1887 — August 10, Fire, Trestle Failure, Train Wreck, near Chatsworth, IL –79-85

— 79-85 Blanchard estimate.*

— 116 Bloomington Daily Leader, IL. “The Chatsworth Horror….A List of 116 Killed. ” 8-13-1887, 1.
–90-110 Weekly Leader, Bloomington, IL. “110 Killed!…Niagara Falls Excursion…” 8-12-1887, 3.
— 101 Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). 1982, p. 435.**
–81 at the time.
–20 later of injuries.
— 85 Evening Gazette, Monmouth, IL. “Victims of the Wreck.” 8-18-1887, p. 2.
–127 seriously injured
–250 other less seriously injured.
— 81-85 Kemp. “1887 Trainwreck Near Chatsworth One of Worst…US” Pantagraph, 8-5-2007
— 81-85 Klasey, Jack. “The Chatsworth train disaster.” Daily Journal, Kankakee, IL, 8-5-2017.
— 83 Haine, Edgar A. “Crowded Excursion Trains Crashes…” Railroad Wrecks. 1993, p. 56.
— 82 Nash. Darkest Hours – A Narrative Encyclopedia of Worldwide Disasters… 1977, 737.
— 82 Reed, R. Train Wrecks: A Pictorial History of Accidents on The Main Line. 1968, 32.
— 82 Shaw, Robert B. Down Brakes: A History of Railway Accidents… 1961. P. 82.
— >81 Watson. “The Bridge Was Burned at Chatsworth,” 64 in Kartman. Disaster! 2007.
— 81 Encyclopedia Americana 1965, p. 150.
— 81 Groves. Chatsworth Train Wreck: Aug 10, 1887. 2006.
— 80 Willsey/Lewis. “Memorable Railroad Accidents,” Harper’s Book of Facts. 1895, 674.
— 79 Bloomington Daily Leader, IL. “Another Chatsworth Victim.” 8-23-1887, p. 2.
— 79 Decatur Daily Review, IL. “Seventy-Nine Dead. The Official List…” 8-20-1887, p. 1.
–73 at the time.
— 6 from injuries prior to the 20th.
— 79 Evening Gazette, Monmouth, IL. “The T. P. & W Settlements.” 8-26-1887, p. 4.
— 79 (number of death settlements paid by the Toledo, Peoria and Western Rail Co.)
–120 (number of injury
— 79 Philadelphia Record Almanac 1888. “General and Local Events, August, 1887,” p. 94.
— 78 Quincy Daily Journal, IL. “The Verdict.” 8-19-1887, p. 2. (Cited as Coroner’s List.)
— 77 Bloomington Daily Leader, IL. “The Chatsworth Horror.” 8-13-1887, p. 1.
— 76 Decatur Daily Review, IL. “Summing Up. The Total of Killed and Injured…” 8-14-1887, 1.

*Blanchard: The highest death toll we have seen at the time (through 8-31-1887) is 79. We note eleven sources since that time which note between 80 and 85 deaths. Thus, we choose to use 85 as the high-end of our estimated death toll, though we have not located identified victims beyond 79.

**Blanchard on Cornell death toll. We do not use this death toll in that (1) the statement of 81 deaths at the time which was closer to 73 depending on the source. While there were injury deaths afterwards, the total deaths, including deaths from injuries afterwards was 79 as of Aug 20. We know of one other death not on that list (Jonathan Neal’s child). We have attempted a search of Illinois newspapers for notes on other Chatsworth-related deaths through the month of August and see none. There may have been one or more we missed, or of one or more who died later, but from what we have seen reported, we do not believe this number would be as many as twenty.

Narrative Information

Groves: “During the late evening of August 10, 1887, a fifteen-foot trestle bridge on the Toledo, Peoria, and Western Railroad just outside of Chatsworth, Illinois, caught fire. It is unknown whether careless workers who had been burning weeds along the tracks earlier in the day accidentally started the fire or if sparks from a train had ignited the blaze. Regardless, by midnight the bridge was engulfed in flames, just as an excursion train carrying eight hundred passengers reached the crossing.

“A popular vacation during the late 19th century, excursion trains typically carried middleclass vacationers from rural locations in the Midwest to popular destinations in the East or West. The train passing by Chatsworth was heading to Niagara Falls, with a round-trip ticket from Illinois costing only $7.50. The low cost for the excursion attracted a large number of vacationers, creating an unusually lengthy train consisting of two locomotive engines pulling over twenty passenger cars.

