The Postal Train Wreck

The Postal Train Wreck

As a commuter to Boston, every day for the past twenty-six years, I have often thought back over the many aspects of the railroad that connects Canton with Boston and Providence. The Viaduct and Junction have always held a certain fascination for me. I occasionally see a train buff down at the siding photographing the Acella as it speeds through at 100 plus miles per hour. And, with the great speed and congestion along the routes it is always comforting to know that advanced switches and sensors ensure our safety on each trip into Boston.

This was not the case on the morning of Monday, August 8, 1898 when residents awoke to the sounds of a deadly and devastating crash at Canton Junction. Hundreds of residents rushed to the scene of the fatal crash that involved Train 70; the Boston Bound Mail Train. The train carrying fourteen mail clerks and comprised four cars left New York City at 11:30 PM Sunday night. As the train approached Canton Junction in an instant the cars slammed off the track. The train plowed towards Canton Junction and the speed caused them to quite literally dig into the stone track bed. Three men were killed and fourteen mail clerks were injured.  The clerks described being “tossed around like dice” in the railroad cars. It took some time to rescue the clerks, and the dead men were extracted late the same day. 

The Canton Journal reported from the scene and the New York Times picked up on the story the next day.

The morning was clear and when crossing the Viaduct engineer Sheldon could easily discern the signals, which indicated a clear track. Apparently there was no warning to the doomed men. As a rule with a clear track express trains slide over the bridge at fifteen to twenty miles an hour and on reaching the straight track the throttle is opened and by the time the depot was reached the speed is practically doubled. This appears to have been the case this morning.. It seems doubtful if steam was shut off before the switch was reached. Those in the cars felt no application of brakes and the few lookers-on were too horrified by the sudden catastrophe to be able to recollect just what was the condition at the moment the engine left the rails.

The rails turned the locomotive from the straight track and the momentum being too great to allow the heavy machine to be so abruptly turned from its course, it plunged diagonally across the switch and dived like an immense plow into the space between the tracks. The road bed was excavated to the depth of a yard for some fifty feet, the planking in front of the baggage-room carried away, and leaving the forward truck in front of the depot, the machine fell on its side and with well nigh everything stripped from boiler and frame, lay blowing off steam just north of the depot on the outbound track. The first car of the train followed the engine till its fall, when it also turned on its side, falling over on the turn-out west of the outbound track and slid by the tender cutting off the top of the cab and catching one of the unfortunate men on the engine under its forward end, crushed him into the ground beneath it. The other two men were found beneath the ruined cab. In this car were five mail clerks, who were thrown around, to use the expression of one of them, "like dice in a box." All were more or less injured and their wounds being temporarily dressed, were taken to Boston on a train at 6:30 to the hospital, where they were attended to and with the exception of Buckland sent home. The latter remained at the hospital, but is not thought to be dangerously hurt. The trucks of all the cars, the gas tanks, brake cylinders and all the rigging underneath the cars stuck in the trench dug by the locomotive in front of the baggage door and only the forward locomotive truck passed that spot. The second car laid right side up diagonally across the three tracks, while the third formed almost a right angle with it, the front end lifted high on the wrecked trucks lacking only a few inches of driving into the shelter roof of the station. The fourth car alone remained on its trucks, but the forward one was broken to such an extent as to require heavy chains to hold it together and was terribly strained. The track and interlocking signals were torn up and scattered in every direction.

By all accounts this was a horrific crash. The three dead were dug out several hours after the crash and after being viewed by the medical examiner, were taken by a local undertaker. The train crash was duly investigated and a faulty switch was discovered at the point where the Stoughton Branch joins the main-line.  Railroad historian Ed Galvin devoted a full chapter in his seminal A History of Canton Junction which he published in 1987. Galvin's book features additional photographs and a complete  discussion of this fatal accident.

The Canton Journal also remarked upon the huge number of people who came to view the "ruins" and observed several "cameras" in evidence.  This photo was probably taken Fred Endicott or W. Ames - both of whom were there that day and were members of the Kanton Kamera Klub (KKK). The KKK was a group of local men who took great delight in discussing and taking photographs of Canton landmarks and everyday life. The train wreck is another example of history passing through and we have witnesses who still speak to us one hundred and eleven years later.

