By Captain B
The great train wreck of 1921 took place in the small town of Porter Indiana. The town was not even one hundred years old when this disaster occurred. The town was founded in 1822 by a man named Joseph Bailly. At this time, it was known as the Bailly Settlement. The Bailly Settlement had eight log cabins on it by the year 1833. Just one year later in 1834 the Bailly Settlement is platted and is known as the Bailly Homestead. Tragically, Joseph Bailly died in 1835. Joseph family continued to live on the land and expand it after he died. Joseph’s son in law and a man named Joel Wicker open a saw mill and start clearing the land in 1848. This attracts a lot of people who come to buy and settle on the land once it is cleared. Two years the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad reaches Porter County. This marks a turning point in the town because the town is now much more accessible. Large numbers of people start to move to Porter County and settle the land in the ten years including a large amount of Lutheran people. Then in 1861, the civil war breaks out. A lot of men and boys from the county go off to fight. Once the war is over, the town then continues to expand. In 1865, President Lincoln was murdered. Lincoln’s funeral train came through and stopped at Porter’s train station. Life continues to move on in Porter Indiana. In 1882 the population of Porter is roughly 250 people.[1] That is a serious amount of progress is some sixty year span.
In 1893, the Michigan Central Railroad built a new tower for the train station at the crossing of Porter. Train continues to be a big part of Porter as well as large brickyards. In 1903, a massive fire was caused by the sparks of a train going by and it burned down the Chicago Hydraulic Press Brick Co. The company sued the railroad. A man in 1902 named Gerry Long talks about that day and says “We fought the fire all day to keep the whole town from burning up…”[2] Although this was a big setback, that did not stop innovations in Porter. The Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad started construction in Porter in 1906. Then in 1908, Porter is finally officially the town of Porter. Also, the South shore and South Bend Railroad is complete. One year later, a train wreck in South Shore kills twelve people. Three of the men were from Porter, Indiana. In 1910, the population of Porter is 524.[3] The town, along with much of the country during this time, keeps expanding. More and more stores are popping up. A race track was in constructed in Porter. All kinds of businesses take advantage of the ever expanding population in Porter. Evidence of this expansion is in the numbers. The growing population is clear evidence of this expansion. In 1920, the population is 699[4]. In ten years the population jumps up nearly two hundred people. In 1921, the awful train wreck occurs. This wreck was about way more than just Porter. There were people from all over the east side of the country on those trains. This train wreck was just as much and maybe more so of a national event than it was a local event.
The train wreck of 1921 was actually two trains. The first train was New York Central passenger train No. 151. The second train was the Michigan Central train No. 20. The New York Central was traveling from Buffalo, New York to Chicago, Illinois. That train made this route every single day. I am not sure where all over the passengers were from in the New York Central. It is safe to assume that many of the people were east coast people making their way to the Midwest. The Michigan Central was heading from Chicago Illinois to Windsor, Canada. Once in Windsor, the Canadian Pacific would take over the train was it continued on into Canada. The train was mix of Canadian cars and Canadian Pacific equipment. There were also a number of different sleeper cars, a dinner, and a day coach. In the day coach was roughly 70 people. These people were from all over the Midwest. They were from Indiana and Michigan mostly.
The investigations indicate that the Michigan Central train ran through the blocking signal which caused the train to derail. The train kept going at high speeds for some three hundred feet or so. At three hundred feet the train was re-railed and was back onto the tracks where it coasted to a stop. This left the day couch consisting of the 70 or so passengers right on the cross between the two railroads. It was moments later that the New York Central absolutely demolished the coach. It crashed into that coach going full speed. The impact caused the coach to seemingly disappear. There was nothing left but fragments of wood and the loss of human life. The New York train was moving so fast that after it hit the Michigan train, it was derailed and the train hit the ground so hard that it created a ten foot deep hole in the ground. It was said that the bodies were so badly mangled that identification was nearly impossible because almost nothing was left. Clearly, this was a tragedy.
Initially, it appeared that the Michigan train was at fault for the accident. They were the ones who ran through the signals causing the train to derail. The Michigan train instantly jumped into its own defense. It claimed it was not their fault and they did not know whose fault it was. The Engineman of the Michigan train said
“My fireman, Block, first sighted the signal that meant a clear track and called my attention to it. We were running a full speed and did not slow down when we were certain the signal was right. Proof that we were not to blame for the wreck is seen from the fact that the engine and one coach passed the derail. I will not state what I believe caused the wreck. The derail was locked and I could not be to blame.”[5]
Joseph Cook was working as the leverman that day for the area. Cook claims that it was in fact the Michigan trains fault. The protocol for when trains approach at a similar time is as follows. Whichever train hits the single first is who gets to go through first. The second train is then signaled to slow down and stop. This allows safe passage for the first train. The locks are then set so that the second train will not able to pass. Normally this would not cause a train to derail because the train would have seen the signal to slow down sometime before and would be a near stop when it comes in to contact with the locks. Joseph said that is exactly what happened that day. He said everything was by the book. The New York train hit the single first. Therefore, they were permitted to go first. He then singled for the Michigan train to stop. Cook assumed everything was going smoothly. He then lifted the block, which allowed the New York train to pursue through the crossing. Moments later the Michigan train came into sight heading sixty miles an hour. Cook said in disbelief and confusion
“I cannot understand how the engineman of the Michigan Central train could have proceeded against the two blocks which were set against him. I can't help but feel that the engineman must have been asleep, for there are two blocks which are visible for almost a mile and half before he reached the crossing. I heard later that his fireman had admitted that the engineman disregarded the block.”[6]
The initial indication that it was the Michigan trains fault appears to be supported by evidence. The investigation would show that the Michigan train did indeed run through two singles saying to stop and ignored them.