“Although the train’s engineer spotted the burning bridge on the tracks ahead, he was unable to stop the train in time. The first engine passed over the bridge with no trouble, but the bridge collapsed under the second engine, causing it to break off from the first and tumble into the ditch. The passenger cars followed, crashing first into the overturned engine and then into each other, each car slicing into the one before it. All told, eleven passenger cars careened into the ditch, with only the heavy Pullman sleeper cars staying firmly on the tracks. Eighty-one passengers were killed in the crash and another 372 were injured.

“L. J. Haberkorn, owner and operator of the only hotel and restaurant in Chatsworth, and his wife had been scheduled to be on the Niagara Falls excursion but they decided to skip the trip at the last minute. When word reached town about the train wreck, Haberkorn led a group of civilian first responders to the site, arriving within an hour of the crash. As there was little water available to extinguish the burning wreckage, the rescuers used their bare hands to scrape up dirt to throw on the flames. Haberkorn asserted years later that the wreck was “not an accident but a case of criminal carelessness on the part of the railroad officials.” He believed that, because of the number of passengers on the excursion train, there should have been a smaller pilot engine traveling ahead of it to make sure that the track was passable. Haberkorn lamented, “Had the railroad company done their duty, I would not be seeing in my mind these horrible sights all over again as I saw them that terrible night.” (Groves 2006, Chatsworth Train Wreck: Aug 10, 1887)

Harper’s Weekly: “One of the most terrible railroad accidents ever recorded in this country occurred about three miles east of Chatsworth, Illinois, on the night of August 10. An excursion train for Niagara Falls had been made up along the line of the Toledo, Peoria, and Western Railroad. When it left Peoria it consisted of a baggage-car, a special car occupied by the Superintendent of the road, five passenger coaches, two chair cars, and six sleepers, and was drawn by two engines. Every berth was occupied in the sleeping-cars, and the other cars were filled with excursionists, the whole number of passengers being over six hundred.

“The train passed through Peoria at 11:45 p.m. Three miles further along on the road there was a shallow “run,” not more than fifteen feet wide and ten feet deep, which the recent drought in that region had made dry. This was crossed by a wooden trestle bridge supported by timbers. As the train approached this it was running at the rate of thirty-five miles an hour with a clear track. Just before reaching it the engineer of the forward engine noticed flames licking up through the wooden structure, but too late to stop the train. His engine crossed the gulch, but the burning bridge gave way, the tender broke from the engine and fell in, the second engine ploughed furiously into the farther bank, and cars came crashing with terrific force upon one another, telescoped throughout their length, and piled in splinters over the broken and burning trestle. The sleeping-cars stopped short of the horrible gap, but were badly shaken up.

“The scene that followed it is impossible to describe. The hapless passengers of the forward cars were, almost inextricably mingled in the shattered mass. The engineer of the second engine was instantly killed, and the fireman seriously injured. Out of the first car only four persons were rescued alive, and they were badly hurt, all being crushed by the second car, the bottom of which rested along the tops of the seats of the first. The third was piled upon the second. The next three were smashed and splintered, and most of their occupants were among the wounded. To add to the midnight horror, the flames were making their way in the shattered debris, and there was no water at hand.

“After a long contest the fire was extinguished, mainly by smothering it with dirt, which had to be dug up with the hands or any improvised implement that could be seized. While this was going on amid the shrieks of the injured victims and the terrors of those who escaped, every effort was made to extricate the dead, the dying, and the wounded. Help was summoned from the nearest towns along the road—Gilman, Piper City, and Chatsworth, and most of the dead and helplessly injured were sent to the latter place, where the Town-hall was turned into a hospital and the railroad station into a morgue.

“The number of the killed and injured is not definitely known. An official estimate gives the former as 16, and the latter 279. Half the number wounded were able to go to their homes. The robbery of some of the helpless victims by miserable wretches who were not identified led to the suspicion that the bridge had been set on fire for the purpose of wrecking the train and giving opportunity to plunder the passengers, but there, was no other evidence to justify this horrible suspicion.

“As usual, there were many cases of heroism as well as of meanness displayed in connection with this accident, and every effort was made by most of the uninjured passengers, the officers and employees of the road, and the inhabitants of the adjacent villages to take decent care of the dead and mitigate the sufferings of the living. The immediate facilities were meager, as the disaster occurred at a lonely spot, but resources were speedily drawn from a distance. Bodies not identified and taken in charge by friends of the dead were sent to Peoria, and as soon as possible the wounded were transferred where proper care could be bestowed upon them. They lived mostly along the line of the Toledo, Peoria, and Western road and its western connections as far, as Iowa.” (Harper’s Weekly. “The Illinois Railroad Accident,” August 20, 1887.)

