1976 — Feb 7, train hits camper-truck of children, grade crossing, Beckemeyer, IL — 12

–12 Alton Telegraph, IL. “Editorials…Long overdue.” 3-12-1976, p. 4.
–12 Daily Leader, Pontiac, IL. “Father issues plea…for rail safety improvements.” 2-19-1976, 1
–12 Daily Leader, Pontiac, IL. “Order improvements at Beckemeyer crossings.” 4-9-1976, p. 1.
–12 Mt. Vernon Register News, IL. “Require Oscillating Lights on Locomotives…” 4-27-1976.
–12 Mt. Vernon Register News, IL. “Urge Closing of Railroad Crossing…12 Died.” 3-11-1976.
–12 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. FARS 1975-2010 Fatality Analysis.
–12 Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale. “State…federal agencies probe train…crash.” 2-9-1976, 3
–12 Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale. “Train kills 12 at Beckemeyer.” 2-8-1976, p. 1.

Narrative Information

Feb 8, AP: “Beckemeyer (AP). At least 12 persons were killed Saturday evening in this Southern Illinois community when a camper truck and a freight train crashed at an unguarded crossing, police said.

“State police said 15 persons were packed into the recreational vehicle. They apparently were members of two Illinois families, thought to be related.

“”Right now we have 12 confirmed fatalities,” said Sgt. William Pierce. “We have three others being treated.” Pierce said he thought most of the people in the camper were children. “I don’t know how else you could pack that many people into one of those things,” he said. “It was an unprotected crossing,” Pierce added, “no lights, no gates, no nothing, nothing.”….

Beckemeyer is located between Centralia and St. Louis.” (Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale. “Train kills 12 at Beckemeyer.” 2-8-1976, p. 1.)

Feb 9: “A corps of state and federal investigators is trying to piece together details of a railroad crossing collision that “just exploded” a truck packed with children, killing a dozen people. Eleven of the dead were youngsters, the 12th was Henry Lowe, 60, who was taking eight of his grandchildren and their seven friends on a weekly Saturday night skating trip.

“Lowe’s truck camper was smashed by a 67-car Baltimore and Ohio freight at an unguarded crossing in Beckemeyer, a community of 1,100 about 50 miles east of St. Louis.

“James Knapp, of Beckemeyer, driving across the tracks from the opposite direction, saw the impact. It looked like the pickup just exploded, he said Sunday. ‘I ran up there and I just found dead ones laying all through there. There were two up, two boys. I put them in my car.’ Before police arrived, he had found two more survivors and six bodies.

“The train reportedly was traveling at 56 miles an hour, and it took engineer O. J. Coers about four-tenths of a mile to bring the train to a stop. The train pushed the camper through a neighborhood of modest homes and past Beckemeyer’s business district, leaving it heaped beside a grain elevator.

“Three of the dead were found in the cab. No one on the train was injured.

“Knapp said he watched as Lowe approached the crossing, thinking he might not made it. As the truck reached the top of the raised concrete ramp, it ‘was going about 10 or 15 miles per hour.’ Knapp recalled.

“Robert Phillips, the town’s part-time police chief, said Lowe was on his way to gather more children for their weekly outing to a roller skating rink in Highland.

“Temperatures were in the teens, but there was no ice or snow at the crossing and the night was brightly lit by a half moon.

“Knapp said he heard the engineer blow his air horn three times as the train approached. He said there were three more blasts a moment later, and the train’s headlight was on as it slammed into Lowe’s side of the vehicle….

“A two-man National Transportation Safety Board team flew in from Washington in interview the train crew and witnesses. Also investigating were state and local police, the Illinois Commerce Commission and the railroad. An NTSB spokesman said a report on the accident is expected in about two weeks.

“A B&O spokesman said 60 miles per hour is the limit it sets on the Beckemeyer tracks. Chief Phillips said the town has no restrictions on train speeds. State police said there is no law against riding in a camper.

“Traditional white and black crossing signs mark the intersection but they are not equipped with lights, bells or gates.

“Mayor Clinton Hoffman said the community has tried in the past to improve safety at that crossing and a similar one. Only one of the four crossings in town has gates. Huffman said other people have been killed at the intersections but none recently. He said the railroad was responsible for crossing safety devices….” (Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale. “State and federal agencies probe train-camper crash.” 2-9-1976, p. 3.)

