1951 — Nov 12, snowstorm, high-speed passenger train runs into slow train ~Evanston, WY–17

–20 UP. “17 Bodies Found In Train Wreck.” The Billings Gazette, MT. 11-14-1951, p. 1.
–18 Anniston Star, AL. “Train Crashes May Be Cause of Rail Laws.” 11-28-1951, p. 14.
–17 Assoc. Press. “Hearing Set on UP Wreck.” The Idaho Free Press, Nampa. 11-15-1951, p.1.
–17 Haine. Railroad Wrecks. 1993, p. 32.
–17 Ogden Standard Examiner, UT. “U. P. Begins Probe Into Train Crash.” 11-16-1951, p. 1.
–17 Unita County Herald, Evanston, WY. “Remembering…passenger train wreck of 1951.” 3-9-2018
–17 Dead & missing. UP. “The Dead and Injured.” Oxnard Press-Courier, CA, 11-13-1951, p1.

Narrative Information

March 9, 2018, Unita County Herald, Evanston, WY (Shelly Horne): “Blizzard conditions blanketed Evanston Nov. 12, 1951. Snow covered the ground up to 18 inches deep. It was a near total whiteout and created one of the most tragic events of the 1950s — the collision of two of Union Pacific’s elite Streamliners at the Wyoming/Utah state line, which killed 17 passengers and crew members and injured 159 more.

“Passenger trains operated on a published schedule called a timetable. Eastbound passenger trains were identified by even numbers. Freight trains had no timetables. Their movements were controlled by train dispatchers who gave the right of way to passenger trains.

“Streamliners leaving Los Angeles and San Francisco met in Ogden, Utah, and proceeded from there to Chicago traveling 10 minutes apart. On this snowy day, the City of Los Angeles No. 104, left Ogden with 53 passengers at 9:45 a.m.

“The City of San Francisco departed Ogden with about 150 passengers at 10:07 a.m., 12 minutes late. Engine crews changed in Evanston and engineers were expected to maintain or make up time if their trains were late or be called upon to explain their delay when they reached the next terminal.

“Several important factors influenced the accident. A heavy wet snow was falling and there was a strong wind from the west. The temperature was in the 20s. A freight train, Extra 1475 East, consisting of three diesel units and 90 cars was in the siding at Wyuta, which holds 124 cars.

“Key to understanding the cause of the accident is the operation of automatic block signals, which act like stoplights along the track governing train movements. A green light indicates proceed, a yellow light cautions to immediately reduce speed to 20 miles per hour, a red light means stop. No signal is the same as a red signal.

“The City of Los Angeles passed Wahsatch at 11:09 a.m., then 8 minutes late. The City of San Francisco passed Wahsatch at 11:21 a.m., only 12 minutes after the City of Los Angeles, but still 10 minutes late. Visibility was restricted to about 200 feet and some block signals were completely covered with snow and ice, making them impossible to see.

“All engine crew members are required by rule to call out the signal to the engineer when they see it. Again, no signal means stop. The City of Los Angeles passed the first block signal, slowed at the second block signal, and stopped at the third block signal after it passed Wahsatch.

“The slow moving eastbound freight passed Wahsatch only 14 minutes ahead of No. 104, and it was also having trouble seeing the three block signals after leaving Wahsatch. It stopped and entered the center siding at Wyuta to allow the Streamliners to pass. No. 104 stopped at the west end of the siding because the crew could not see the signal. It then carried on to the next signal, where it stopped because they could not see that signal either.

“After its last stop at signal 9214, No.104 immediately started moving again. As it started moving, it was struck by No. 102, The City of San Francisco.

“The City of San Francisco had observed the reduced speed limit passing Wahsatch, then slowed to 30 mph and then over the next 4 miles increased speed to 77 mph. The fireman said he could not see through the snow on his windshield and could not see a signal less than a mile down track. Both of the other two crew members in the cab called the signals clear. But because the track curved to the left, No. 104’s oscillating red light was blocked until No. 102 was right on top of it.

“The collision occurred before the speed of the closing train had been reduced. The engineer, Rees Paul, 62, of Evanston, was killed instantly. The maintainer, Norman Evans, and fireman, John Branstitter, of Evanston, were removed by rescuers. Evans later died at the hospital. Paul’s body was still pinned in the shattered cab at nightfall, six hours after the crash.

