The Bryn Athyn Train Wreck of 1921
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- Опубликовано: 6 окт 2020
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A nearly forgotten wreck, but this disaster had quite an impact on the American Railroading industry. On a now abandoned line branching off of Philadelphia, one of the worst crashes in the Philadelphia and Reading Company's history. Let's go in-depth and uncover the full story, like never before told in video.
This video is spiking in popularity, so I wanted to say welcome to all the new viewers and subscribers!
This is an older video and it seems like there might be an error with phase cancellation in the audio, where the levels are off depending on what system you play this on. If there are any points in the video where the music seems to be completely dominating the narration, please reply to this comment with the timecode so I can fix that problem in future productions!
Music is not needed at all in an informational video, just an annoyance to those of us with older ears!
In your script, by "train report", do you mean "track warrant?"
This is an awesome presentation.
Well done, my friend. Moving, cogent, and economically told. A narrative that would otherwise be mostly unknown.
How fragile we are.
@@Audion I think he does.
Likewise he completely misused "gulch." I had to stop and check comments to see if the video is worth continuing with.
After watching, I guess "gulch" is a local term. This is very well done. This guy has a knack for telling a story.
One of the things that's striking to me about this is that the station master didn't verbally confirm what was IN the written orders with the guys operating the train. "Hey I know you usually get the same thing in your orders every day, but check out what it says.... It's not what you think"
Good point.. it would have taken him 5 seconds to do that!
Agreed.
That is *exactly* what I thought when I heard that account. Engineer gets the same orders, day after day, always the same, and it's probably very plainly obvious that after a while he doesn't read the written orders since it's always the same. You'd THINK the station master would have said something like "You might want to take a look at that before you stuff it in your pocket like you've always done; it's changed today." But, no.
@@MK-fc2hn It also would have taken the conductor/engineer about the same time to read the whole paper. Not the station master's fault as was shown here.
@@stevechristy3244 Agreed.. but any system with safety redundancies is always better.. especially when the consequences can mean the difference of life or death for someone.. or for many people like in this case.
My Grandfather, Charles Thomas Scott, a farmer and an art teacher, was killed in the Bryn Athyn wreck. He was on his way to Philadelphia to teach art at the Philadelphia College of Industrial Design, which survives today as part of the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
My father told me that his father liked to be in the first car so that he could get a head start on the rest of the passengers when he got to Reading Terminal. He always felt that his father must have been knocked unconscious or he would have escaped before the flames reached him. But maybe not...who can know.
It's important to note that the Reading Railroad never had to pay a dime of damages to any of the passengers. In those days, they successfully avoided any liability by blaming the engineer and conductor of Train 151.
My grandfather's immediate family...my father Aldred who was 11 years old at the time , his younger sister Mary, and their mother Gertrude were left without any means of support and no compensation from the railroad despite their decision to continue to use the wooden cars on this line, the last ones left on Reading Railroad. All the other wooden cars had been replaced by steel bodied ones for safety reasons.
Interesting history. Thanks for sharing.
What a sad family legacy!
Thanks for your story, I was actually at the Reading Terminal on some occasions whenever I go down there
I am so sorry for your loss
That is horrible.
I imagine the station chief suffered for the rest of his days. I can’t even imagine the horror of knowing the 2 trains are going to collide and there is nothing you can do to stop it.
My Grandfather was a 19 year old volunteer fireman for the Bryn Athyn Fire Company in 1921 and was on the first truck to arrive at the other side of the creek from the wreck on that fateful morning. His memories were vivid. The comment by Tony Verrecchio is only half correct as the wreck on the line at Southhampton in 1981 was the 3rd wreck. The second occurred in 1964 and was about a quarter mile north of the Gulch, not in the Gulch. By the way, the photo of the Budd Diesel Car passing through the Gulch, at 14:10 of the video, was taken by me in 1977 and I have to wonder where you found it.
Thanks for sharing both your family story, and your additional note about the second wreck.
That photo was going around on facebook - please let me know how to credit you as for the photo; I'll put it in the description.
@@PartTimeExplorer It's OK I was happy to see the pic. it probably came from a posting I made on the facebook Abandoned Rails site. I went to see the second wreck with my family back in '64, I was 10 years old. My Grandparents never cooked roast pork in their home, as the aroma reminded my Grandfather too much of that horrible morning.
