{"id":7901,"date":"2022-10-18T19:39:56","date_gmt":"2022-10-19T00:39:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.decidedlygrim.net\/?p=7901"},"modified":"2023-04-23T11:28:26","modified_gmt":"2023-04-23T16:28:26","slug":"mfdj-10-18-2022-the-great-train-wreck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.decidedlygrim.net\/?p=7901","title":{"rendered":"MFDJ 10\/18\/2022: The Great Train Wreck"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today’s Frightful Yet Truly Morbid Fact!<\/h3>\n

On July 9, 1918, near Nashville, Tennessee, in an area known as Dutchman\u2019s curve, two trains collided head-on creating such a frightful noise that many claimed it could be \u201cheard for miles.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was 7:00 on a warm summer morning and both trains on the Nashville, Chattanooga & St Louis line were running late.<\/p>\n

The westbound or outbound passenger train to Memphis had just pulled out of Nashville\u2019s Union Station packed with passengers. The eastbound train was heading inbound to the Nashville station from Memphis. Both veteran engineers had orders. The inbound train had the right of way on the curve\u2019s one-way track. The outbound train would have to wait at the double-tracks just outside of the station for the other train to pass. But something went horribly wrong. A green light was given to the outbound train to proceed, meaning someone had seen or heard the incoming train pass. But when the tower operator checked his papers, there was no record of the Nashville-bound train coming through.<\/p>\n

In reality, the inbound train was running nearly 35 minutes behind schedule.<\/p>\n

The operator frantically telegraphed the dispatcher who immediately sent an urgent message back. \u201cStop him\u201d was his order. But how? \u00a0At the time, there was no direct communication with the engineers in either train. Only a warning whistle was used for emergencies. The whistle blared, but the outbound train was too far along for anyone to hear it. By this time, the inbound train was chugging to the curve.<\/p>\n

Both trains were moving at top speeds of 60 mph. Then a moment of sheer terror. The engineer of the outbound train caught a glimpse of the other train coming around the bend, directly in his path. He pulled the emergency brake, but there wasn\u2019t enough time. Then that sound that could be heard for miles. \u201cThe ground quaked and the waters of nearby Richland Creek trembled,\u201d one writer later described. \u201cThe wooden cars crumbled and hurled sideways, hanging over the embankment. \u00a0One train telescoped the other.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nAftermath<\/em><\/p>\n

In all, 101 people were killed, mostly traveling soldiers and African-American laborers from Tennessee and Arkansas. Many were leaving or returning to work at a munitions plant in the Nashville area.<\/p>\n

The investigation that followed the train wreck\u00a0cited human error, specifically blaming the man who could not defend himself, the engineer of the outbound train, David Kennedy. \u00a0Only speculation supports the theory that Kennedy mistook a switch engine hauling empty cars for the inbound train. Kennedy was killed instantly in the wreck. A folded \u201cschedule\u201d was reportedly found underneath his body.<\/p>\n

The other engineer William Floyd was also killed. He was one day from retirement.<\/p>\n

The Nashville wreck to this day is still the deadliest train accident in the history of the U.S.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nWreckage<\/em><\/p>\n

Culled from:\u00a0Unremembered<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Post-Mortem Photo Du Jour!<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nFather With Daughter
\nAnonymous
\n3 3\/4″ x 4 1\/4″ Daguerreotype
\nCirca 1842<\/p>\n

Culled from:\u00a0\u00a0Sleeping Beauty: Memorial Photography in America<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today’s Frightful Yet Truly Morbid Fact! On July 9, 1918, near Nashville, Tennessee, in an area known as Dutchman\u2019s curve, two trains collided head-on creating such a frightful noise that many claimed it could be \u201cheard for miles.\u201d It was 7:00 on a warm summer morning and both trains on the Nashville, Chattanooga & St […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-facts","category-ghastly"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decidedlygrim.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decidedlygrim.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decidedlygrim.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decidedlygrim.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decidedlygrim.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7901"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.decidedlygrim.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7901\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8386,"href":"https:\/\/www.decidedlygrim.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7901\/revisions\/8386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decidedlygrim.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decidedlygrim.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decidedlygrim.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}