“The force of No. 102 crashing at 77 mph into the City of Los Angeles split the rear observation car down the middle as if it had been opened by a can opener. The lead diesel unit of No. 102 weighed more than 400,000 pounds. The passengers sitting in the luxurious surroundings of the club car at 11:27 a.m. must have been horrified when they looked up to see the City of San Francisco speeding toward them.

“The impact of the collision derailed eight cars of the freight train in the siding. All 12 cars of No. 104 were derailed and the last three cars were completely demolished. The engineer of No. 104, D. Kellher of Evanston, and the conductor, J.A. Barnes of Ogden, were not injured. Many of the passengers on the devastated City of Los Angeles were doctors returning to Chicago from an American College of Surgeons conference in Southern California.

“The severely injured were taken to the hospital in Evanston, the walking wounded were taken to the American Legion hall, where beds and food were provided by local volunteers. The 4,000 residents of Evanston tirelessly brought out volunteers to help.

“The Interstate Commerce Commission found engineer Rees Paul was at fault for running a caution signal and a red block signal that he could not see. That is a fact. The “why” will never be known.

“The engine crew called the signals clear. They were not clear, so why were they called? Engineer Paul would have known that Kellher was the engineer on the train ahead. Did that have anything to do with his judgment that No. 104 would not be stopped ahead? Was he intent on trying to make up some of the 12 minutes he was behind?

“Paul was a highly respected engineer with decades of experience. He was known to be very dependable. Had he been able to see the signal, he would not have come close to a collision with the City of Los Angeles….” (Unita County Herald (Shelly Horne), Evanston, WY. “Remembering the deadly passenger train wreck of 1951.” 3-9-2018.)

Newspapers (at the time):

Nov 13: “Evanston, Wyo. (U.P.) – the following list of dead and seriously injured from the streamliner wreck yesterday near Evanston was compiled at 9:30 a.m. MST, from Uinta County Memorial Hospital records:

“Known dead, bodies recovered: [14 names]

“James William Dodge, Jr., 25, Oxnard, Calif., passenger.
“Mrs. James William Dodge, his mother, Oxnard, Calif., passenger.
“Dr. Lee D. Campbell, New Richmond, Wis., passenger.
“Dr. Anthony Ippolito, Chicago, famed orthopedist and ex-football star, passenger.
“Mrs. Camile Ippolito, his wife, Chicago, passenger.
“Mrs. A. E. Harris, Milwaukee, Wis., passenger.
“Mrs. Aileen Bachmann, 44, Fitchburg, Mass., passenger.
“John Robert Cooper, 31, Torrance, Calif., North American Aviation Co., engineer-designer, pass.
“H. B. Preece, 44, Ogden, Utah, rear brakeman on City of Los Angeles.
“Reese M. Paul, 55, Evaston, engineer on City of San Francisco.
“Norman Evans, 50, Omaha, Neb., electrician on City of San Francisco.
“John Quevedo, Chicago, observation car attendant.
“William Bush, Chicago, porter.
“Ben Mitchell, Chicago, porter.

“Missing, bodies may be in wreckage: [3 names]

“Dr. Robert S. Thomson, 39, listed as from West Virginia. [A genealogy site has his death as 11-12-1951]
“Dr. Rudolph Bachmann, 44, Fitchburg, Mass., husband of one of the known dead.
“Dr. John Marshall, Findley, Ohio.”

(United Press. “The Dead and Injured.” Oxnard Press-Courier, CA, 11-13-1951, p. 1.)

Nov 13, UP: “Evanston, Wyo., Nov. 13 – (UP) – Three big bulldozers late Tuesday rooted through a tangle of twisted, frosty metal – resembling a junk yard scrap pile – to help dig out the last bodies of the estimated 20 men and women killed in a streamliner train wreck.

“By 4 p.m. (M.S.T.) 17 bodies – 16 of them identified – had been recovered from the locomotive of the City of San Francisco or the club car, diner and one Pullman of the City of Los Angeles.

“Crews, braving a new blizzard sweeping over the Wasatch mountains toward the Uintah’s and Rockies east of Evanston, then turned their cutting tools onto a second ruined Pullman. In there, they expected to find at least one – and probably three—more bodies, according to Arthur O. Bloom, Union Pacific passenger agent from Salt Lake City who was directing the operation. However, he said the victims were so torn by the impact that signs indicating more than one body ‘might be misleading.’