So glad I found time several years back to visit the great Bryn Athyn Station, while the old track was STILL present - was a fleeting chance to mentally envision a bygone era, before they laid down that damn asphalt trail which in my opinion considerably diminishes the nostalgia factor
Well done, Tom! As a 66 year old history fan, it does my heart good to see young people who are students of the past. You are great storyteller, Tom!
I have to say; you're one of the most, if not the most, informative and respectful "tragedy" RUclipsrs around today. I love how you turn your videos into mini documentaries such as this one where you actually go and visit the site of the wreck. And even still you remain absolutely respectful and don't overly dramatise the events.
Keep up the great work, people.
The way you mixed current property views with vintage photos and videos, the way you told the applicable part of the story from each location, your attention to 593 feet as an exact spot for switch, just all of those types of details are absolutely brilliant. How I wish EVERY historical documentary could be produced.
This channel really deserves its own History Channel show, but I don't think the History Channel deserves this excellent work
This video is fantastic. Its told in a way that's very interesting and its not being needless dramatic. Its done in a way thats professional and in a way that respects the lives lost. Great work Tom.
I know Im asking randomly but does anyone know of a way to log back into an Instagram account?
I was dumb forgot the account password. I would appreciate any tricks you can offer me!
@Luis Phoenix Instablaster ;)
@Tyler Zain thanks so much for your reply. I found the site thru google and im trying it out atm.
Seems to take a while so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
@Tyler Zain It did the trick and I finally got access to my account again. Im so happy!
Thank you so much you really help me out!
@Luis Phoenix no problem :)
I'm actually a Newtown resident and after I watched this documentary for the first time back in June I immediately got in my car and drove over to the Pennypack Trail lot on Byberry Rd and walked to the accident sight. It was so surreal to actually watch a video about a real historical tragedy and then less than an hour later be standing in the spot where it happened. There is no ambiguity about it; the hill cutouts look exactly the same in person. They did a nice job memorializing the disaster on the spot. I felt I just had to stay a little while and take it in. I did also look for pieces of coal but didn't find any. Great job, this documentary is excellent!
Also the most chilling part for me is at 9:37 when the station master calls for ambulances to respond to a mass casualty event that hasn't even happened yet. He knows it's inevitable and knows there is nothing anyone can do to stop it now, and at that moment he's the only one who knows.
Dear Part Time Explorer .... Your Video presentation is OUTSTANDING and Extremely ACCURATE . I live in Newtown and I am 71 yrs old . I am also A Railroad Fan as my Grandfather was a Railroad Engineer who retired in 1938 . My mother told me of this accident when I was 8 years old . We Very often traveled thru Bryn Athyn over the Bridge and on to Jenkintown on many numerous occasions . My family have relatives to two of the victims Killed in the accident . I Remember as a youngster going to the Station and Railroad Yard and Trackage area in Newtown where the "Camelback" Locomotives were parked Every evening and were coaled and serviced for their run each day .the milk route and passenger service run through Bryn Athyn and on to Philly.
Your Video ,Photos and Narrative of the events are Amazing , Extremely accurate and Historically Significant . Many Thanks for that effort .
I am only sad that I had not Heard or was aware of your video earlier .
I"D love to hear back from you , I know of Many Historical facts and occurrences in and around the area . My family has lived in the area for over 2 hundred years .
Thanks Again
W J ~
Hello Walter, thanks for your comment! I really appreciate your kind words. I live in the area as well, not too far from Newtown, and often tried to imagine the old camelbacks or even the later RDC's riding those rails - the line closed before I was born.
There are a good number of local stories I'd love to cover some time, including a few other railroad related ones. The Newtown Historic Society is planning to screen this documentary sometime in February. If you're available, you should come out - it would be good to meet you.
Tom
@@PartTimeExplorer
I too , remember the Reading RDCs as well as the Reading RS road switchers they used right before the RDCs ...
I just photo documented the removal of the Rail bridge trestle across the Neshaminy Creek at George School
To keep pedestrian traffic off of it ... the center bridge section was simply slid off
The main span , but is Still
On sight, thankfully :)
Cheers
Happy Holidays to You too
WJ ~
I watched this train crash video and ill say this guys voice and demeanor is very good for documenteries.hes very crisp and good at detail. Thanks for the video.
Blood & tears remain in that soil . . .
Thanks for bringing this story to us!
The guy did an excellent job. I rode the Newton train in its last year of 1983, it was just for fun with a friend of mine, I'm so glad I did, the memory lasts until today.