Feb 19: “Carlyle, Ill. (AP) – The father of two children killed when a fast freight slammed into a camper truck packed with youngsters has issued a plea to the President, Congress and other officials for safety improvements. A dozen people died Feb. 7 in Beckemeyer when the truck, driven by Henry Lowe, 60, of rural Carlyle, attempted to cross tracks safeguarded only by signs. Six of the children were Lowe’s grandchildren. Two of the dead, Robert 13, and Allen, 15, were N.J. Moorleghen’s sons.

“In an open letter written to the President, Congress, the governor, the state legislature and other officials, including railroad officers, Moorleghen demanded action. His plea was written the day after the crash. It read in part:

“We have spent billions of dollars to support and fight a useless war with tremendous loss of life. We have spent billions to bail out banks and big business. We have spent billions to provide arms to sustain governments which exist through force and oppression rather than popular support of the governed.

“We have spent billions to build highways to replace existing good highways which are adequate, while neglecting those that are most hazardous, contributing to additional loss of life.

“We squander millions on ridiculous and sometimes immoral research on ‘pot’ and sexual responses at Southern Illinois University. But we cannot spend dollars for safety devices to preserve life itself.

“In attempts to console the anguished, we will be told over and over that what will be will be. When has there been action taken to control the speed of trains through our communities?

“I petition everyone to act now and to demand action now to spare other parents and relatives the agony, the anguish and the unbearable sorrow that has beset the parents, brothers and sisters of the 11 children and the family of the grandfather (who so loved children) who were killed last night…because it costs too much for adequate safeguards at rail crossings.

“May God protect and preserve you from such an experience as I and others have suffered.

“You have found money for almost everything. Won’t you find just a little money to help guarantee to the people of this nation our constitutional provisions for the pursuit of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for our citizens?”

“Moorleghen is…regional superintendent of schools in Clinton…Washington counties.” (Daily Leader, Pontiac, IL. “Father issues plea to Ford for rail safety improvements.” 2-19-1976, p. 1.)

Feb 19: Springfield, Ill. (AP) — A formal state inquiry will be held March 10 into railroad crossing safety in the village of Beckemeyer where 12 persons were killed two weeks ago when a train hit a truck.

“Marvin Lieberman, chairman of the Illinois Commerce Commission, said Wednesday that village officials and representatives of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the state Department of Transportation have been asked to attend the March 10 hearing in Springfield.

“The village has two unprotected railroad crossings, he said, and the hearing will include discussion of whether to barricade the crossings or to install automatic flashing lights or other protection devices. The accident Feb. 7 occurred at a crossing which was not protected with flashing lights or signal devices.” (Daily Leader, Pontiac, IL. “State to hold inquiry into train-camper disaster.” 2-19-1976, 1.)

March 11, AP: “Springfield, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois Commerce Commission railroad utilities engineer has testified that a railroad crossing in Beckemeyer where 12 persons were killed last month is hazardous and should be closed. Ronald Dace testified at an ICC hearing Wednesday on the results of his four-day study of the Scoville Street crossing where a Baltimore and Ohio freight train slammed into a camper truck on Feb. 7. Eleven of the fatalities were children, and the 12th was Henry Lowe. 60, who was taking the youngsters on a weekly skating trip.

“`Based on the visibility in combination with the steepness of the grade cross, in my opinion. Scoville Street is a hazardous crossing,’ Dace said.

“Michael Pfaff, who was representing the commission in the hearing, asked Dace what he personally thought should be done about the crossing. ‘Considering the amount of inconvenience…and regarding the inherent hazard of any crossing…in my opinion, the crossing would best serve the interests of the people if it were closed and abolished,’ Dace said.

“The hearing was called by the ICC to determine whether any action should be taken regarding the Scoville Street crossing and another railroad crossing in Beckemeyer. Both are protected only by reflectorized signs.

“The hearing examiner, Bernard Morris, emphasized the proceeding was “not to establish guilt or
innocence in the accident.” Attorneys for the railroad, the village of Beckemeyer, a community of about 1,000 persons some 50 miles east of St. Louis, and the Illinois Department of Transportation also appeared at the hearing.” (Mt. Vernon Register News, IL. “Urge Closing of Railroad Crossing Where 12 Died.” 3-11-1976, p. 1.)

March 12: “Where has the. Illinois Commerce Commission been all these years? It moved into the latter half of the 20th century this week — at last.

“Chairman Marvin Lieberman urged creation of a task force to speed up installation of safety devices at potentially hazardous railroad crossings throughout the state.

“Apparently it took the crash that killed 12 persons at Beckemeyer to get the ICC off dead center.