In the weeks that followed, there was full investigation. To no ones surprise, Engineman Long and his Fireman from the Michigan train were found at fault. There was testimony from the workers of the Michigan train, as well as the people who worked the signals. Long’s own men testified against him. They told the courts that
“two brakemen of his train, standing on the track, giving stop signals with their lanterns to No. 20. These two brakemen testified that they were west of the home signal; that they gave "ease off" signals with their white lights, but receiving no acknowledgement they began to give violent stop signals. One of these men was on the fireman's side and one on the engineman's side of the track; no response was received to the signals.”[7]
It is clear that Long and his fireman ignored every signal telling them to stop and pursued through the tracks regardless of what they were supposed to do.
This collision sent a message to people both in and out of the train industry. Clearly, something needed to be done to strengthen the safety of these trains and something needs to be done to insure that signals are being seen. Overall, a change was needed. At the time of the wreck the max speed a train was supposed to go was forty miles per hour. The Michigan train is noted as going anywhere from thirty-five to fifty miles an hour. So, part of why the train derailed so hard is because of its speed. After the wreck, the Bureau of Safety called for the maximum speed of trains to be reduced. This would slow things down obviously, but trains would be able to stop much more quickly incase of emergencies. Also, overall control of the train would be much higher. Another change that the Bureau of Safety called for was the creation of automatic train control device. They wanted this as well as the equipment that was already in place. This was not the first time that this was suggested. This wreck was just another example of how this would have helped and saved lives. The addition of this equipment would help eliminate mistakes based on human error, which was the real issue with this event. Finally, something else that was noted was that the train coach was made of wood and not steel. It is hard to say how many would have lived if the coach was made of steel, it definitely would have helped. The wooden coach was completely destroyed. It served as virtually no protection. Adding all steel coaches could help save lives by adding a lot more protection.
There is little description of the passengers of either train. The passengers were most likely middle or upper class to be riding on the trains especially coming from cities such as Chicago and New York. Those who died were in the coach car. This is further evidence that the people were most likely upper or middle class because the coach cars were usually pretty ornate. They were designed for comfort and for style. The wreck was in papers all over the country. Part of this is because of the passengers and the fact they were pretty well to do people. Also, the country needed an eye opener and the Bureau of Safety wanted to make an example of this event. Train wrecks were not necessarily common, but they were not a novelty either. This was not the first wreck and it wouldn’t be the last. The Bureau of Safety needed leverage to make changes and these changes were definitely necessary.
I was unable to find much about how it impacted the cities with which the wreck place in. No one from Porter was killed or even injured. Also, there had been wrecks in this part of Indiana before so they were not completely shocked that this happened. Nevertheless, the town firefighters and doctors did their best to help. After the wreck, the town of Porter went back to normal. A lot of the injured were rushed to other cities and towns outside of Porter. So the town did not have much impact on the event and the event did not impact them all that much. Porter was put in the limelight for awhile, but that is all. The people that were most affected was Michigan City, Indiana, which is where a lot of the dead were from. It was a blow to the community to lose that many on a train, which a lot of people thought was one of the best means of transportation at the time. It was an eye opener for a lot of people about the risks of trains, but people still road them because of their efficiency.
Bibliography
Canright, Betty, and Eva Hopkins, “The Town of Porter, Indiana.” The Town of Porter, Indiana.
Westchester Twp History Museum,n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2014
“Story: Disaster at Porter, Indiana – 1921.” Story: Disaster at Porter, Indiana – 1921. Michigan’s Internet Railroad History Museum, n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2014.
[1] Canright, Betty, and Eva Hopkins. “The Town of Porter, Indiana.” The Town of Porter, Indiana.
[2] Canright, Betty, and Eva Hopkins. “The Town of Porter, Indiana.” The Town of Porter, Indiana.
[3] Canright, Betty, and Eva Hopkins. “The Town of Porter, Indiana.” The Town of Porter, Indiana.
[4] Canright, Betty, and Eva Hopkins. “The Town of Porter, Indiana.” The Town of Porter, Indiana.
[5] “Story: Disaster at Porter, Indiana – 1921.” Story: Disaster at Porter, Indiana – 1921.
[6] “Story: Disaster at Porter, Indiana – 1921.” Story: Disaster at Porter, Indiana – 1921.
[7] “Story: Disaster at Porter, Indiana – 1921.” Story: Disaster at Porter, Indiana – 1921.
