches. 

Miniature Railway Train, Atlantic City, N.J., 1903. Public Domain

Coney Island, New York, had its own miniature railway as shown in the following images when taken in 1905 at short-lived Dreamland amusement park, next door to the famous Luna Park.

The Miniature Railway, Coney Island, New York, 1905. Public Domain

The Miniature Railway, Coney Island, New York, 1905. Public Domain

The White City Amusement Park in Chicago, Illinois, ran a double miniature train system on a narrow-gauge 12 inch track. The two trains passed each other on the half-mile track that had a station at each end. Track features were as simple or as elaborate as the builder wanted. As with most model railroad builders, the set is never completed and more tracks, equipment, and features are added all of the time. The same goes for many amusement park trains as they aim to bring people back over and over and must provide new ideas. Some of these features include bridging over water and going through a tunnel, elements that bring a sense of danger to the ride.

Miniature Train Operated by White City, Chicago, USA. Public Domain

Have you ever ridden on a miniature train? Care to share the particulars and what you thought of the experience?

Anita Mae Draper served a 20-year term working on air bases in the communication trade of the Canadian Armed Forces before retiring to the open skies of the prairies. She uses her experience and love of history to pepper her stories of yesteryear's romance with realism as well as faith. Anita Mae Draper's published stories appear in Barbour Publishing, WhiteFire Publishing, and Guideposts Books. Readers can enrich their story experience with visual references by checking out Anita's Pinterest boards. All links available on her website at www.anitamaedraper.com   

All Aboard the Jarrett-Palmer Express

After 1869, when Leland Stanford drove the ceremonial Golden Spike connecting the Union Pacific and Central Pacific rail lines to create the first transcontinental railroad in America, passengers could travel from coast-to-coast by rail. The voyage took approximately one week, at speeds averaging 20 mph.

The week-long trip was incredibly fast for the time, but in 1876, the trip was accomplished--one time only--in just eighty-three hours.

Henry Jarrett & Henry Palmer are the duo responsible for coming up with this amazing event. One might suspect they were in the railroad business, but in fact, they managed a New York theatre company. Eager for a way to promote their troupe, they determined they'd travel to the west coast by rail in four days, where the actors would get off the train and perform Henry V in San Francisco.

It was an incredibly complicated, cooperative effort that required tremendous planning and expense. Naturally, the trip received a good deal of press in the months leading up to the departure--which Jarrett & Palmer must have enjoyed, since tickets to Henry V sold well, too. At last the big day came, and with much fanfare, the train pulled out of the station in Jersey City, New Jersey, on June 1, 1876.

To complete the journey in the four-day time frame, trains would have to move at high speeds, and necessary stops would have to be as short as possible. All the way to California, rail workers ensured as smooth a path as possible, clearing the way of debris and diverting other trains onto side tracks so the Lightning Express could zip by. At every scheduled stop, supplies, water, and coal were ready for quick loading, as were staff, including conductors, brakemen, firemen and engineers. Likewise, the engine was switched out five times to avoid mechanical issues.

The Lightning Express must have caused a great deal of inconvenience for the railroads and passengers on other trains, but if anyone minded, they seem to have been in the minority. Day and night, people lined the tracks to get a gander at the train, and several towns shot off fireworks when it passed. Reportedly, a man's funeral was interrupted by the coming of the train; everyone went to look at it and returned to the church to finish the service afterwards. 

Businesses and agencies got in on the act, too. The New York Times shipped its newspaper to Chicago on the train, Wells Fargo put a safe in the baggage car, and the USPS created a postmark for mail that went on the train. 

Being a passenger on the Lightning Express wasn't the most comfortable experience, however. Traveling at a high rate of speed wasn't as smooth then as it is on modern trains. The jarring and jolting made it difficult to sleep, walk, or cook, so most food was served cold. When passengers did manage to catch a few winks, they awoke to cinders on their faces.

To be a coast-to-coast trip, the passengers took the train as far as it would go, Oakland, California, and boarded a ferry to take them to San Francisco. A mob was waiting, even though the train was twelve hours early.

At last, the passengers arrived in San Francisco. Despite a few difficulties with equipment and weather, the Lightning Express completed the trip in just three days, eleven hours, and 39 minutes--an astounding achievement in technology.

The production of Henry V was a success, too, just as Jarrett & Palmer hoped, but the legacy of the express train known by their names is far more lasting as a mechanical achievement, national source of pride and celebration, and a stepping stone for more efficient travel in America. 

For more, read: The Jarrett-Palmer Express of 1876, Coast to Coast in Eighty-Three Hours, by J. C. Ladenheim, Harvest Books, 2008.

Find on Amazon for more information

GIVEAWAY:

The Jarrett-Palmer Express inspired the train in my new novella, The Honeymoon Express, just released as part of The Rails to Love Collection by Barbour Publishing.

Enter to win a copy of The Rails to Love Collection by expressing interest in the comments and including a way to reach you before 11:59 pm EST Oct 6, 2016. A winner will be announced here on Oct 7. (Sorry, US only, please.)

BIO: Susanne Dietze is the author of nine new and upcoming historical romances. She has a special affection for trains because her father is a railroad enthusiast who pegged the engine on the book cover as being from New Zealand. You can learn more about her on her website at www.susannedietze.com.

Tragedy on the Tracks

by Linda Farmer Harris

I enjoy historical reenactments whether they're Medieval, Civil War, Heritage Celebrations, or Western Shoot-outs. I like being transported back to olden times. Jerry and I are members of SASS - Single Action Shooting Society. Our SASS identities are Lin Penlady and Jeremiah Prophet. We have lots of opportunities for period dressing.