The Comet at Canton Junction

The Comet at Canton Junction

The railroad has always been a major connecting point for the Town of Canton. It all began in 1834 when Joseph Warren Revere, the son of Paul Revere was a director on the fledgling Boston & Providence Railroad. Several routes were laid out for the connection between Boston and Providence, Rhode Island, but the one that won out was a line that would run directly through the property owned by Paul Revere & Sons Copper Rolling Mill.

Building the railroad meant building over a 70 foot span of the Neponset River. To do this would require building a bridge, and so the Canton Viaduct was created. The engineering firm of Dodd & Baldwin was enlisted to design a granite structure that would stand the weight of engines and the test of time. Indeed, this had been done at a time with no heavy equipment and with the labor of Irish immigrants.  What stands today, still in use, is the Canton Viaduct. The structure is on the National Register of Historic Places and is an engineering landmark.  

The film clip features a rare view of The Comet as it arrives at Canton Junction.  The Comet was built in 1935 for the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad by the Goodyear Zeppelin Company. It was initially placed into service between Boston, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island on a 44-minute schedule; later, intermediate stops were added at Back Bay, Boston and Pawtucket/Central Falls, RI on an advertised "44 miles in 44 minutes" schedule. It ran 5 daily round trips on weekdays, and was often used for weekend excursion trips. This service lasted until the beginning of World War II.  The train was scrapped in 1951. 

While this is a black & white film, the Comet was brightly whorled with a blue and gray enamel paint job. The front end had a futuristic bullet shape and this was a formidable looking train.

Also, as a bonus are a few shots of the Canton Viaduct which made the rail lines through Canton possible.  Rail fans will undoubtedly have much to say on this subject, so please feel free to post your comments on the history of this rail line. In 2010 the Viaduct will celebrate 175 years of service, I am sure we will find many people that will be willing to support the demisemiseptcentennial. 

Blue Hill Street Railway

Blue Hill Street Railway

This is a very early and previously unpublished snapshot of a trolley car in Canton. A really superb glimpse at local travel at the turn of the Century. It all started in 1899 with the construction of a new power plant near the Bolivar Street Bridge. The Blue Hill Street Railway Company (BHSRC) which provided so many people with access to jobs and diversions would last less than 20 years and ultimately would fail as a result of the harsh New England winters and the advance of the automobile.

Vestiges of the Railway are all around us. The small pizza place at Canton Junction was once the waiting room and if memory serves me it was moved to the present location and was small gas station for many years. I remember the building as an antique shop and over the years it has been saved for many uses.

The original power plant is still standing and if you drive down the road just before Bolivar Tire you will see the power plant. This is the very same building that would later become the "chicken factory". More than 4000 chickens a day were handled at this location and sold locally before large conglomerates moved in to destroy this local industry. The firm of Furman-Meyers was well known for fresh slaughtered chickens and employed many Canton residents. Many local folks still remember the chicken factory and even to this day the power plant is a well known landmark.

Right down at the Viaduct is the Kessler Machine Shop, and if you look behind the front of the building you will see the original power plant that also supplied power to the BHSRC. This small brick building in the shadow of the Viaduct will deserve additional discussion in a later posting.

The designer of the BHSRC was Webster - of Stone & Webster, one of the nation's first electrical consulting companies. The ten year old company was one of the finest electrical design consultants, but overhead power for trolley service had distinct limitations in New Engalnd, and snowstorms would bring winds that would frequently damage the service that so many would rely upon. The Winter storm of 1920 was particularly unkind and dealt the death knell for the trolley system. Three cars were disabled by the storm and a shortage of coal and a cracked generator crippled the system. By April, 1920 the stock in the BHSRC was liquidated and the company ceased to exist.

