The train wreck in Ottawa Ontario Canada today made me start wondering about the safety of train travel in general. I mean, we really don’t do that much of it around here, do we? We may jump on the Music City Star for a night downtown, but it’s rare that any of us travel by rail at all. Only around some big cities, like New York or Chicago, are commuter rails popular forms of travel. Mostly, America uses its vast railway system to move products around the country, not people. But I was reminded during my research of a particulary awful day in 1918 that happened right here in Nashville and, to this day, remains one of the deadliest train wrecks in history.
On July 9, 1918, the No. 1 train was running a little late on its way from Nashville to Memphis while, unfortunately, the No. 4 train coming in from Memphis to Nashville was right on time. The No. 1 had the right of way as it was the outbound train from the nearest major city. This meant it was the No. 4 train’s responsibility to stay out of its way. This was easy enough on the double track, but there was an infamous stretch of shared track, which included “Dutchman’s Curve” on which both trains had to travel. The No. 4 should have noticed that it hadn’t passed the No. 1 before it got to the the single track line and pulled off on one of several spur lines and let it pass. However, no one from the Conducter to the crew noticed it and they entered into the single line track and picked up a head of steam heading east. If the Caboose Engineer had been at his post, he would have heard the panicked steam whistle the track manager was blowing to warn them of danger as they blew past, but he was nowhere to be found. In the meantime, the crew of the westbound No. 1 was traveling close to full speed as well, both engines were estimated to be doing between 50 and 60 mph. At 7:15 am, they collided near White Bridge Road in Belle Meade and the collision was heard over 3 miles away. Somewhere between 101 and 121 people were killed and approximately 171 injured. The disparity of the dead is believed to be because a majority of the victims were intinerate farm workers who had no identification and had not registered their names before boarding. The cars pulled by the trains were wooden and splintered upon impact, strewing the dead and injured in fields next to the tracks. Thousands of people came to the scene to try to help the victims who were still alive.
The subsequent investigation found the majority of the blame belonged to the crew of the No. 4 train, but also found that the cars being made of wood contributed greatly to the number of dead and seriously wounded. Soon after, train car manufacturers began producing cars made entirely of steel.
Anytime there is a loss of life or injury on our roads or transporation means, we must be equally vigilent in helping the injured, the families of those killed, and in identifying the causes of the accident so steps can be taken to rectify any shortcomings that may allow the same type of accident in the future. Also, it’s good to know our local history and to remember the victims of the The Great Train Wreck of 1918 right here in Nashville Tennessee.
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