‘Experiences last longer than things’😉
They wrote folk songs about other railroad disasters like Casey Jones and the Wreck of the Old 97. I live about 30 miles from Danville, VA, and the Old 97 is commemorated all over the place, with murals, etc.. Why isn't the Bryn Athyn wreck more well-known? I lived not too far from there for about twenty years, and never heard of it until recently.
I grew up in Willow Grove which is near Bryn Athyn. I used to walk part of the old line when the tracks were still there from a crossing near the Pennypack Preserve to the old Bryn Athyn station. My walk took me right through Death Gulch. The rocks are still blackened from the wreck. Also my 10th Grade History teacher's stepdad's father was the conductor on one of the trains that crashed but never said which one.
Did you ever meet Jill Biden when she lived in Willow Grove?
@@trentpettit6336 No. She had long since moved out and married Joe by the time I was born
grew up in abington (neighboring township) and i'll be 72 on thursday..... first i've heard of this wreck!
excellent job!..... thank you!!!
Thank you for your memoriam of those lost in the Bryn Athyn train wreck of 1921. In Irvington, Indiana we lost 17 souls in a head on collision which took place on 13 November, 1912. Sadly there is no memoriam posted here. My wife and I live next to the site of the wreck (about 400 feet from the impact point). My home was built 3 years after the event. Undoubtedly our land was used for the recovery crews which had to extract victims of the collision, the result of a brakeman failing to line back a switch on the siding occupied by his train. The passenger train approaching from the east (headed west) went into the siding at 40 mph, destroying both locomotives and telescoping passenger cars. I often think of this accident. Hence why your posting caught my eye. Well described and one I shall recommend to my local historical folks in hope of perhaps one day we to will honor those lost in an event that was tragic and sadly mostly forgotten.
I rode that line in the 70s before it was shutdown. Hiked it many times before the tracks were removed. A friend of mine ran trains as the engineer on this line, called the Fox Chase / Newtown line until Septa took over the regional rail lines.. this story is told in more than one book on train wrecks This video is very well done, thanks for sharing.
I was born and raised in Bryn Athyn (1982-2005). We knew about this wreck growing up and I was always fascinated with it. As kids, we'd hike the overgrown railroad tracks, go under the bridges to hang out by the river/swim/rope swing, and look for artifacts. Lots of railroad ties were throughout the area. I miss how quiet it used to be before the ROW was converted to a trail. Well done on the video and information.
I rode the trail today. I started around April, during the Pandemic, riding this local trail. A friend had told me about the train wreck & I was immediately intrigued by the event. Now, after watching this documentary, I know the circumstances behind this tragedy.
You've done a masterful job here - your retelling of the story, the filming, the narration and overall production are all appreciated. Thank you !
You are an extremely professional presenter; this was a very good but sad story. This story was well put together - good work...
A fascinating story of a tragic event in 1921. Thank you for creating such fitting memorial video to the forgotten victims and a historic event in U. S. train travel.
I would think maybe the station manager should have verbally told the train engineer about the second train coming, either way, such a tragedy. Very well done and explained video. Thank you for sharing. John
I agree that any instructions that varied from the norm should have been pointed out. However, the station managers mind may have been focused on how the delays would affect the next trains.
Yes definitely
thank you so much for this production it means a lot to me and my family as my grandfather Lewis Johnson was one of those who perished on that sad day in Dec 1921 --Bruce Severn
So sorry for your loss, Bruce!
Such a sad legacy!
Great video. Reminds me of the Tenerife disaster involving two 747s. The lesson has to be relearned every so often.
Self narrated - BY A PERSON , from the area ! what a concept ! ;) subbed . I have found 4 to 8 wrecks up here around our town too, buried and forgotten to the history museums . YT kicks ass !! Especially with stuff like this . Great JOB !
Always wanted to see something like this. Walk past the gulch often and can still feel the presence of the wreck, it's incredible. So happy to get to see it in a documentary and done so well. Thanks brother! Ryan in Huntingdon Valley PA
My father has been a truck driver, nearly 30 years.
One day, we were heading west on the interstate when I observed a single motor vehicle accident which involved a Prime operated tractor trailer.
The ambulance left the scene, slowly with lights flashing, though siren off.
My mother told me it, meant the driver died.
To this day, I still find myself zeroing in, on that spot without thinking about.
All that to say, I agree with you that tragedy can be felt, long after it occured at the spot, it ocured.
This bit of history is practically in my backyard and I never heard of it…I will be visiting this site soon! Very well done thank you!