Kemp. “1887 Trainwreck Near Chatsworth One of Worst…US” Pantagraph, 8-5-2007:

“On Aug. 10, 1887, an eastbound Toledo, Peoria & Western Railroad train trundled out of Peoria and through Eureka and Chenoa. It was filled with about 700 vacationers taking advantage of a special offer to visit the scenic wonder of Niagara Falls. It took two steam engines to pull the long line of wooden coaches.

”The wreck occurred several minutes before midnight near Chatsworth, a small community in southeast Livingston County. Unbeknownst to the TP&W, a fire earlier that day had damaged a small bridge that crossed a dry creek bed. Although the bridge remained standing, the wooden trestle was deeply charred and unable to support the weight of the oncoming train.

”It had been a hot and dry summer. On the day of the wreck, the TP&W, fearing sparks from its steam engines could ignite brush fires, ordered a section crew to undertake controlled burns along its line. One such burn occurred near the doomed bridge, and in all likelihood, the crew failed to completely extinguish the fire.

”Just east of Chatsworth, the train followed a sloping grade, and as it approached the bridge its speed reached some 40 mph. The first engine managed to cross safely as the bridge collapsed behind it. The second engine rolled onto its side, and as each wooden passenger car flew across the creek bed it piled – or “telescoped” – into the car ahead. The sleeper cars in the rear were tossed about, but came to a halt before reaching the bridge.

”The smoldering mass of steel, splintered wood and mangled bodies beggared all description. “Instantly the air was filled with the cries of the wounded and the shrieks of those about to die,” reported the Chicago Times in the lurid prose of the day. “The groans of men and the screams of women united to make an appalling sound, and above all could be heard the agonizing cries of little children as in some instances they lay pinned alongside their dead parents.”….

”With more than 80 dead, the Chatsworth Train Wreck probably ranks as the second- or third-deadliest U.S rail accident in the 19th century.

”Many of the dead and dying were transported to Chatsworth. “Charnel houses and hospitals make up tonight what has been the peaceful village of Chatsworth,” noted one newspaper account.

”The wreck was a national story, and The New York Times devoted almost half its front page to the tragedy. The Pantagraph was the first newspaper to break the story, thanks to the work of telegraph editor William McCambridge.

”Much about that night remains shrouded in mystery, and some of the basic facts remain contested, such as the number of cars pulled by the two steam engines. Even the final death toll is unknown, with some accounts settling on 81 and others placing the tally at 85….

”The wreck is said to have spurred safety improvements in the railroad industry, most notably the increased use of steel in the construction of passenger cars.” (Kemp. “1887 Trainwreck Near Chatsworth One of Worst…US” Pantagraph, 8/5/2007.)

Philly Almanac: August 11, 1887. “An excursion train with nearly 1000 passengers on board fell through a burning trestle at Chatsworth, Ill., on the Toledo, Peoria and Western Railroad, by which 79 passengers were killed and about 300 injured.” (Philadelphia Record Almanac 1888. “General and Local Events, August, 1887,” p. 94.

Reed: “At Chatsworth, Ill., on Aug. 10, 1887, a Toledo, Peoria & Western excursion bound for Niagara Falls fell through a small trestle. Nine coaches tumbled into a pile, and eighty-two passengers were killed in a dreadful telescope.” (Reed, R.C. Train Wrecks: A Pictorial History of Accidents on The Main Line. 1968, p. 112.)

Willsey and Lewis/Harpers: “Excursion train breaks through a burning bridge near Chatsworth, Ill.; 80 killed, about 200 injured…10 Aug. 1887.” (Willsey and Lewis. “Memorable Railroad Accidents,” Harper’s Book of Facts. 1895, 674.)

Newspapers

Aug 11: “….The train which met such a terrible accident was run as a Niagara Falls excursion out of Peoria on the Toledo, Peoria & Warsaw road, and was composed of two engines and fifteen coaches. The passengers were all bound for Niagara Falls coming from various points on the line of the road and at different places in Tazewell, Woodford, Peoria and Mclean Counties including Washington, Eureka, Secor, El Paso, Metamora, Gridley and Chenoa. The train, according to the earlier reports, was a very heavy one, and a little after midnight last night passed Chenoa and when a distance of twenty-five miles or a little more from that point the train reached a bridge spanning a deep ravine a mile and half west of Piper City in Ford County, and about twelve miles east of Gilman.

