1944 – Sep 28, Trains Collide, North Western Railroad, ~Missouri Valley, IA — 10
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 3-21-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
–10 Blanchard tally, taking into account death of one of the injured on October 16.
— 9 Carroll Times Herald, IA. “Fail to Establish Train Wreck Blame…” 11-2-1944, 1.[1]
— 9 Carroll Times Herald, IA. “No Statement as Probe of Wreck Ends.” 10-2-1944, p. 6.
— 9 Council Bluffs Nonpareil, IA. “Nine Dead…Freight-Passenger Crash…” 9-29-1944, p. 1.
— 9 Council Bluffs Nonpareil, IA. “Probe Cause of Railroad Wreck.” 9-30-1944, p. 1.
Narrative Information
Sep 29, Council Bluffs Nonpareil, IA: “Nine are dead and 43 persons are in Council Bluffs hospitals Friday as the result of an accident on the North Western railroad just south of Missouri Valley Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The Calumet, fast Omaha to Chicago freight, plowed into the Minneapolis-Omaha southbound passenger train as it was crossing the “Y” to the main line, overturning five cars on the passenger train and scattering wreckage for half a mile.
“In addition to those in hospitals here, five soldiers are known to have been taken to the Fort Crook hospital to ease the crowded conditions at the two local institutions. The Seventh Service command announced late Friday afternoon that 39 soldiers had been injured in the wreck, none from southwestern Iowa.
“The dead are:
Ben White, 53, Route 4, Council Bluffs, machinist foreman, North Western railroad.
Mrs. Ben White, 52, Route 4, Council Bluffs, president of the Back to the Rails auxiliary.
Edwin Mayer, 50, Ashland, Neb.
Ida McLarnan, Moville [IA].
Paul G. Spraisli, Luverne, Minn.
Baby Steenhoven, about 2 years old, Hull.
Pvt. Henry Oscar Elo, Lawler, Minn.
Pvt. Leo D. Hensen, Willston, N.D.
Pvt. Steve Steenhoven, Hull, Ia., husband of Mrs. Steenhoven.
In Critical Condition:
Mr. Agnes Steenhoven, Hull, mother of the dead baby.
Charlotte Erwin, 3 years old, Omaha, fractured skull.
Mrs. Florence Norton, Denver, surgical supervisor, Colorado General Hospital…
S. Sgt. Chester Halburg, 27, Dodge City, Kan., fractured skull.
Mrs. Renee Waugh, 26, 620 Avenue D, Council Bluffs, head and back injuries.
Mrs. John Anderson, San Marco, Tex., chest and internal injuries, two leg fractures.
“A search was reported under way at the scene of the wreckage for a 5-year-old girl. Rescuers said one coach had not been examined thoroughly but that a check would be made as soon as wrecking crews had completed righting the car.
“Railroad cranes, which were called into service Thursday night, have re-established service on the line and traffic is reported moving through to Omaha.
Service Men to Omaha.
“Most of the injured service men on board the train were given first aid treatment at the Mercy Hospital here and then taken to the hospital at Fort Crook to ease the crowded condition at local hospitals. Only five are believed to have been hospitalized at Fort Crook.
“While all ambulances available in the area were pressed into service to bring the injured to Council Bluffs, many of the 43 registered at the Jennie Edmundson and Mercy Hospitals here Friday morning arrived via stock trucks, merchandise carrier trucks, private automobiles and even a grocery truck. Doctors from Woodbine, Logan, Missouri Valley and Council Bluffs were pressed into service at the scene of the wreck.
“The freight train rammed the nine-car passenger train in the middle. The freight locomotive pulling the crack Calumet, which makes a regular Omaha to Chicago run, crashed into the front end of the second passenger coach, tearing off the entire right side. The impact raked three passenger coaches, the lounge car and a baggage car off the track, turning then on their side.
Bert Lowder of Sioux City, passenger locomotive engineer, said his train was on the single line, crossing over at the “Y” to the left side of the double track which runs from Missouri Valley to Council Bluffs. He was southbound into Council Bluffs. The freight was en route to Chicago.
Couldn’t Clear Train.
“Lowder said his train was traveling about four or five miles an hour when he saw the freight approaching. “I opened it up as fast as I could trying to get clear of the switch,” Lowder said. “I thought we would get clear, but we couldn’t make it. The freight hit us and we stopped dead right then.”….
“The crew on the freight were Engineer Ray Runyan and Conductor Cotner, both of Boone, and Fireman B. F. Jones.
“The wreck occurred about 500 feet from the home of Ace Golden, whose 16-year-old son, Ira, witnessed the accident. Ira ran to Missouri Valley, a distance of about a mile, to tell of the accident.
“Sam Grego of Cedar Falls, formerly of Council Bluffs, riding in the passenger train with Mrs. Grego, placed the time of the wreck at 7:32 p.m….
“About 9 p.m. the call came from local hospitals for all doctors and nurses to report. Shortly thereafter patients began arriving at Mercy. Police were required to patrol the area to keep spectators away from the ambulance entrance. Auxiliary lighting was set up outside the hospital by the city fire department…
“The Jennie Edmundson Hospital was held open to handle the patients which the railroad said they were bringing into the city via special train. When the train finally arrived at 11:55 p.m. it contained about 100 persons of which some 35 were “walking injured.” The injured had been treated for cuts and bruises and did not require hospitalization….
“Missouri Valley residents nearest the wreck opened their homes to the injured. Hospital attaches here said Friday that blankets of all types were wrapped around the patients as they arrived.