SASS - Elk Grove 2012

I love trains, too. Put reenactments and trains together and that's definitely a win-win for me. In August, for our 49th wedding anniversary, Jerry's brother, Phil, honored us with tickets to "Tragedy on the Tracks" a Railfest Murder Mystery Train event presented by the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.

This interactive, on-board Murder Mystery Train, was written and performed by the Historic Narrators of the D&SNGRR. The play is based on an actual 19th century Colorado murder at the Bowen's Ranch and Bitterroot Mine.

Historic Narrators of the D&SNGRR

The murder occurred in 1811 on Bowen's Ranch just north of Cascade Canyon. At this time, the railroad was being constructed in the remote wilderness area between Durango and Silverton, Colorado. Bill Bowen's Ranch was a well-known stopping place along the Animas Toll Road. Bowen's store carried staples and supplies for prospectors and travelers. He added a rooming house and saloon when construction started on the railroad to Silverton. Bill and his wife, Jane, also operated the Westminister Hall, Silverton's first saloon. Jane was the town's first madam.

Meanwhile, back at the Ranch deep in the mountains, the women who came to live and serve the travelers and prospectors soon discovered there was one way in and no way out. Things at the Ranch turned sour when Bill hired John Haley as the Ranch accountant and partner. Although business was booming, the books didn't reflect the revenue. Haley was drinking up the profits. Bowen also suspected Haley was embezzling from him.

That fall day the store and saloon were filled with customers. Haley and Bowen argued, it turned into a fist fight when Bowen threw Haley and his wife off the Ranch. Haley refused to leave, vowed to find a pistol and return.

Haley returned, hand in pocket. Bowen seeing the bulging pocket and, fearing for his life, raised his own gun and shot an advancing Haley three times. Mrs. Haley came at Bowen from behind with a butcher knife. Customers subdued her before she could strike him.

In a twist to a typical self-defense murder, Bowen stepped over Haley's body, walked out the door, rode to Durango, and turned himself in to the sheriff. In another twist to the story, none of the witnesses stayed around to testify that it was self-defense, including the "sporting women." Mrs. Haley was the only person left to answer the Sheriff's questions. Bowen was not charged in the death of John Haley.

Historic Narrators of the D&SNGRR - less one

Players left to right: Sheriff, Mr. Bowen, Conductor, Mrs. Bowen's Nephew, Mrs. Bowen, Mrs. Haley, Sporting Woman and alas, Mr. Haley.

The play's capture of the events and translation to the train instead of the Bowen Ranch was well done and worth a re-play next year. I recommend the adventure.

Lin and Jerry Harris taking part in the interactive 1811 murder mystery

Have you been involved in historical reenactments? Do you go to renaissance festivals?

Blessings,

Linda Farmer Harris

Lin and her husband, Jerry, live on a ranch in Chimney Rock, Colorado. She writes historical fiction for adults and children. Her enjoyment of genealogy and family history adds unique elements to her story. 

Her novella, The Lye Water Bride, is included in the California Gold Rush Brides Collection (Barbour, 2016)

Buy a Watch at the Train Station?

By Marilyn Turk

Minnesota, 1886

“Hey Sam, I sure do like that watch. I need one too. Didn’t know the mercantile had any.”

“Didn’t buy it at the mercantile. Bought it at the train station. You better hurry if you want one. I hear they’re going fast.”

The train station? Why would anyone go there to buy a watch?  Well it seems that the agent at the North Redwood Falls station of the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway, a young man named Richard Sears, found himself with a shipment of gold-filled watches that had been refused by a retailer. It was a common scam at that time for wholesalers to ship items to stores which hadn’t ordered them, then offer to “make a deal” for the retailer to keep them to avoid the cost of returning the merchandise. However, the retailer who received the watches refused to accept the deal, so Richard offered to buy them from the wholesaler himself at a reduced cost of $12.00 each.  

Richard Warren Sears as a young man

He then telegraphed other station agents asking them if they wanted a good, inexpensive pocket watch for $14.00 apiece. Sears’ watches sold out quickly, so he ordered more, encouraging his fellow railroad agents to sell them to travelers as well. Within six months he had netted $5000.

Encouraged by his success, Richard retired from the railroad and moved to Minneapolis where he founded the R.W. Sears Watch Company. By placing ads in farm publications and mailing flyers to potential clients,  Richard’s promotional ads persuaded folks in rural communities to purchase by mail-order.

In 1887, Sears moved his company again, this time to Chicago, an important transportation center. The same year, he hired his first employee, a watch repairman named Alvah Curtis Roebuck to repair watches that were returned.

Roebuck became co-founder of the Sears, Roebuck and Company in 1893. Richard Sears was thirty years old at the time.  The pair published the first Sears catalog that year which featured only watches. But by 1897, other items such as clothing, plows, silverware and bicycles had been added.

1897 Sears Roebuck catalog

The 500-page catalog was sent to some 300,000 homes. Sears catered to the rural customer because being raised on a farm, he knew what the rural customer needed. His experience working with the railroad taught him how to ship merchandise to remote areas.

When Richard W. Sears retired in 1908 at the age of 44, the Sears catalog was known as the “Consumers’ Bible, and the Sears’s company’s annual sales was in excess of $40 million.

And it all started by selling watches at the train station.


When I was a child, my mother worked at Sears. I used to look forward to the Sears Christmas catalog with great excitement. What about you? Did you have a Sears catalog?

A multi-published author, Marilyn Turk writes historical fiction about the coastal South. Her fascination for lighthouses spawned her popular weekly lighthouse blog @pathwayheart.com. When not climbing lighthouses, she and her husband can be found camping, fishing, boating or playing tennis.