By Bo Logan
January 27, 1890. This date has a lot of sorrow, and a lot of pain. This day goes down as a tragic day, not only for the people affected in the incident, but also as a sad day in Indiana state history. On this day, the No. 1 passenger train, headed from Chicago towards Indianapolis, on the Monon, suddenly derailed and hurdled down to the fiery wreckage that was its final resting place. On the train were women and children, all included in the eighty-five passenger total. Of the eighty-five persons, thirty-two were killed or injured in the disaster.[1] Although train accidents were a more common thing during this time period than they are now, even this incident was reported as different. The Indianapolis News reported that “This horror is worse than the Broad Ripple bridge disaster six years ago.”[2] This goes to show the importance of the disaster and destruction this train wreck caused. It was lucky that only six deaths came from this accident, considering many more passengers were involved, it still held strong to the local community as a disaster, and required change and justice for those who suffered through the incident.
Even though the train wreck was a local affair, it sure did gather National Attention. Newspapers like Chicago Daily Tribune, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and New York Times, with titles like “Six Were Burned Alive”, “Hurled Down to Death”, “Railway Disaster” and “Victims of the Car Stove”, respectively, reported on this tragedy. This alone shows the great amount national attention this brought. It is also important to note how much pages space this had. These were not small spreads. In most cases, each article ran for several paragraph, including what happened, the victims, and some sort of cause for the accident.[3] The national coverage of the train disaster showed the degree of importance of the accident.
Another important thing to note is claiming of responsibility, or lack thereof. Nobody, at first, knew what had happened or who was responsible for the accident. The “Chicago Daily Tribune” reported that the train was “approaching the Village of Carmel when the jarring of the cars made the passengers aware that a part of the train was off the track. A rail had spread under the locomotive, or an axle had broken, the trainmen are not sure which...”[4]This meant that they knew there was a disaster, but they just didn’t know what caused it. There were, however, several eyewitnesses who were willing say a thing or two about the condition of the track.
According to the eyewitnesses, the wood for the ties were rotten, and a spreading of the rails were the causes of the crash, but the railroad company was refusing to take the blame. The mystery of the reason for the accident caused some real discomfort of for the citizens on the local community of Carmel. This could have been due to one reason in particular. “The Coroner has been handsomely treated by the railroad people…some of the citizen of Carmel were disposed to think that he would be influenced in favor of the railroad company.” [5] This sentence says two things. The first being that clearly the railroad company didn’t want blame for the incident. They were getting in close with the Coroner, or lead investigator of the accident, and they were thinking that maybe if they were good to him, he would be good in return. Second, it shows that there were some concerns that the railway people were actually getting through to the Coroner. This could show the corruptness and power the wealthy had during this time period. Because it was on peoples mind that the railroad people could potentially be bribing the investigator, is a good indicator that this kind of thing happened, and happened often. The concerns for corruption were soon put to rest when the Coroner released a statement saying, “In the end it will be seen that I am not working for the railroad company.”[6] The people of Carmel had no idea how right he would be.
As mentioned earlier, there were eyewitnesses who saw a spreading of the tracks, and rotting wood, which lead to the accident. There was several testimony to prove just that. “This gentleman had summoned a large number of witnesses who were either witness of the wreck or had immediately after the wreck occurred.” [7] “M. Quick went before the Coroner to tell him that the track in his opinion was in bad condition.”[8] This gathering of witnesses proved to be effective. Testimony, like that of M. Quick, helped make the case against the railroad. “The testimony of numerous witnesses shows that the Company had been criminally careless in permitting the road at the point where the accident occurred to become unsafe.”[9] So the blame was now placed on the railroad company. The Coroner was “fully satisfied” with the findings of the spreading rails and decaying wood.[10] It was almost a small victory for community, as it seemed they were at odds against the railway company. The railway company was fined and had to fix the track.[11]I could not find if weather or not the families were compensated for the deaths of the victims.
So, we know that the accident was caused by spreading tracks, and rotten wood, but how severe was the problem? Why was Railroad Company so adamant about the accident not being their fault? The severity of the negligence may explain. There was evidence brought forth that the railroad knew weeks prior to the accident that the curve and bridge was bad. The Indianapolis News reported that D.W. Roberts overheard the section foreman talking and saying “we have a curve just as bad as the Nora curve right here and there is going to be a wreck sometime that will take out the bridge.”[12] The railroad company denied these claims, but they were making repairs on the track the Saturday before the accident, so it is clear that the company knew, but they were just too slow with the repairs. L.H. Stanley, a local to the area also testified against the railroad company. He admitted to walking the area of the accident before the wreck and noticing rotten and rotting timbers of the bridge.[13] This clear lack of maintenance to their track would certainly cause some negative light to be directed right on them, so that could be reason enough to deny blame of the tragic accident.
