Cleburne,Texas, had been a railroad town since
the late 1800’s. The strangest story about the railroad was about the “Crash At Crush.” The year was 1896 and the
country was going through an era of depression. The Missouri Kansas & Texas Railroad, better known as the MK&T
or Katy Railroad, was suffering from a loss of rail traffic as were some of the other railroads.
About this time the railroad hired a William
G. (Willie) Crush as assistant to the vice president of the railroad. Willie Crush was somewhat of a promoter,
having been associated with one of the all time great promoters, P. T. Barnum. It was hoped that he would do a
good job of promoting the Katy and get some of their business back.
To gain the attention of the public, Willie
convinced the Katy officials that to stage a “Monster Wreck” of two trains would be good promotional business for
the line. After getting the okay to stage the ‘wreck’ Willie got busy with the preparations. A straight stretch
of track on the Katy’s main line 16 miles north of Waco, Texas was selected as the site for the event. The track
was level in this area and low hills rising on either side of the track formed a natural amphitheater.
Handbills promoting the crash were posted
on every available telephone pole along the Katy line from St Louis, Missouri through Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
Newspaper and magazine ads were also used to promote the event. Pretty soon this was the main topic of conversation
in all the towns along the route of the Katy. Willie interviewed anyone he could who had witnessed a train crash
and all the graduate mechanical engineers working in the Round Houses on the line. He asked them all the same question,
“Will the steam boilers
burst when the collision occurs?”
All but one assured him that they wouldn’t. Old man Hanrahan who had railroaded in both Ireland and America was
the only holdout. He was vocal in his conviction that they would, yet all the others delivered a positive “No.” If the boilers did burst they would send pieces of metal flying into the
crowd like bullets.
With all the engineers being so sure that
there was no danger of the boilers bursting Willie tried to forget about this danger. However he couldn't keep
old man Hanrahan’s words out of his mind. “They’ll burst and kill people all over the place,” he had said. Trying to put this thought in the back of his mind, Crush
went on about his preparations for the “greatest of all time” train wreck spectacles.
The Preparations Willie Crush went to the repair shops in Denison, Texas and asked C. T. McElvaney,
the head mechanic, to select two engines with tenders and six box cars for each. He selected two 35-ton Pittsburgh
4-4-0’s of the 1870 vintage with the diamond shaped stacks. Willie requested that the engines be painted red and
green, one red with green trim and one green with red trim. The box cars had ads promoting the Katy, plus two had
ads for the Oriental Hotel in Dallas and two had ads for Ringling Bros. Circus.
Charles Cain was to be the engineer on Number
1001 with S. M. Dickerson doing the firing and Engineer C. E. Stanton was to run Number 999 with Frank Barnes as
fireman. Old Number 999 was bright green with red trim and No. 1001 was bright red trimmed in green. After the
trains were ready, about a week before the big event, they were run up and down the line, stopping in each town
for public inspection. This was the climax to the previous advertising campaign and drew large crowds at every
stop. Three days prior to the crash the crews were at the site making test runs.
Scores of tents were set up near the site
of the crash including one huge circus tent to house a super restaurant. Another more durable building of wood
was erected to serve as a jail for all the “bad characters” that showed up. A 2,100 foot platform and station was
built to handle the many travelers expected. Eight tank cars filled with water and equipped with many faucets and
tin cups were handy to satisfy the thirst of the many spectators. Besides this, many gallons of lemonade...and
harder beverages...were consumed by the thirsty crowd. The Katy built a “City for a Day” and it was christened
“Crush,” Texas. The city for a day needed a police force and two hundred constables were employed. Pickpockets
were plentiful in those days and to be safe, many spectators carried their folding money in their shoes. Drunks
and trouble makers were expected and the wooden jail got used “right well.”
By ten o’clock the morning of the big event
a crowd of 10,000 had gathered to swelter under the hot Texas sun. By early afternoon the crowd had grown to 30,000.
The final count that witnessed the event was estimated at between 40 and 50,000. No tickets were sold, so an accurate
count wasn't possible.
The two hillsides were packed with human beings
standing shoulder to shoulder. As far as the eye could see every foot of space was occupied. Some stood in wagon
beds, others climbed trees. The curtain time was not far away.