I knew a man who moved from Arkansas to Kirkland Lake Ontario Canada. His name was Mr John Camp. I was telling Mr Camp about wanting to visit places outside Canada. He said start by visiting your own backyard. Local museums are full of knowledge and history. Well it took an American war vet to open my eyes and see what wealth of knowledge was all around me.
It is quite remarkable that history such as this is all around us, and much of the time, we probably don't even know it. This was very interesting to watch, thank you for posting it.
Thank you for this. I have run on the rail trail and never stopped to read the signs or didn't know any of the history. I plan on sharing this with my family
Every time when Tom comes up with a new video I learn something new.
Very interesting. What I find most remarkable is that it happened within a few months of the Abermule Collison in Wales, where the crew of a local train also didn't read their single line authority properly and drove head on in to a charter train, this resulting in a similar emphasis on checking your authority to proceed.
I only discovered that wreck recently while making this. That’s worth a video as well, but there’s even less remaining and even fewer images to use.
What is even more remarkable is that the Abermule collision took place in Montgomeryshire, Wales (which includes the towns of Montgomery and Newton), and that this collision took place in Montgomery County which, unless I am mistaken, is named after Montgomeryshire (due to historical Welsh settlement) and includes the towns of Montgomery and Newton. Such an odd coincidence! Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong on any of these points.
Thank you Tom for making such high-quality, informative and entertaining videos! Or diolch yn fawr as the Welsh say!
@@alexandreroberts8830 That’s all true! I wonder what other odd similarities there are between the two
Having just re-watched your video, there are indeed more similarities.
Both of the collisions involved a local passenger train and an express. In both cases, only the crew of the express realised the danger and attempted to apply the brakes. Both accidents were also worsened by the fact that the coaches were made of wood (although they did not catch fire at Abermule, the wooden coach bodies "telescoped" into each other, causing most of the passenger losses).
Finally, both were due to an error on the part of the local train crew, although the Abermule case is more complex. The Cambrian mainline used electric tokens and block sections. I'm not sure if these are used in the US, but basically only one train was allowed in each section of single track between two stations. A token (usually a metal stick or plaque) was given to them at each station. At Abermule however, the token machine was located in the main station building as opposed to the signal box, so it was common unofficial practice for the less experienced staff to handle them. Long story short, the local train crew were handed the wrong token and neither they nor the stationmaster thought to check.
The Wikipedia article for the accident contains more details: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abermule_train_collision
The similarities between these two events really are quite numerous. It's almost uncanny.
Moral of the story. Read the directions. It could be life or death in some circumstances.
Note - The reason for the single track through the gorge is because it is a natural fault line known as the Bryn Athyn Fault, which does occasionally gives us a tremblor. The last one I remember was in the late 1970s/early 1980s.
I live in the area and never knew that.. Thanks
@@cmendla I used to ride that train on a daily basis and look out the windows (as green as those old RDCs were) at that cleft wall of rock through the cut wondering if it was going to get higher soon! ;)
An excellent and well researched video. In hindsight probably the only way to have avoided this wreck would be to have the station master read all orders to the conductor and have them verbally repeated like is done on a military ship.
Simple block working would have prevented this wreck. Never mind written orders. It's a system used in the UK and, I believe large areas of the world since the mid 19thC. I can't understand why this wasn't used on a dangerous section like this.
Or on an airliner!
@@PercyPruneMHDOIFandBars In North America, we had something similar which was referred to as "Manual Block System". However that was very labor intensive so not all block stations were staffed, and except in a few places "Staff Working" was not employed. By the 1920s that was being supplanted by ABS (Automatic Block Signals) overlaying Timetable and Train Orders. The weakness in ABS was that it was only designed to provide protection against trains moving in the SAME direction. [Centralized Traffic Control, which was not adopted until later, allows the Dispatcher - Rail Traffic Controller in some countries - to control trains moving in both directions.] Timetable and Train Orders usually worked well, assuming the crew members followed the rules and READ and COMPARED train orders EVERY TIME.
Protection against opposing trains on the same track was provided by the timetable and train orders. It seems odd to me that routine operation of the line required trains to receive the same train order every day. I would think that whatever was contained in the repetitive daily train order would have published in the Timetable Special Instructions instead, eliminating the need for the repetitive train order. If that had been done, when the conductor and engineer (C&E) received a train order that morning they would have immediately realized something different than the usual was going to happen.