“The train was pulled by two heavy engines and it seems that the bridge weakened with its heavy load, and in a moment tottered and fell, throwing the entire train to the bottom of the ravine in a promiscuous mass of human suffering and demolished coaches and engines. Various were the rumors of he terrific slaughter of the passengers, it being estimated by the earlier reports that the number killed and sounded was from seventy-five to one hundred and fifty, the last reports placing the number at one hundred….

Ninety Killed.

“Chenoa, Aug 11. – Everything is in confusion here on account of the accident, and it is difficult to sift out an accurate report. The number of killed is now placed art ninety, and this is believed to be accurate.

“The ill-fated train was composed of eleven sleepers, three chair cars, one baggage car, and Superintendent Armstrong’s car. The latter was slightly injured.

“There were thirty-three people got on the train at Fairbury, three of whom were from Pontiac…..

“The first engine got over the bridge safely, but the second engine went down, and all the cars followed, piling themselves up on top of each other.

“The wreck at once took fire, but after the most desperate efforts they succeeded in putting it out. Most of the people however, were killed by the crash….

102 Dead.

“Chatsworth, Aug. 11. – There were only seven coaches went down through the bridge. The Bloomington people were in the last coaches, and it is believed they were among the saved….

“The accident occurred two miles west of Piper City and nine miles east of Forest….

“There were 400 people on the train. The bridge is 14 feet high and very short.

“There are one hundred and two dead bodies laid out already. Everybody on the first seven coaches was either killed or injured…..

Run Into a Burning Culvert.

“Chatsworth, Ill., Aug. 11 – The Niagara Falls excursion train on the T., P. & W. Railway, consisting of seventeen coaches and sleepers, crowded with passengers from Peoria, Ill., and other points along the line, was wrecked two and one-half miles east of Chatsworth, Ill., by running into a burning culvert. The two engines were completely wrecked, together with ten coaches and the baggage-car. Engineer McClintock was instantly killed, the two firemen and the other engineer escaping serious injury. The ten cars were piled on top of the two engines, being telescoped and piled across and on top of each other.

“It is miraculous how any escaped, as the coaches and engines do not occupy over two car lengths of track, and are all on top of the road bed. In one coach not a person escaped. In another, only a lady escaped. Seventy dead have been taken out up to this time. One hundred wounded are now in Chatsworth in the town hall, school house, depot, etc. At Piper City there are a large number of wounded – over fifty.

“The dead were estimated at over one hundred. The cars caught fire, but were put out by the train men and passengers. A heavy rain set in about two hours after the wreck before the wounded could be taken away. It was raining for two hours. The people are doing all they can for the wounded.

Wreck.

“Chenoa, Aug. 11. – The bridge was sixty feet long and high over a slough….

“The section men watched the line all day yesterday for fires….

Hard to Believe.

“A dispatch to The Leader from Peoria at 2:30 this afternoon says that the Peoria Journal has information that the dead will number 250, and the injured 150….

One Hundred and Ten Dead.

“Peoria, Aug. 11. – A private dispatch from Superintendent Armstrong at 2 p.m. says: ‘One hundred and ten bodies have so far been taken out of the wreck at Chatsworth.’….

105 Bodies Recovered.

“Chatsworth, Aug. 11. – 3:25 p.m. – One hundred and five bodies have been taken from the wreck. Many have not been recovered. A train load of injured was taken back to Peoria….

“They are still taking out the dead….

Over 400 Killed or Injured.

“Chatsworth, Aug. 11. – (4:50 p.m.)….Over one hundred killed and mor dying. The wreck, between here and Piper City, occurred at 11:49, and is a repetition of the Massachusetts and Vermont horrors.

“Nearly 1,000 persons were aboard. There were 17 coaches, and 12 were mashed. The killed, wounded and missing will amount to nearly 400….Many bodies are yet in the ruins….

Latest – 142 Killed.

Chenoa, Aug 11. – (6 p.m.) – The latest report here is 142 persons are killed. The number of injured is not given….

“Another report says 78 bodies have been taken from the wreck and that the total number of killed will be about 100….

