Nostalgia & History > News artical about Crush Texas and what happed over 100 yrs ago

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/staging-a-texas-size-train-disaster-for-fun-and-profit/ar-BBp3mUr
Just for the fun of it as the head line reads.

​Fun reading of our past Railroad history.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/07/16 10:05 by czuleget.

I thought the line about the head on (planned) with multiple boiler explosions (supposedly impossible) resulting in casualties (unplanned) was a successful event account it brought the MKT the publicity it was seeking was a sad reflection on the value of life in those times.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/07/16 20:46 by fbe.

Have you guys looked at the book The Man Who Wrecked 146 Locomotives, The Story of "Head-On Joe" Connolly? A fun read. The staged wreck business was intensive up to WWI; survived until the early Depression.

Also, on YouTube there's a video of one of the three (if memory serves correct) recreational wrecks held at the CA State Fair in the Teens. As a promtional stunt for the 1917 fair, Helen Holmes, of "Hazards of Helen" serial fame, actually set one loco in motion and jumped. Since she also did her own movie stunts, she spent a lot of time in the hospital. (aside: Episode #3 of Hazards, "The Leap from the Water Tower", is on YouTube and features AT&SF 2-10-10-2's).

Staged wrecks were mandatory during the heyday of the "Railroad Film" on either side of 1915. It was all about "realism" for folks in those days, and what was a more real than seeing a wreck in person, or having it in your face on the silver screen? Wrecks "really" were a slice of life in the early century, when the RR accident rate rose precipitously for awhile. I'm currently writing a lengthy piece about what was promoted as the greatest railroad movie ever made (a bit of an overstatement), and you bet  it featured a head-on! Also, roving bands of drunken railroad employees - a great combination!

EO