Soapweed
Well-known member
http://sheridancountyhistoricalsociety.com/11-the-wreck-of-freight-no-116
More about the June 26, 1908 train wreck of Freight No. 116 east of Clinton, Nebraska
This was also written by Jerry Penry, but I was unable to find a webpage containing this part of the story. This is from NORTH WESTERN LINES, The Official Publication of the Chicago & North Western Historical Society, 2014, Number 2.
There was speculation by some grieving citizens that Freight No. 116 must have possessed evil powers. The previous day, No. 116 ran over and killed a Greek railroad laborer near Wood Lake, approximately 120 miles farther east. In that incident, the laborer had plenty of time to safely cross the tracks, but he stumbled on the rails and was unable to pick himself up before the train ran over him. Slightly more than two years earlier, No.116 plunged into a washout near Merriman on April 16, 1906, killing the fireman, Elwood Day.
After the funerals, the railroad began assessing the cause of the wreck. The conclusion was that the small culvert placed in the drainage way east of Clinton was insufficient. In all likelihood, there were no drainage studies to determine how much area that particular region drained. No one had ever seen more than a foot of water in the swale where the wreck occurred. However, given the right conditions with heavy rainfall, the situation became devastating as the grade blocked the flow and only a small culvert was there to handle the water. For the casual observer, the three-span pile bridge there today seems out of place in a dry area.
The accident was remembered 27 years later in 1935 when a Chadron physician revealed that he had hastened the deaths of two of the tramps. At that time, Dr. Milton B. McDowell was a surgeon employed by the C&NW. He was among the passengers on No. 6 that was following No. 116. Dr. McDowell said that two of the tramps who were trapped in the wreckage were fearful of drowning as the icy waters swirled and rose around them. The doctor waded out in chest-deep water to the two men. He said the men begged him to give them something to cause their immediate deaths so that they would not experience death by drowning. Dr. McDowell asked the men whether they would rather try to wait two more hours for the wrecking crane to arrive, but each man wanted to hasten his own death. The doctor gave each man half of the contents of a hypodermic syringe filled with poison while holding their heads above the water.
As tragic as the wreck of No. 116 was that fateful night, it might have been much worse if passenger No. 6 had been on schedule and had departed Chadron ahead of No. 116 as planned. Sadly the deaths of the tramps that night were not generally viewed by society in the same way as the trainmen who were killed. The high death toll caused by this accident was quickly forgotten and was probably never known by the general public.
More about the June 26, 1908 train wreck of Freight No. 116 east of Clinton, Nebraska
This was also written by Jerry Penry, but I was unable to find a webpage containing this part of the story. This is from NORTH WESTERN LINES, The Official Publication of the Chicago & North Western Historical Society, 2014, Number 2.
There was speculation by some grieving citizens that Freight No. 116 must have possessed evil powers. The previous day, No. 116 ran over and killed a Greek railroad laborer near Wood Lake, approximately 120 miles farther east. In that incident, the laborer had plenty of time to safely cross the tracks, but he stumbled on the rails and was unable to pick himself up before the train ran over him. Slightly more than two years earlier, No.116 plunged into a washout near Merriman on April 16, 1906, killing the fireman, Elwood Day.
After the funerals, the railroad began assessing the cause of the wreck. The conclusion was that the small culvert placed in the drainage way east of Clinton was insufficient. In all likelihood, there were no drainage studies to determine how much area that particular region drained. No one had ever seen more than a foot of water in the swale where the wreck occurred. However, given the right conditions with heavy rainfall, the situation became devastating as the grade blocked the flow and only a small culvert was there to handle the water. For the casual observer, the three-span pile bridge there today seems out of place in a dry area.
The accident was remembered 27 years later in 1935 when a Chadron physician revealed that he had hastened the deaths of two of the tramps. At that time, Dr. Milton B. McDowell was a surgeon employed by the C&NW. He was among the passengers on No. 6 that was following No. 116. Dr. McDowell said that two of the tramps who were trapped in the wreckage were fearful of drowning as the icy waters swirled and rose around them. The doctor waded out in chest-deep water to the two men. He said the men begged him to give them something to cause their immediate deaths so that they would not experience death by drowning. Dr. McDowell asked the men whether they would rather try to wait two more hours for the wrecking crane to arrive, but each man wanted to hasten his own death. The doctor gave each man half of the contents of a hypodermic syringe filled with poison while holding their heads above the water.
As tragic as the wreck of No. 116 was that fateful night, it might have been much worse if passenger No. 6 had been on schedule and had departed Chadron ahead of No. 116 as planned. Sadly the deaths of the tramps that night were not generally viewed by society in the same way as the trainmen who were killed. The high death toll caused by this accident was quickly forgotten and was probably never known by the general public.