Four o’clock came. William George Crush felt
it was his big moment. In a matter of seconds his big idea would fail or succeed. The engines were making the final
trial run. Excitement skyrocketed. The engineers waved to the crowd as they touched cow-catchers and then began
to back away for the last time. They took their places at starting points on opposite hills two miles apart. The
next scene would be the big feature.
The Main Event Both trains were now in position facing each other, two miles of straight
empty rail separating them. It took almost an hour for 200 deputy sheriffs to herd the frenzied mob back to the
safety zone. After this was done, Mr. Crush dramatically stepped up to the point of collision, raised his arms
and shouted instructions to his telegrapher to flash the starting signal. A mighty roar went up from the great
mass of humanity as the engineers opened the throttles and the belching locomotives started on their mad journey
to destruction.
The behemoths spewed black smoke. The steam
jets spewed live steam and the whistles shrilled. The throttles had been tied open. Both engineers and firemen
jumped as planned, did a barrel roll or two, gained their feet and bowed to the crowd. A succession of explosions
of torpedoes placed on the track spiced up the performance. There was a mighty roar from the crowd as almost simultaneously
there comes in sight, tearing toward each other at the unbelievable rate of ninety miles an hour, two huge red
and green locomotives. There is only a single track across the prairie. A crash is inevitable. Closer and closer
the locomotives, each followed by a string of box cars and flat cars, rush to the spot where the crowd is holding
its breath, waiting
for the crash of the steel monsters.
Suddenly there is an ear-splitting roar as
the two powerful behemoths rip and tear into each other. Box cars and flat cars climb atop their leaders and disintegrate;
the engines rear up like battling lions and then fall slowly back to earth, each telescoping the other. A split
second after the crash there is another deafening roar .......THE BOILERS OF THE LOCOMOTIVES HAVE BURST, thousands
of chunks of metal are flying in the air to rain down on the helpless spectators.
The one thing that George Crush had been told
could not happen did happen. The one thing that wasn't planned for almost ruined the whole show.
The Aftermath After the two trains collide and the boilers burst, those spectators nearest
the collision try to escape, but it is too late. They are all jammed together unable to get away from the spinning
bits of metal showering down. In the front row photographer J.C. Deane whirls around, his face bloody, one eye
gouged out, a bolt and washer buried in his head. Louis Bergstrom. another member of the photography team is knocked
unconscious by a plank. Ernest Darnall, son of Col. Darnall of Bremond, sitting in a tree is killed instantly.A
heavy hook on the end of a wrecking chain caught him between the eyes and split his skull. DeWitt Barnes of Hewitt
standing between his wife and another woman is struck and killed by a flying fragment. Neither of the women is
injured. Many others are burned by steam and flying hot metal. A Confederate soldier says it is like a Civil War
battle — people falling all around him.
A heavy smoke stack, blasted skyward, fell
within the danger area, two heavy trucks weighing a ton each were lifted off the ground by the concussion, turned
end over end for three hundred yards. All these gymnastics taking place in the danger zone where no one was permitted.
The huge crowd stood stunned for minutes,
and recovering from the shock and realizing the danger was over, thousands poured over the smoking ruins for souvenirs.
Some found the steel fragments too hot to handle. Fingers were burned. Willie Crush had guaranteed that no one
would be injured. The Board was indignant and braced themselves for the many damage suits they knew were coming.
Willie was fired before sun down.
The event accomplished its purpose. The news
of the “Crash at Crush” gained headlines around the world overnight. The Katy’s business picked up speedily. Willie
Crush was rehired within a few days. The word “Katy” was on the lips of every man, woman, and child in America.
Those who didn't get to see the big event have always wanted to see two locomotives crash head on. Thousands regretted
their failure to attend.
But for the danger of human life the Crash
at Crush would, no doubt, have been repeated many times. No railroad has ever had the nerve to repeat it....
Excerpted from “Crash at Crush” published
by Waco Heritage & History, Vol. 8, No. 3, Fall 1977 with permission. Copies available at Railroad & Heritage
Museum in Temple, Texas.
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UP Speed Bump? (Roseville Yard)