“The last body recovered was believed to be that of a man who was landing on the drawbar between two of the rear cars of the Los Angeles and was mangled by the crash. The only person still listed as missing at the time was Dr. Robert S. Thomson, 39, believed from Fitchburg, Mass., but there was nothing to indicate definitely that it was his body that was trapped between the cars…” (United Press. “17 Bodies Found In Train Wreck.” The Billings Gazette, MT. 11-14-1951, p. 1.

Nov 15, AP: Evanston, Wyo., Nov. 15 – (AP) – The Union Pacific railroad and interstate commerce commission have called a joint hearing in an effort to find out just what caused a tragic train crash on the snow covered flatlands of Wyoming. The informal session will open tomorrow in Ogden, Utah. H. R. Longhurst, Washington, D.C. ICC safety inspector, said the hearings will be held ‘strictly on an informal basis.’

“Seventeen persons died Monday when two U. P. streamliners crashed three miles west of Evanston. The City of San Francisco hit the rear of the City of Los Angeles and ground through five cars.

“Rescue workers did not finish digging through the shattered debris until last night. They resifted the tangled wreckage and dug through the last battered car in an effort to find some trace of Dr. Robert C. Thomson of Fitchburg, Mass. Other passengers saw Dr. Thomson on the observation car of the City of Los Angeles shortly before the accident. That car bore the full grunt of the collision and was smashed into hundreds of pieces. Dr. Thomson’s wife is in critical condition at an Evanston hospital. Also on the critical list is John Branstiter, Evanston, fireman on the city of San Francisco. They are among the four crash victims still hospitalized.” (Associated Press. “Hearing Set on UP Wreck.” The Idaho Free Press, Nampa. 11-15-1951, p. 1.)

Nov 16, Ogden Standard Examiner, UT: “The Union Pacific railroad opened its own investigation here today into the cause of the tragic Armistice day train wreck in Weber canyon that claimed 17 lives….Rescue workers are still trying to find the body of Dr. Thomson. Sixteen dead have been identified.” (Ogden Standard Examiner, UT. “U.P. [Union Pacific] Begins Probe Into Train Crash. Hearing Here on Death of 17 Closed Affair.” 11-16-1951, p. 1.)

Nov 28: “Near Evanston, Wyo. When a Union Pacific passenger train traveling at high speed plowed into the rear of another Union Pacific passenger train which had slowed down because of a snowstorm. Eighteen persons were killed, and about 40 were injured..” (Anniston Star, AL. “Train Crashes May Be Cause of Rail Laws.” 11-28-1951, p. 14.)

Sources

Anniston Star, AL. “Train Crashes May Be Cause of Rail Laws.” 11-28-1951, p. 14. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=74806577

Associated Press. “Hearing Set on UP Wreck.” The Idaho Free Press, Nampa. 11-15-1951, p. 1. Accessed 6-21-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/nampa-idaho-free-press-nov-15-1951-p-1/

Geni.com. “Jane Boggess Thomson (Wilson). 4-27-2022 update.) Accessed 6-21-2023 at: https://www.geni.com/people/Jane-Thomson/6000000041238187135

Geni.com. “Robert Strachan Thomson.”3-28-2016 update. Accessed 6-21-2023 at: https://www.geni.com/people/Robert-Thomson/6000000041237879748

Haine, Edgar A. Railroad Wrecks. New York: Cornwall Books, 1993.

Ogden Standard Examiner, UT. “U.P. [Union Pacific] Begins Probe Into Train Crash. Hearing Here on Death of 17 Closed Affair.” 11-16-1951, p. 1. Accessed 6-21-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/ogden-standard-examiner-nov-16-1951-p-1/

Unita County Herald (Shelly Horne), Evanston, WY. “Remembering the deadly passenger train wreck of 1951.” 3-9-2018. Accessed 6-20-2023 at: https://uintacountyherald.com/article/remembering-the-deadly-passenger-train-wreck-of-1951

United Press. “17 Bodies Found In Train Wreck.” The Billings Gazette, MT. 11-14-1951, p. 1. Accessed 6-20-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/billings-gazette-nov-14-1951-p-1/

United Press. “The Dead and Injured.” Oxnard Press-Courier, CA, 11-13-1951, p. 1. Accessed 6-20-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/oxnard-press-courier-nov-13-1951-p-1/