“Local officials have experienced, for a long time, the effort it takes to get the ICC’s action of individual cases. The required statutory process is just too crippling.

“Lieberman’s proposed task force could order installation of safety devices without mandatory formal hearings. But new legislation establishing the group has to be passed. The proposed task force would include one member of the ICC staff, one from the Department of Transportation, and representatives of labor, the railroad industries, the legislature, law enforcement agencies, associations of municipal officials, and auto clubs. Composition of the task force appeals to us as being well conceived.

“Lieberman suggests that the task force’s first job should be to compile up-to-date information on rail intersections and establish a priority list of those requiring attention.

“We wouldn’t be surprised to find the body eventually calling authority to order grade separations at certain crossings. Once the safety devices were installed, the next responsibility would be up to motorists, themselves. Frequent complaints arise that motorists disregard such devices. Some even drive around crossing gates lowered to block motor traffic while trains pass.” (Alton Telegraph, IL. “Editorials…Long overdue.” 3-12-1976, p. 4.)

April 9: “Springfield, Ill. (AP) — The state has been ordered to pay for about $86,000 in improvements at two railroad crossings in Beckemeyer, the village where 12 persons were killed recently in a collision between a camper truck and a train.

“In a ruling announced Thursday, the ICC ordered that automatic flashing light signals be installed and the crossing approach improved at the Scoville Street crossing where the fatal collision occurred. The crossing is marked only with a railroad crossing sign. The village has been ordered to put up stop signs at the crossing within 60 days while the new signals are installed.

“The commission also ordered that crossing gates be installed at the Louis Street intersection and that the Randall Street crossing be closed within 60 days. The improvements will cost the state an estimated $85,640 with any extra costs to be borne by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad whose trains run through the town.

“The railroad was ordered to barricade the Randall Street crossing while it is removed and maintain the other three crossings.

“All work must be completed within a year, the order said. Eleven children and a 60-year-old man were riding in the camper Feb. 7 when the collision occurred.” (Daily Leader, Pontiac, IL. “Order improvements at Beckemeyer crossings.” 4-9-1976, p. 1.)

April 27: “Washington (AP) — Every locomotive in the country would be required to show oscillating lights under a proposal put forward by Rep. Paul Simon. In a letter to the Federal Railroad Administration outlining his plan, the Southern Illinois Democrat says such lights might help avert crashes at crossings like one in Beckemeyer, Ill., two months ago. A dozen people died there when a fast freight slammed into a camper crowded with children.

“Writing Monday [April 26] to FRA Director Asaph H. Hall, Simon urged the agency “to make the use of oscillating lights mandatory for trains during dusk to dawn hours …I can tell you from my own night time driving experience on the flat Illinois prairie land that a distant train light can easily be mistaken for a farmhouse utility light.” Revolving lights, he said, would eliminate possible confusion.

“A spokesman for Simon said the congressman had no estimate of the cost of such installations. But Simon said they would be worth it if they saved just’ one life or avoided one injury. Simon told Hall he believes the FRA has authority to require the lights. If Hall disagreed, he said, appropriate legislation, would be drafted.” (Mt. Vernon Register News, IL. “Require Oscillating Lights on Locomotives—Rep. Simon.” 4-27-1976, 3.)

Sources

Alton Telegraph, IL. “Editorials…Long overdue.” 3-12-1976, p. 4. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=115204393

Daily Leader, Pontiac, IL. “Father issues plea to [President] Ford for rail safety improvements.” 2-19-1976, 1. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=96134736

Daily Leader, Pontiac, IL. “Order improvements at Beckemeyer crossings.” 4-9-1976, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=96135091

Daily Leader, Pontiac, IL. “State to hold inquiry into train-camper disaster.” 2-19-1976, 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=96134736

Mt. Vernon Register News, IL. “Require Oscillating Lights on Locomotives—Rep. Simon.” 4-27-1976, 3. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=162438030

Mt. Vernon Register News, IL. “Urge Closing of Railroad Crossing Where 12 Died.” 3-11-1976, 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=162437431

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Partial Data Dump of Crashes Involving 10 or More Fatalities, by Year, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 1975-2009 Final and 2010 ARF. Washington, DC: NHTSA, pdf file provided to Wayne Blanchard, 1-26-2012.

Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale. “State and federal agencies probe train-camper crash.” 2-9-1976, 3. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=95827951

Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale. “Train kills 12 at Beckemeyer.” 2-8-1976, p. 1. Accessed at http://www.newspaperarchive.com