Two Hundred Killed

“Chatsworth, Aug. 11 – (3:30 p.m.) – So far over seventy bodies have been recovered and conveyed to the town hall, school house and depot platform. No one has yet been taken from under the cars, and not even a sound can be heard from them. Is feared all are dead and wounded. The killed is estimated at two hundred. The wounded so far number 150….” (Weekly Leader, Bloomington, IL. “110 Killed! A Terrible Accident on the T., P. & W. Near Piper City. A Niagara Falls Excursion Train Goes Through a Bridge.” 8-12-1887, p. 3.)

Aug 12: “Peoria, Aug. 12. – A dispatch from Peoria states that a revised list made of the killed at the Piper City accident, gives a total of 116. This includes the listed deaths, and in it are listed children and infants. This is believed to be nearly accurate. It is further believed that this roster will be increased by other deaths that is thought must follow some of the more seriously wounded who lie in a precarious condition near the scene of the late catastrophe.” (Bloomington Daily Leader, IL. “The Chatsworth Horror….A List of 116 Killed.” 8-13-1887, p. 1.)

Aug 13: “Chatsworth, Ill., Aug. 13. – Much of the excitement which has prevailed in this city for the past three days has died out. All the dead, whether identified or not, have been shipped away. In addition to the dead, all the wounded able to be moved, except those in private houses, have been taken from here to Peoria. Seven, however, yet remained this morning. Three of them it was known would certainly die, with a possible fourth one. With these, Mrs. Valdejo, of Peoria, who was erroneously reported dead last night, died this morning at 9:10….

“It was currently reported this morning that several section hands had been arrested, but the marshal and coroner know nothing of it.

“It was said that another body had been recovered from the wreck, but this, too, was denied.

The Number of Dead and Wounded.

“Chicago, Aug. 13. – A special from Chatsworth today to the Chicago Evening News, says that although up to the present the dead, including a body taken from the wreck late last night, number not more than seventy-seven, there is a reasonable room for the belief that there have been deaths, perhaps a dozen, resulting from the tragedy, which cannot be definitely reported owing to the confusion and lack of system when the bodies were taken away….” (Bloomington Daily Leader, IL. “The Chatsworth Horror.” 8-13-1887, p. 1.)

Aug 14: “Chatsworth, Ill., Aug. 14. – From the following summary the grand total of victims of the wreck will be seen: Total number of deaths up to this time, according to official returns, 76; wounded seriously and treated for wounds, 129; wounded slightly and gone home, 150; grand total of killed and wounded and injured, 355….” (Decatur Daily Review, IL. “Summing Up. The Total of Killed and Injured…” 8-14-1887, p. 1.)

Aug 14: “Chatsworth, Ill., Aug. 14. – Mrs. Stark, whose leg was amputated yesterday, died today at 5:30 o’clock p.m. ….” (Bloomington Daily Leader, IL. “Additional Deaths on Sunday.” 8-15-1887, p. 1.)

Aug 15: “Chatsworth, Ill., Aug. 15. – Mr. Stillwell, of West Point, Ind., who was injured in the recent wreck, died at Piper City this morning….” (Bloomington Daily Leader, IL. “Another Death at Piper City.” 8-15-1887, p. 1.)

Aug 17: “Peoria, Ills., Aug. 17. – Seven of the wounded from the Chatsworth horror are in such a critical condition that their lives are almost despaired of, and others have about even chances. Those in danger here are Mrs. Walters, Adam Schamberger and Mr. Abraham, a cigar-maker. At Piper City William Smith, William Forbes (township collector of Elmwood), and Miss Pearl Adams (law librarian of this city) are very low and their cases almost without hope. At Chatsworth Homer Bond, of Colchester, is having a hand-to-hand struggle with death, and the chances are against him….

“A quantity of bones which were found in the wreck Tuesday morning have been pronounced to be those of a human being by local doctors, and the feeling against the company for ordering the burning of the debris is very strong.” (Dixon Evening Telegraph, IL. “More Deaths in Prospect.” 8-17-1887, p. 6.)

Aug 19: “Chatsworth, Aug. 19. – The coroner’s jury in the Chatsworth disaster has returned a verdict finding Section Boss Coughlin guilty of gross criminal negligence in leaving fires burning along the track, and failing to inspect regularly. The jury recommend that he be held to the grand jury. The railroad company is censured for not having the track patrolled all evening. The coroner’s warrants have been sent to Pontiac for service.

“Timothy Coughlin, the section foreman, was arrested at noon, and will be taken to Pontiac, the county seat of Livingston County, at once. He says he can not give bail and will have to go to jail. He insists that the verdict is unjust; that he went over his entire section as ordered, and that no fires were built as near the bridge as Heald and Taggert testified.

