Local Railroad Accidents

Did you know that there was once a rail line that paralleled the Delaware and Raritan canal on the NJ side? The Belvidere-Delaware Railroad, later the Pennsylvania Railroad, ran along the eastern shore of the Delaware River. It ran north from Trenton, through Phillipsburg, to Manunka Chunk, NJ. There were local stations in Washington's Crossing (note the 's) and Titusville, NJ. 

Washington's Crossing, NJ Station

The train tracks ran on the western side of the canal, which is today's walking trail. The white bridge in the picture rotated so canal barges could get through. In the distance is the Johnson Ferry House. Behind the train station is the Nelson House Hotel, which was demolished in the 1930s, leaving only a small portion of the building which remains today. The train tracks were removed by 1982.

Nelson House Demolition

Ice on the Delaware with the train leaving the station across the river, showing the shadow of the covered bridge. Pre-October 1903.

A half-mile up-river was the scene of two major deadly train accidents, mere months apart. The first occurred on the morning of October 17th, 1903, a week after the "Pumpkin Flood" that washed out several bridges on the Delaware, so called because of the number of pumpkins that were swept into the river. 

October 18, 1903 Trenton Evening Times

Seventeen men were killed and thirty-two injured in a rear-end collision between two work trains on the Belvidere division of the Pennsylvania railroad, less than one-half mile this side of Washington's Crossing, at 6:30 yesterday morning.

How it Happened - The men were en route to the washed out tracks of the Pennsylvania railroad just above Washington's Crossing, in charge of Trainmaster James Gordon. Every available man in Trenton had been engaged for this work, and it so happened that all the men on the trains were in the employ of Contractor Robert A. Montgomery. They had been loaned to the Pennsylvania railroad to hurry along the work of filling embankments and ballasting track. Two sections of the train carried them to work yesterday morning.

Construction on the canal and railroad

When the first section was less than a half mile from Washington's Crossing it was stopped, and the engine went ahead alone to pick up some sand cars. This left a flat car, a tool car and a work car stalled on the track. In the work car were 193 men. To protect these lived Flagman Jacob W. Saums of 116 Rose street was sent back to flag the second section, bearing other workmen, should this train come in sight. Being six minutes behind the first section, there seemed little chance of the train coming up.

Conductor H. C. Conover of the first section believed there was sufficient time to pick up the sand cars; so did Engineer Elwood Fenton. The sand cars were gotten and backed to the first section, coupled up, and Engineer Fenton commenced to move his train ahead. Flagman Saums had been recalled. 

Suddenly there was a screeching whistle heard and Andrew Burroughs called to his brother, H. Bertram Burroughs, to jump for his life. The warning was not heeded by the man, but others heard it and jumped into the canal. 

Then came the crash and the awful screams of dying men, the grinding together of wood, iron and human flesh. Scream after scream rent the air as the injured fought for freedom from the awful crush. 

An Awful Scene - The engine of the second section had plowed through a flat car and hurled the tool car preceding it through the work car in which so many men were crowded. Fifty men on the flat car saw the engine coming and jumped at the warning of Trainmaster James Gordon, who was also on this carl. These men jumped into the canal. There was but a foot of water there and escape was easy.

Image Courtesy of Newtown Historic Association

As quick as it takes to write it the men who escaped from the flat car made a bee line for Trainmaster Gordon and Engineer Reed of the second section and chased them down the track. The men were infuriated as the groans of their comrades met their ears and they seemed bent on wreaking vengeance on the train crew. From Washington's Crossing a call was sent in to the First precinct police station here, and Sergeant Mullen sent twelve policemen in the patrol wagon to the scene of trouble. 

All this while the dead were being pulled out from the wreck by their friends and fellow workmen and the injured cared for as well as possible. Badly maimed men would crawl out from the wreck, and as brother would recognize brother there would go up heart-rending cries.

In the wrecked car the scene was one of awful carnage, a regular charnel-house. Blood was everywhere, and when the wounded were all taken out, ten men were found a mass with their heads battered out of shape and their bodies rent asunder, one almost cut in two.

This was the scene which met the eyes of Drs. R. R. Rogers, Jr. and G. H. J. Sommer of this city as they alighted from the special relief train sent from here. 

A second train brought Coroners Rue, Rogers and Disbrow and Constable Applegate. In the meantime there had come down from Lambertville Drs. Williams, Salmon, Larison, Closson, Romine and McGill and Turner of Titusville. On this train was Superintendent Gest and Father Lynch and as many laborers as could be crowded into two extra coaches. 

The doctors hurried to their work, Father Lynch administered to the dying alone until Father Gilfillan came on the second train from Trenton. Dr. M. M. Reddan of this city also came then.

Superintendent Gest hurried the work of rescue and dispatched twenty-seven wounded to Trenton and at once on a special train. The second train, carrying most of the dead and the remainder of the wounded, came into the Warren street station, it being nearer the morgue.

When the dying were looked after, the wounded sent to hospitals, and the dead removed to Trenton, the work of cleaning up the wreckage commended. In three hours the job was done and traffic resumed. The work car was so badly damaged that it was dumped into the river.

The property loss is comparatively light, the colliding engine sustaining hardly any injury and the work car was old and nearly worn out. Trenton Evening Times Oct 18, 1903

This accident was the deadliest in the railroad's history, with two dozen men eventually dying from their injuries. The majority of the dead were black and Italian laborers, on their way to work on the flood damage to the tracks. In the image of the wreck we see how low the canal was, which enabled some of the riders to escape to its waters. It also shows the dense fog that enveloped the Delaware that day, as well as the awful carnage that occurred. 

Just 4 months later there was another accident in almost the exact same location.

Another accident on the Belvidere Railroad - two men reported killed, but details have not yet reached us. Two cars are lying on the river bank. It was a head-on collision of two freight trains near Washington's Crossing, about the same place where the recent accident occurred, with such terrible results. Orders were given to hold the train for the other to get out of the way, but the engineer thought he could make the next switch. A little caution is sometimes better than too much speed. Feb 2, 1904 Newtown Enterprise

Image Courtesy of Newtown Historic Association

What's remarkable about this photograph of the second accident is that in the background we see the piers of the Washington Crossing Bridge, which was lost in the Pumpkin Flood 4 months earlier. The river is also completely iced up.

Piers of the Washington Crossing Bridge

Image Courtesy of Newtown Historic Association

The blame for the second wreck was placed on the engineer of the northbound train, Charles Herbert, who failed to take a siding as his orders commanded.

Both of these deadly accidents occurred within 4 months of each other at nearly the same location. The causes of each crash were different, but the effect was the same. Many people lost their lives in this spot, some sort of memorial or marker would be appropriate.