Whatever the cause, we know that they tried to persuade investigators towards the opposite. Also reported in the News was testimony from the foreman saying the bridge was in excellent condition.[14] The shifting of blame show the severity of the problem. I believe it shows the embarrassment of the Railroad Company, and irresponsibility of not taking responsibility for the actions or lack thereof by the company.
The victims of the incident were men, women, as well as children. The first car to go was the ladies coach, and when it derailed it crashed into the ground first. This trapped most of the occupants inside the car and they were burned to death. Titles of articles such as “Victims of the Car Stove” share the gruesome details of the accident in five short words.[15] In the New York Time article, it explains how the ladies coach entrapped its victims, and although the survivors in the other cars tried to help save the people in the car, they could not save them all. Included in that was D.S. Oldham and her twin boys, of Sheridan, Indiana.[16] Other bodies were found. Mostly they were women, and some were unidentified.[17] The fact that the tragedy happened to primarily women and children could explain the outcry for justice by the surrounding community of Carmel to bring those responsible to justice.
One interesting occurrence that was found during research was an incident that happened more than two years after the accident, at the same location. A local man was out near the scene of the accident one night, when he reportedly heard a train. Startled, he panicked when he proceeded to watch the train disappear, but he heard the sounds of a train wreck and afterwards claimed to see two ghostly figures rise out of the ground. ”I never believe in ghost. But there were two right before my eyes.”[18] That quote was directly from the witness of the incident. It shows the that even long after the accident, even if the ghost visions really didn’t happen, the impact of accident had a lasting effect on the community. Also, within the same article, it is revealed that even after the accident and repairs to the track, there continued to be accidents on that spot. “Since the horrible wreck of January no less than three accidents have occurred on this spot.”[19] This also shows that not much permanent change came from the original accident. It also proves that train accidents were a much more common thing back then, than today currently.
In conclusion, the train accident of January 27, 1890 was a sad and very tragic day in Indiana History. The wreck was tragic in more than one way. First was the loss of life. The sadness brought on from the women and children primarily victimized brought a rise from the community. The lack of responsibility claimed by those responsible was another tragic part of the story. The unsettling concern brought over the community just added to the nightmare of the incident. Although not much change came from the incident, justice was at least given to the local community as well as the victims and families of the victims. The Railroad was held responsible, and had to repair the broken track. The accident shows that a local train accident can cause a lot of national attention, and it can affect the lives of many, not just those directly involved.
[1] "Six Were Burned Alive: terrible wreck of a passenger train on the Monon." Chicago Daily Tribune, January 28, 1890.
[2] "In Death's Flames." The Indianapolis News, January 27, 1890.
[3] Chicago Daily Tribune, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Washington Post
[4] "Six Were Burned Alive: terrible wreck of a passenger train on the Monon." Chicago Daily Tribune, January 28, 1890.
[5] "What Made the Wreck?" The Indianapolis News, January 30, 1890.
[6] "What Made the Wreck?" The Indianapolis News, January 30, 1890.
[7] "What Made the Wreck?" The Indianapolis News, January 30, 1890.
[8] "What Made the Wreck?" The Indianapolis News, January 30, 1890.
[9] "The Railroad to Blame." The Indianapolis News, January 31, 1890.
[10] "The Railroad to Blame." The Indianapolis News, January 31, 1890.
[11] "The Railroad to Blame." The Indianapolis News, January 31, 1890.
[12] "The Railroad to Blame." The Indianapolis News, January 31, 1890.
[13] "The Railroad to Blame." The Indianapolis News, January 31, 1890.
[14] "The Railroad to Blame." The Indianapolis News, January 31, 1890.
[15] "Victims of the Car Stove: Six persons killed in a railroad wreck." New York Times, January 28, 1890.
[16] "Victims of the Car Stove: Six persons killed in a railroad wreck." New York Times, January 28, 1890.
[17] "Victims of the Car Stove: Six persons killed in a railroad wreck." New York Times, January 28, 1890.
[18] "Two Midnight Ghost." The Indiana State Sentinel, March 30, 1892.
[19] "Two Midnight Ghost." The Indiana State Sentinel, March 30, 1892.