“Coroner Long’s list contains seventy-eight names. The man thought to be A. Martin, of Bloomington, was identified by his friends as M. H. Cassell, of Washington, Ill. The body supposed to be that of N. A. Moore, of Jacksonville, turned out to be J. N. Vokes, of Moline. Coroner Long adds Mrs. Neal’s eighteen-month’s old babe to the company’s list. Separate verdicts were made out for each person. Mrs. Dr. Duckett’s is the first name on the list….” (Quincy Daily Journal, IL. “The Verdict.” 8-19-1887, p. 2.)

Aug 20: “Chatsworth, Ill., Aug. 20 – Of the wounded by the railroad disaster of the 10th inst., will in town, Mr. Frank Taylor, of Macomb, Ill., is improving. Homer Bod, of Colchester, is in a very precarious condition; he is very weak. Other wounded are doing nicely [a number of critically wounded were removed to one or more Peoria hospitals shortly after the accident.]

“The following is a complete list furnished the coroner of those who were killed and of those who have died from wounds received there, the latter being marked by a star [six]….” [we omit the listing.] (Decatur Daily Review, IL. “Seventy-Nine Dead. The Official List…” 8-20-1887, p. 1.)

Aug 23: “Peoria, Aug. 23. – The two and a half-year-old child of Jonathan Neal, Mossville, is to be added to the list of the Chatsworth dead, making the number 79. The little one was taken to a farm house and sent home for interment without any return being made to the coroner.” (Bloomington Daily Leader, IL. “Another Chatsworth Victim.” 8-23-1887, p. 2.)

Aug 26: “In adjusting the claims of the relatives and legal representatives of the killed in the Chatsworth horror and in settling with the injured, the T.P.& W. company is willing to pay over all the money on hand and all they can raise – probably the sum of $300,000 – to those entitled to damages, provided a compromise can be effected and the road released from all further liability. A Peoria paper says that if some such compromise cannot be effected as mentioned above, the road will be thrown into the hands of a receiver, and the result will be that the claimants will get little if anything at once, and will be kept out of the balance of the damage money coming to them for months, and probably years, as the road at present is earning but little money. The estimated amount that could legally be claimed against the road is about $1,000,000. The number of dead, as given by the railroad company is seventy-nine and 120 wounded, making for a total liable to recover damages, 200….” (Evening Gazette, Monmouth, IL. “The T. P. & W Settlements.” 8-26-1887, p. 4.)

Aug 30: “Bloomington, Ill., Aug. 30. – Sheriff Wilson, of Pontiac, Livingston county, came here yesterday with Timothy Coughlin, the Chatsworth section boss under indictment on the charge of having by criminal carelessness caused the dreadful disaster near that place. Coughlin came to ask Judge Reeves for a writ of habeas corpus. The prisoner and his attendants were conducted to Judge Reeves, in chambers, where a motion was made to dismiss the prisoner on the ground that there was nothing in the evidence upon which he was held to warrant his continued incarceration. Statements were made by Coughlin, his attorney, and the state’s attorney. After brief deliberation, Judge Reeves granted the writ, admitting the prisoner to bail in the sum of $1,000, which was immediately given. Coughlin returned to his home at Chatsworth greatly relieved.” (Evening Gazette, Monmouth, IL. “Tim Coughlin Released.” 8-30-1887, p. 1.)

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Reed, Robert C. Train Wrecks: A Pictorial History of Accidents on The Main Line. New York: Bonanza Books, 1968.

Shaw, Robert B. Down Brakes: A History of Railway Accidents, Safety Precautions and Operating Practices in the United States. London & Geneva: P.R. MacMillan Limited, 1961.

Watson, Elmo Scott. “The Bridge Was Burned at Chatsworth,” pp. 61-64 in Kartman, Ben. Disaster! 2007. Partially digitized by Google at: http://books.google.com/books?id=lynBIKvEDBQC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Weekly Leader, Bloomington, IL. “110 Killed! A Terrible Accident on the T., P. & W. Near Piper City. A Niagara Falls Excursion Train Goes Through a Bridge.” 8-12-1887, p. 3. Accessed 7-26-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/bloomington-weekly-leader-aug-12-1887-p-3/

Willsey, Joseph H. (Compiler), Charlton T. Lewis (Editor). Harper’s Book of Facts: A Classified History of the World. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1895. Accessed 9-4-2017 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=UcwGAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false