In any case, on the railroad where I worked, the conductor would have been required to read the orders back to the station agent, the engineer would have been required to read the orders back to the conductor and then show them to the fireman. The conductor would have also been required to show his copy of the orders to the brakeman.
In addition if the railroad had employed Automatic Train Stop in conjunction with their block signal system, the train would not have been able to proceed beyond a signal at STOP ["DANGER" in Britain]. And of course, steel coaches would have reduced the carnage. So many links in the chain leading up to this tragedy ...
Lived in Bryn Athyn for a few years. Never heard anything about the 1921 accident. Fun Fact: the RR berm acted as a levee protecting the Bryn Athyn USPS office from flooding of the Pennypack during both Hurricanes Floyd & Allison ?).
Just realized I’m watching this on the 100 year anniversary of the event
That’s so weird I live in this area and rode my bike on this trial and every time I came to that pass it has a cold chill to it that made my arm hairs go up and gave me the creeps… thanks for the history lesson that I didn’t even know
Wow you must be sensitive 👻
Well done! I’m always surprised by the amount of relics, including things like railbed, left for us to see. If only we keep our eyes open.
My son has found insulators
@@samanthab1923 They used to be common when I was young, been a long time since I’ve seen any
Fantastic video. Thanks for this. That date was my grandfather's birthday. He would have been 32 that year. I am sure he would have heard this on the news. Grandpa worked for a Standard Oil company all his working life. This would have effected how oil was transported, too.
What an interesting piece of history. No guessing or personal input just straight forward facts-presented in a way to keep you listening to the very end.
I know this has been out for sometime, but this was better then watching anything on the history channel. Great job.
Tom, this is fantastic. I wish you had mentioned that $500 USD in 1921 is the equivalent of about $7,260 USD today. Gives the viewer some perspective on how heavy that fine was. Really well done though. I'm excited to learn more about the area. Thank you for this.
In retrospect, the station manager, knowing it was an unusual situation should have verbally told the conductor the difference. So often people get into a rote and just assume everything is the same.
he didn,t read the order neither
@@rich52movie the itders probably came over phone or telegraph, he probably received and wrote down the orders, so he should have known what they were.🙂
@@rich52movie not correct. If you watch the video, he ran and waved after the train trying to stop it, also the signal was still in the stop position. The station master was fully aware, which is why he also called ambulances.
@@dwlopez57 Probable's and should haves come under the category of speculations.
@@rich52movie Well, ur claim, that he didnt read the order, is not just highly speculative, it directly contradicted by just watching the video and hearing the facts. Not only did he run after the train trying to stop it and call for firemen and ambulances, it is specifically stated, that the trains had to stop at the stations to receive written orders from the station manager, and that the station manager wrote the orders and handed them over.
Sure, u can speculate, that he then shouldve mention the change, when the guy didnt immidiately look at the orders, but that would require a LOT of assumptions on the station managers part, all leading to the engineer being grossly incompetent. For one, how do u know, what the procedure for engineers were regarding reading the orders? Maybe it was perfectly normal, that they didnt read the order in front of the station manager, but did so once back in the cab. Also, how would the station manager know, that this particular engineer never bothered to read his orders? Ppl dont go around expecting others to not follow clear safety procedures. Unless the engineer had a history, a known history, of ignoring the procedures, the station manager would have no reason to think, that he needed to specifically mention the change, that was clearly written in the orders, that the engineer was required to read.
U can speculate, all u want, as can the original poster. But hindsight is 20-20, and the simple facts are, there was nothing to suggest, that the station manager would need to mention, what was in the orders, thats kinda the point of written orders, so nothing is misunderstood in the telling.
I know that area of Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania very well seeing as my parents lived only a few miles from the Bryn Athyn post office.
During the summertime I'd bike to that post office and enjoy the local surrounding countryside.
I would return many years later and would reminisce when I was younger.
Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania has changed over time however Bryn Athyn still and always will continue to look like Austria or southern Germany.
I always considered that small part of southeast Montgomery County to be a tranquil part of Bux-Mont.
There seems to be a fair sprinkling of British archive film...On 26th January 1921 there was a head-on crash between two locos on the Welsh Cambrian Railways. There was an unauthorised handling of the single line tablet issued to one of the trains which was unusually, not checked. There was also a Newtown down the line from Abermule. 17 people were killed.
