20th Century Limited derailment

On the night of Wednesday, June 21, 1905, the New York Central Railroad's flagship passenger train, the 20th Century Limited, derailed in the town of Mentor, Ohio, on the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway line, killing 21 passengers and injuring more than 25 others on board. The accident occurred when a switch from the mainline to a freight siding was found to be open, and the Limited left the mainline, overrunning the siding at high speed. The cause of the accident was never officially determined, but overwhelming evidence points to deliberate sabotage of the switch. The 20th Century Limited had only gone into service three years prior on June 17, 1902. The duration of the New York City to Chicago run had recently been reduced from 20 hours to 18 hours the same month.

20th Century Limited derailment
Onlookers standing amongst the wreckage of the 20th Century Limited. Mentor station is visible behind the middle car.
Details
DateWednesday, June 21, 1905; 115 years ago
9:20 p.m. EDT (UTC−4)
LocationMentor, Ohio
CountryUnited States
LineLake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway
OperatorNew York Central Railroad
ServicePassenger
Incident typeDerailment
CauseUnknown, possible sabotage
Statistics
Trains1
Passengers67
Deaths21
InjuredGreater than 25
DamageLS&MS freight depot destroyed

Incident
The 20th Century Limited running on the Boston and Albany Railroad sometime in the early 1900s. Similar to the train involved in the crash.

Train No. 26, the 20th Century Limited was approaching the small farm town of Mentor, Ohio from the west, running on a mainline owned by the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway. Conflicting reports exist as to whether or not the train was running behind schedule. It was crowded, with 67 passengers on board.[1] At 9:20 p.m. (EDT), the engine lurched to the left as it entered a freight depot siding at a speed of approximately 70 mph (110 km/h). The high speed of the consist mixed with the short length of the siding left for no time to prevent the accident, and the engine canted over onto its left side, ejecting fireman Aaron Gorham from his position and fatally crushing the engineer at the regulator.[2] The engine plowed through a Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway freight depot, and in the same beat the boiler exploded. A Chicago sleeping car situated immediately behind the locomotive telescoped into the tender, and caught fire in the resulting explosion. The second car, a combination car, landed on top of the carnage and was destroyed much the same. The third car, another sleeper, left the track. No other cars derailed in the crash.[3]

Rescuers responded almost immediately, but the heat from the fire kept them at bay. As a result, the ensuing fire burned for four or five hours, not being contained until 12:00 a.m. (EDT) on June 22.[2] Physicians came from as far as Cleveland and as nearby as Painesville, to offer aid. Ultimately, 21 passengers were killed due to the wreck or the fire, most burned beyond recognition. Five were seriously injured, and "more than a score" were minorly injured.[4] Some of the injured were placed aboard a relief train that took them to Cleveland, and others were hurried into ambulances that rushed to nearby hospitals. The last body was pulled from the wreckage at approximately 1:00 a.m. (EDT) on June 22.[5] One of those killed was C.H. Wellman, who had a friend in Mentor by the name of Horace Andrews, the president of the Cleveland Electric Railway Company.[5] Andrews was summoned to the accident site, just in time to receive a final message from Wellman himself for his wife.

Investigation
Colorized photograph of the scene; likely taken after June 21, due to a car being removed.

Speculation in the media pointed at speed as a factor of the accident, an accusation that was discarded as unfounded.[6] It was found that 50 minutes before the Limited had arrived in Mentor, Train No. 10 from Chicago to Boston had passed through the switch without fault.[5] Additionally, no other trains came through the area between the time of No. 10's departure and the wreck. Alex Hammond, the conductor of the Limited, inspected the switch shortly after the disaster, and found that it was set and even locked for the sidetrack.[7] Also, a white light showing the positioning of the track was found to be in the "clear" position, which was supposed to indicate that the points were set for the mainline. With this evidence, the New York Central Railroad insisted that the accident was the result of willful misplacement of the switch by an unknown party. After an investigation, Assistant General Superintendent D.C. Moon of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern issued a statement that corroborated this belief, stating that he was "satisfied that somebody, with a key, opened the switch with malicious intent. The train did not jump the track."[8] Despite efforts, no party was ever found at fault and to this day, the official cause of the accident is undetermined.

Aftermath

The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway freight depot that was destroyed in the accident was rebuilt in 1909, and is still there today.[9] Directly opposite the freight depot, the former Mentor railroad station at the corner of Station and Hart Streets, became New York Central property when it merged with the LS&MS in 1914. Passenger service to Mentor ended in 1949, and as of August 2007 the station is now occupied by Deekers Side Tracks, a sports bar.

See also

References
  1. "Wreck of the 20th Century Limited - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  2. Office, Public Information (November 20, 2016). "Wreck of the 20th Century Limited".
  3. "Mentor, OH Train Wreck, Jun 1905 | GenDisasters ... Genealogy in Tragedy, Disasters, Fires, Floods Page 1". www.gendisasters.com.
  4. "Mentor, OH Train Wreck, Jun 1905 - Dead and Injured | GenDisasters ... Genealogy in Tragedy, Disasters, Fires, Floods". www.gendisasters.com.
  5. "Mentor, OH Train Wreck, Jun 1905 - Death Rode Beside Engineer | GenDisasters ... Genealogy in Tragedy, Disasters, Fires, Floods Page 1". www.gendisasters.com.
  6. "Train wreck at Mentor, Ohio in 1905". The Scranton Truth. 1905-06-22. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  7. "Mentor, OH Train Wreck, Jun 1905 | GenDisasters ... Genealogy in Tragedy, Disasters, Fires, Floods Page 1". www.gendisasters.com.
  8. "Mentor, OH Train Wreck, Jun 1905 - Death Rode Beside Engineer | GenDisasters ... Genealogy in Tragedy, Disasters, Fires, Floods Page 1". www.gendisasters.com.
  9. "LakeCounty Ohio Railroad Stations". www.west2k.com.

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