A large number of passengers on the train were service men, many of whom assisted in the rescue work….
“The soldiers and sailors organized rescue crews and helped remove the injured shortly after the cars toppled off the tracks. In some instances crowbars were required. The soldiers cut wire of nearby fences to permit ambulances to back up to an embankment to carry away the dead and injured….” (Council Bluffs Nonpareil, IA. “Nine Dead, Many Injured in Freight-Passenger Crash at Missouri Valley, Thursday.” 9-29-1944, p. 1.)
Sep 30, United Press: “Missouri Valley (UP) – An inquiry began Saturday into the cause of Thursday night’s collision between a Chicago and North Western freight and passenger train, which killed six civilians and three soldiers and which has been described as Iowa’s ‘worst’ wreck ‘in recent years.’
“The inquiry was being conducted behind closed doors at the Missouri Valley city hall by representatives of the Iowa Commerce Commission, the Interstate Commerce Commission and North Western officials from Chicago, Boone and Omaha. Investigators and crews of both trains involved in the collision, with other witnesses, visited the scene of the wreck and then returned to the city hall….
“Four persons remain at Mercy in what is termed ‘critical’ conditions…” (Council Bluffs Nonpareil, IA. “Probe Cause of Railroad Wreck.” 9-30-1944, p. 1.)
Oct 2, Associated Press: “Boone, Ia. (AP) – Final phases of the investigation into last week’s railroad wreck at Missouri Valley, Ia., got underway here today after the investigators left Missouri Valley last night without issuing any statement regarding the crash, which took nine lives and left nearly 100 persons injured…
“The collision between a North Western passenger and freight train on the Missouri Valley outskirts Thursday night is being probed by a group including representatives of the interstate commerce commission, the Iowa state commerce commission, and the railroad. C. H. Longman, North Western official from Chicago, heads the board.
“One railroad investigator who declined permission to use his name said he expects the evidence to place definite blame for the accident. Railway officials yesterday estimated the damage to equipment in the collision at more than $80,000 including two passenger coaches destroyed, four damaged, several freight cars and the freight train locomotive damaged. The damaged passenger cars were taken to Council Bluffs, Ia., but the wrecked freight cars remained at Missouri Valley….” (Carroll Times Herald, IA. “No Statement as Probe of Wreck Ends.” 10-2-1944, 6.)
Oct 19: “The death of Mitchell DeKoster at Ft. Crook Hospital in the late afternoon of Monday, October 16, came as a great shock…Mitchell was a victim of the train wreck at Missouri Valley of September 28, 1944, but until Sunday, seemed to be well on his way to recovery. A new complication developed on Sunday, and the doctors in charge called his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Tom De Koster, advising them to come at once. Hopes of his recovery were held until Monday afternoon when he suddenly died.” (Sioux County Capital, Orange City, IA. “Young Soldier Dies of Injuries.” 10-19-1944, p. 1.)
Nov 2: “Des Moines, Ia. (AP) – H. A. Franklin, safety engineer of the state commerce commission, issued a report today saying an investigation of a train collision in Missouri Valley September 28 which killed nine and injured 95 failed to determine the cause of the crash.
A number of factors were considered…Each was problematical and so it was impossible to tie down the cause of the collision and make a statement as to the exact cause of the accident.
“Franklin said the interstate commerce commission would make a report of the collision from Washington ‘some time later,’ but that the North Western railroad company, whose trains were involved, probably would not make public a report of its investigation.
“A passenger train en route from Sioux City to Council Bluffs and a freight train east-bound from Council Bluffs crashed just west of the Missouri Valley railroad station.” (Carroll Times Herald, IA. “Fail to Establish Train Wreck Blame…” 11-2-1944, p. 1.)
Nov 2: “Des Moines – UP – Investigation of the collision of freight and passenger trains near Missouri Valley Sept. 28…failed to determine the cause…H. A. Franklin, safety engineer, today reported…Franklin’s report said, however, that a review of the record and facts ‘leaves the thought that either the train control failed to function as intended at the proper location or that the passenger train moved across to the westward main track against the switch indicator, which did not indicate a clear eastward main track, under which circumstances additional protection should have been provided.’ ‘An additional thought,’ the report continued, ‘is that the freight train was intending to make a stop at Missouri Valley – that slightly better judgment might have been used in approaching this location in that speed could have been somewhat reduced…in which event the accident would in all probability have been averted.’
“The report recommended that in view of the heavy volume of traffic ‘combined with other conditions in the locality’ that the Chicago and Northwestern Railway Co., provide an electric switch locking to ‘prevent trains entering upon main tracks unless the way is positively clear’.” (Oelwein Daily Register, IA. “Report Fails to Find Wreck Cause.” 11-2-1944, p. 1.)
Sources
Carroll Times Herald, IA. “Fail to Establish Train Wreck Blame at Missouri Valley.” 11-2-1944, 1. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=162013182
Carroll Times Herald, IA. “No Statement as Probe of Wreck Ends.” 10-2-1944, p. 6. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=160039768
Council Bluffs Nonpareil, IA. “Nine Dead, Many Injured in Freight-Passenger Crash at Missouri Valley, Thursday.” 9-29-1944, 1. http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=6395948
Council Bluffs Nonpareil, IA. “Probe Cause of Railroad Wreck.” 9-30-1944, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=6397080
[1] While the article notes nine fatalities, it does not take into account the death of one of the injured, Mitchell DeKoster, at Ft. Crook Hospital in the late afternoon of Monday, October 16.