Some intriguing similarity to the Abermule collision in Wales, also in 1921, where a train from Abermule to Newtown (coincidence!) was erroneously allowed to proceed carrying the wrong block token (which the driver failed to check) and ran head-on into an express coming the other way. Both trains were wrecked and the locomotives written off; 17 deaths.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abermule_train_collision
I have been through Abermule many times.
Interesting, Bryn Athen (the Bryn part) is also a Welsh term for hill.
@@middleageddad Apparently the area was settled by immigrants from Wales
@@middleageddad Apparently there were a number of Welsh settlers in that area.
…and also both located in a county called Montgomery(shire) :|…
A fascinating story. As an English railway enthusiast and son of a signalman - should I say tower operator? - I know only too well what happens when people get complacent or cut corners. We had a similar disaster here, at Abermule early in the same year, due to every responsible person involved failing to take even the most basic of routine safety measures. Oddly enough, one of the two trains involved was also coming from a place named Newtown. On a slightly lighter note, it was also interesting how many clips of British railway films turned up in this programme - some even from a British Railways training film of 1958, named 'Mishap'! There are also some from a famous pioneering British talkie film, 'The Wrecker' - the shot of the steam lorry is one. It is demolished by a train in a staged crash, of which you show a few clips as well. Thank you
Yes, I thought a few of the vintage clips in this documentary looked British to me, not that they take away from the quality of this video at all. 😉
Incidentally, the Abermule collision also occurred in 1921 - and as you say many factors leading up to the accident were eerily similar. I believe the collision even occurred between a local and an express, just as at Bryn Athyn, on a single line section.
Weird. The places involved are all corrupted Welsh names too. Even Pennypack
You're the Bob Ross of storytelling... Please I beg you to ignore trolls as your channel grows, the people love your channel, don't even pay attention to trolls.. this channel is a historical archive for all of history. You guys put a ton of effort into these videos, and bring us along.. please keep doing what you love, you're videos are of historical importance.
Since I am a RR Buff, I do have several books on trains, but the best 1 I found & bought is
Train Wrecks by ROBERT C. REED, very well written with a lot of pictures. This book is made
up of-derailments-boiler explosions-lost brakes-bad bridges-poor tracks-bad timing-poor maintenance-careless engineers. This is a book for any RR Buff, only Amazon sells it. I bought mine at the OXFORD VALLEY MALL over 50yrs ago
Well done. A serious story told with appropriate respect.
A great video that FINALLY details the entire event...and so well done. I liked the way you put this together answering the questions and detailing the exact events that happened in precise order. I appreciate all the time and effort you spent so now the world can know and visit this site so the world will remember this tragedy.
Great documentary of a needless tragedy Bryn Athyn or “hill of unity” you can't help thinking that the actors in this play were duped by unseen forces on that terrible day..... well done Tom!
I respectfully disagree.. this happened because humans like to cut corners.. human nature I guess
I’ve lived in this area since 1992 and even worked at the local newspaper for most of that time, and I never knew this story. Excellent video.
Just stumbled upon your documentary, well done. I've been living in the Philly area for more than 30 years and have visited the spot where this accident happened. I haven't been there in a long time now but I still have the pictures and have written about the accident back in the day when I was blogging. Cheers!
Tom, this is great. Can’t believe I haven’t seen this yet. Absolutely fantastic job, keep up the great work!
Thanks Joe!
What is the story tellers name? Is he in broadcasting or teaching somewhere?
@@andypandy7769 The Philadelphia area has quite a few Welsh place names, like Bryn Mawr, Bryn Athyn, Bala CynWyd due to a sizable number of early Welsh settlers when the US was a young nation.
Well done video and retelling of the story. I’m from Langhorne, but was christened at the North and Southampton Reformed Church. I recognized some of the last names on the tombstone. The victims were my grandparents age. My grandparents lived in Southampton and Newtown, so this is familiar geography to me. Its a tragic story that resulted in permanent reforms in passenger rail safety. Again, well done!!
Excellent video. I’ve been a rail fan for years and never knew this was the specific reason wooden cars were banned.
"Lived in the area all my life and only learned of this story a few years ago". Something very similar happened to me. About a year ago I was researching if there were any major historical events that happened on my Birthday and what I found was the Santa Fe train crash in San Bernardino, CA on December 14th 1994. The shocking part is not only was it on the very day of my birth but the time of the crash was within the hour.
Wait. shit. that's also my birthday.
@@JPofCT Happy Birthday to both of you! 😃
Sans Bernodino
So, are you claiming fault then ??