Canton Center Railroad Depot

Canton Center Railroad Depot

For the past twenty-five years or so, I have been commuting into Boston on the MBTA. With so many days that start and end with a commute, it is hard not to be fascinated by trains. For many years my stop in-bound and out has been Canton Center. I like the rural charm of the stop and it is very close to our house which makes it very convenient. And, while it looks like a simple parking lot and a single platform, the photo above attests to it's one-time importance.

The connection to the railroad in Canton has been especially strong and ever since 1834 we have had a close relationship to trains. In fact, but for Joseph Warren Revere (Paul Revere's Son) we might never have had the rail line through Canton, and this is especially true for the Stoughton Branch. Revere was on the Board of Directors of the fledgling Boston & Providence Railroad, and it is likely his pledge of Stock and money to support the enterprise led to the decision for the line to run through his father's factory - The Revere & Sons Copper Rolling Mill. The Stoughton Branch line runs right past the first railroad spur in America, built specifically for the Revere Company.

The image above is a postcard, one that recently sold on eBay. Take a look at the small shelter on the right hand side, and also note that in fact this is a time when the rail-line was "double tracked" to Stoughton. If you look closely at the details in the photo you will see the flag man who has stopped traffic (traffic???), the man on the strange bicycle contraptions mounted to the tracks, and the lady under the shelter dressed in her finest early 20th century duds. The depot h as a spur for freight that runs just behind the building and you can see the freight cars awaiting their shipments. To the left is the large depot station, and the photo hints at the bucolic nature of the period - way in the background in the far left is a small bard with a cart loaded for the day.

At some point the buildings were removed. The small waiting room structure (which had a beautiful architectural roofline,) and the larger depot building were no longer needed and fell victim to neglect. Eventually the second rail line through the center was also removed. There are few vestiges (if any) from the scene left today. The retaining wall for the small historic house is still there, but all else seems like a dream from another time and place. Next time you drive through the center and cross the tracks, take a moment to reflect at what stood at this crossing in another age.

New Haven Locomotive

New Haven Locomotive

Shown here is a snapshot that I purchased some time ago from eBay. Many times I would find myself simply buying up images that had even a tangential connection to Canton. Here is a great example. Of course, the New Haven Railroad has more than just a casual relationship to the history of the town. The railroad practically "built" the town. From approximately 1834 to the present day - close to 175 years, we have had a close connection to the steel rails.

Noted for our Canton Viaduct - which I am sure to cover in some future installment - the rail line that passes through the Canton Junction is among the oldest in America. And, surprisingly little has changed. originally the Boston & Providence Railroad which was a project begun with the incorporation in June, 1831. From that day forward, the Town of Canton would be forever shaped by the Iron Horse.

In 1888 the Boston & Providence Railroad was leased to the Old Colony Railroad, which in turn was leased to the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad in 1893. New Haven Railroad owned the line for the better part of 76 years.

This photo was taken in May 1939 and shows the mighty coal engine of the New Haven as it rumbles through Canton Junction. This particular locomotive is one of the New Haven Class H-1 Atlantic type 4-4-2 built 1907 by Alco Schenectady NY. Sources at the NHRTA tell me that the last one was removed from service 1947. "Atlantics" of this type were built with hauling wood-frame passenger cars in mind. Around the 1910's though, American railroads started buying steel passenger cars, which precipitated the introduction of heavier and stronger engines. Nonetheless, it would appear that this engine was used until the near bitter end of steam locomotive fleets.

A few small buildings show in the background but otherwise this is a fairly non-nondescript picture. Like many such snapshots, the stories are embedded in the minds of the people associated with the place. In this case, as a boy I was always found climbing up the steep embankments if the rail-line and would feel the rush of adrenaline as the locomotives rushed through Canton Junction. You could hear the singing of the rails, the hum in the air and the vibrations were the warning.

It is funny how a small image like this can bring back memories, and the railroad in Canton has strong associations. The stories of the Revere and Kinsley Families, the bridges over the tracks, the stone arches and the waterfall, the stories of crashes and of air raid watches. It seems to me more than merely a literal link to our history, it is also a memorable one as well.