Disaster on the MKT: the Wreck of Train
No. 74
by Bob Brail
by Bob Brail
Walter
Bragg’s screams pierced the night air as he lay at the edge of the Missouri
River, trying to find relief from the pains of his badly burned
body. His jaw and leg were broken, and
he had serious internal injuries.
Finally, at around 10:30 PM,
his cries were heard by crew members about one hundred yards away, whose train
had partially derailed at Rock House Curve, causing one of the worst
transportation disasters in St. Charles
County history. Bragg, who would later die in Defiance while
en route to the hospital, had been injured in the wreck of Train No. 74, pulled
by Engine 864, at 8:45 PM on September 10, 1936. Besides Bragg, four other drifters would also
die in the accident. Their bodies would
never be identified.
Train No.
74, was a north-bound, third-class freight train, made up of the engine and
caboose, with 65 cars, 63 of which were loaded.
The train had just passed the Klondike Depot, traveling at about twenty-five
miles per hour, when it rounded a two degree curve to the right. About one-half mile east of the Klondike Depot,
the thirty-second car derailed. This
tank car was filled with over 10,000 gallons of fuel oil. Eleven of the fifteen following cars which
derailed also contained inflammables which ignited. A series of terrific explosions was heard by
area residents, and the resulting fire shot two hundred feet up the side of the
bluff. The burning wreckage covered
about four hundred fifty feet of track, below the farm of William Engelage. The first thirty-one cars were pulled away
from the fire by the engine. The last
eighteen cars were pushed back from the fire by the train crew and the several
hundred area residents who had gathered.
One
of the empty cars was between the thirty-second
and forty-seventh cars, and it had been occupied by five men, whom the
Interstate Commerce Commission’s report on the accident called
trespassers. They had jumped on the
train, possibly at McKittrick, the train’s last stop at 7:30, or earlier in the day at Franklin. As the train derailed and the explosions blew
apart the cars, these five men suffered severe trauma and burns. Walter Bragg, of Columbus,
Ohio, somehow survived the disaster long
enough to find his way to the river. He
identified himself to train crew members before he died. Twelve hours after the wreck, the charred
remains of four men were found beneath what was left of the empty box car. A few hours later another victim was
apparently discovered, but this “charred body of another unidentified man”
turned out to be debris.
Over the
next few days the local newspapers reported on the identification of these four
bodies. Coroner Will Freeman said it was
possible all would be identified.
Indeed, The St. Charles Daily Cosmos-Monitor stated that Leon
Alred had been identified by a brother, “through a pocket knife, a shaving set
and his teeth.” Another man was thought
to be Harry Smith, a friend of Alred’s. James
Hollran, a sandhogger on the Daniel Boone bridge project, was thought to be one of the men. A fifteen year old boy, Robert Conn, of Phoenix,
was believed to be the fourth. However, Oak
Grove Cemetery
records indicate that four unidentified bodies were buried in its Potters Field
on September 12, 1936. No death certificates were ever issued in Missouri
for any of these men.
Investigation
No. 2095 was the accident report issued by the Bureau of Safety of the
Interstate Commerce Commission. The
report stated that the “cause of this accident was not definitely
determined.” The train had undergone
inspections at both of its previous stops, but nothing had been amiss. The five crew members, three of whom were at
the front of the train and two of whom were in the caboose, stated they were
approaching Rock House Curve at the required speed of twenty-five miles per
hour when they saw sparks and then flames come from the train. Inspection of the burned cars and demolished
track did not yield conclusive results.
The report stated, “Whether the derailment was caused by [a] broken
flange or whether it was caused by an explosion as a result of sparks from
dragging equipment or from some other causes could not be determined.”
Rock House
Curve today is just another one of many scenic spots along the Katy
Trail. The rock bluff still towers over the old
railroad bed. The location of the wreck
is very accessible. One approach is to
park in the Klondike Park
boat ramp lot on Highway 94. Walk to the
nearby intersection of the Katy Trail
and Highway 94; then walk .75 miles to the west. Another approach is to enter Klondike
Park and go to the parking lot near
the bluff. Then walk down the path to
the Katy Trail. When you arrive at the bottom of the bluff,
you will see four concrete silos, once used for the storage of sand. This is the location of the Klondike Depot. Walk about .5 miles to the east to find Rock
House Curve.
For the
local history enthusiast, a few contemplative moments spent at Rock House Curve
can make history come alive.
Sources: 1905 Atlas Map of St. Charles County; Cemeteries
of St. Charles County, Missouri (Geerling and Wiechens); Interstate
Commerce Commission Investigation No. 2095 (http://dotlibrary2.specialcollection.net/scripts/ws.dll?websearch&site=dot_railroads);
Missouri State Board of Health death certificates (sos.mo.gov/archives); The St. Charles Daily Banner News: The St. Charles Daily
Cosmos-Monitor; St. Charles County Historical Society (scchs.org).