My birthday was one days difference, December 4th,and there were a couple of train wrecks,that occurred on that date! See Shaw's book on Railway wrecks,also LTC Rolt's,and O.S.Nocks books on English Railway wrecks,very interesting,and if my memory serves me right,one of the worst wrecks in England,was in December! It was the Harrow-Wealdstone disaster,just North of London,on the West Coast Mainline[ formerly the London& North Western,aka London,Midland &Scottish],that was one of the worst,after Quintenshill,in Scotland! Thank you for you attention,and boy,that was a well done video!! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!
I have no idea why this video showed up in my YT feed, but I'm really glad it did!
I actually thought it must be somewhere in Wales, a place I have toured and visited many times.
A really interesting story, very well told.
Thank you for the time and effort you put into it.
Awesome video, very well produced. Thank you!
Damn this was so interesting, the way you showed the locations, the drawings your wife made to fill in some of the gaps, the clips of other trains to illustrate how the collision would have looked like, all very great and amazing. Keep up the good work Tom, I'll always be there to support
This is essentially what happened to the majority of the Lackawanna railroad lines in New York.
Edit: There's an infamous diaster that occurred in Vestal, NY in 1901 where two freight trains collided in a head on collision. One of the freight trains was carrying 12 tons of dynamite. Five people died instantly and 7 we're injured. Supposedly, debris could be found miles away as far as the other side of the Susquehanna River.
Fine job young man! It is the better part of the information revolution to have these hyper local focused documentaries appear. That the incident caused the switch to steel passenger cars evidence of how local events can have wider implications. Excellent!
Thank you. It was absolutely in formative I love the way it was presented an delivered
This is actually a really well done video on a disaster I wasn't aware of and am glad you made it hope more are to come in the future, I also recently came across a train disaster that I found fascinating and equally tragic known as the Tay Bridge disaster, after a raging storm over the Firth of Tay which had weakened the hollow iron the bridge was made of, a train passed over (which was locomotive 4-4-0 locomotive No. 224) and carrying 75 people whome all lost their lives after the train tumbled down from crossing the bridge, the train was recovered after a futile attempt, I believe it took 3 attempts before they finally retrieved it and there is even a picture of it in a terrible state.
I'm glad you talked about this as I'm personally fascinated with old trains and now I can have a look into this one aswell
Interesting fact: the highest members of the British Royal Family all have funeral plans created well before their deaths, as such funerals are a huge undertaking, and all of these plans have code names. The code name for the late Queen Mother's was Operation Tay Bridge, after this disaster, and these were the plans rapidly adapted for the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, when she died in 1997.
Oh god that sounds horrific for all onboard
The main reason I know of this disaster was because a poem was made of it...and it was written by William McGonagall, who is regarded as one of the worst poets in British history.
Brick Immortar recently made a very good video on that and the changes it made... in the region of Scotland it's quite famous as a wreck I'd say... there are a small but significant number of very good videos on it around RUclips though.
"Everybody" in Britain has heard of the Tay Bridge disaster (or at least, they had when I was younger). Put it this way, if you asked a random British person to name a railway disaster, they would say "Tay Bridge" even if they couldn't think of any others.
No 224 was repaired (it only suffered superficial damage) but for many years no driver would take it across the replacement Tay Bridge until, on the 29th anniversary of the disaster, it ran the evening mail across the bridge.
As someone who was born in Pottstown, this is the first time I've ever heard of this. Thanks for an excellent job !
Sadly it always takes a disaster to enact change. Never assume anything. Very informative video, no wasted unnecessary information, just what took place and happened.
Great video. As a Reading fan that grew up in NE Philly I had never heard of this. The Churchville station really has fallen into disrepair, in comparison of the photo of it I took in the '70s. I also worked as a medic in Willow Grove and I seem to remember some bad crossing accidents where that line crosses Welsh road.
We stopped by the Churchville station about 3 weeks ago. My son can’t stand them ripping up the tracks for more trail. Station looks rough. Someone’s living in it. 🚂🎄
Excellent job on these videos, Tom. Well put together, saturated with relevant information and a straight forward, no bs kind of approach.
Excellent video & research!
I live just a few minutes from this site in Rockledge, and fully intend to visit all the locations in this video as a result of watching.
I had no idea about this tragic event until RUclips served your video to me via a recommendation. Sometimes the algo gets it just right.
As a history buff & railfan, this story has now captured my imagination.
I must visit these places myself since they are literally in my backyard.
Thank you for this. This happened three years before my father was born. I never heard of this tragedy. Morbid as it is, I am grateful to you for researching this and putting this piece of local history out there. I enjoyed the footage of the stations and the drone footage. I'm a local more or less but have never used that trail. I do drive past the Churchville Reform Church at least once a week (heading to Tanner's you know) so will now make sure to check out the cemetery and pay respects to all those poor victims.
I lived in Bryn Athyn during the SECOND train wreck in about 1964. We rode our bikes down to the crash site. Took pictures with my Brownie camera of the derailed cars and collected train spike mementos.
Outstanding video! I grew up in cheltenham and have been to the bryn athyn station several times and never knew this story. Thank you!
Letting the Fox Chase-Newtown line go like that was another rail disaster.
Thanks for the detailed story of this forgotten tragedy. I just biked the trail the other day and found Death Gulch sadly fascinating. How awful it must have been.
No ads. Just quality. Finally! A good channel!
This is a beautifully produced video. It is BEYOND professional, it is magical. Thank You both.
Great video. I just walked through the gulch today and read the informational plaque at the site. I was curious to learn more. You have helped me to begin. Thank you!
My son watched this video many times and he was very curious to see these locations for himself, so we ended up visiting Penny pack trail and Churchville Station...just forgot to visit the Bryn Athyn Station. Thank you for this explaining the history of this train wreck tragedy.
I grew up within like 30 miles of Bryn Athyn and had no idea about this 🤯🤯🤯
There’s a lot of history (and urban legends/old wives tales) about Bryn Athyn itself, that could be a whole other video.
Great job, this channel is always amazing ❤❤❤
Excellent assembly and delivery of the information on this terrible event. Sensitively delivered too.
Great job on telling the story in detail I appreciate it Tom. my family grew up in Huntington valley and Bryn athyn, all the way back to the mid '50 I have biked the pennypack trail many times from rockledge to byberry Rd (was extended to county line Rd) from county line Rd headed north (newtown rail trail) ends at Bristol Rd (churchville) just shy of the churchville station in the future it would nice to extend further. the scenery is great, the curve & the old relics along the trail from the train days are great to see & and to get something to eat at the all aboard café (check for days & hours) at bryn athyn train station.
Given that I live about 30 minutes from Philadelphia (give or take) , this is basically local history that I had never heard of until now. Incredible work as always!
You never run two trains in opposing directions on the same track that is nuts. Excellent explaining of the disaster. I feel bad that it like other notable accidents, DID NOT NEED TO HAPPEN.
I've never heard of this wreck either. Very well done video!! Thanks for the time and effort in creating and sharing it!
I have watched this video many times. As a local resident myself, I am fascinated byvtge story. Thank you for making this very good video. This is television worthy in all aspects.
Wow! You do these train wreck documentaries so well... I wish you would do more! I'm not particularly interested in trains, but I just like to hear historical stories. I really enjoy the way you superimposed photographs on the landscape and really take us through what happened step-by-step. Thank you so much for the time and dedication you put into this!
Great job, guy. I lived in the area for 40 years and never heard of this wreck. Thank you so much for bringing it to our attention It seems that even today railroading is not for the faint for heart.
Never heard of this disaster. Thanks for an informative, well researched and well filmed video ❤
As a daily Philly commuter I loved this. So much great history
This is the best video I've ever seen detailing a historic train wreck. It isn't over-dramatic, and it doesn't focus on the terror. It tells the story, is brilliantly written and presented. You've obviously done your research and it shows. As an aside, I guarantee there are minor bits of charred wood and rusty bolts and strap steel under ht earth in that location. It can remain undisturbed, and so much the better, but it has to exist.
Everyone involved in the presentation gets an A+ for the film.
Thank you!
Very sad, and it's always a shame that progress is made at the expense of lives. A flaw of our society I feel. Thanks Tom
For a personally researched and produced video, it really is good. I enjoyed watching this entire video. Good job.
Another Excellent storyline. Back in those day's there were numerous train wrecks across the U.S. All because one person did not read his orders. A lot of people lost their lives before railways got their act together. It's sad that so much history has been forgotten. Keep up the good work and I am jealous 'lol' that you two are having fun. Cherish these moments.
Ty I run that trail all the time.. I look at it way different now!!
Earlier comment error on my end. Still awesome. Save Southampton Station! Edit: I think the Locomotive info is important! :)