1961 — Dec 14, Train hits School Bus at railroad crossing, Auburn, near Greeley, CO– 20

— 20 Peters. “The Crossing: School Bus-Train Crash of 1961…,” Greeley Tribune, 1-23-2007.
— 20 Vaughan, Kevin. “Return to The Crossing, Rocky Mountain News, August 27, 2007.
— 20 Wikipedia. “List of Rail Accidents (1950-1999).”

Narrative Information

Peters: “Sometimes there are interviews that will never be forgotten. For me, it happened 20 years ago with Loretta Ford, who still lives east of Greeley, and who had three sons on the school bus that was hit by a train on Dec. 14, 1961.

“Ford and her husband were a short distance behind the school bus. They didn’t witness the crash, but they were one of the first on the scene. They ran to the crossing to see dozens of children on the ground or trapped in the bus. ‘You’d think there’d be all the noise of the children crying and screaming, but there wasn’t,’ Loretta Ford said in the quiet of her living room, 25 years after the tragedy. ‘It was very quiet and calm — a stillness you can’t explain — like the angels were gathering up the children’….

“The crossing had no flashing lights or automatic arms, just two road signs to warn motorists.”
(Peters. “The Crossing: School Bus-Train Crash of 1961…,” Greeley Tribune, 23 Jan 2007.)

Vaughan: “At 7:59 a.m. on Dec. 14, 1961, a high-speed passenger train smashed into a school bus carrying 36 students in the farm country of Weld County.

“…20 children…died Dec. 14, 1961, in Colorado’s worst traffic disaster….

“That morning, with the temperature sitting at 6 degrees, a Union Pacific passenger train rocketed down the rails southeast of Greeley at 79 mph. It was an hour and 41 minutes behind schedule.

“Bus driver Duane Harms had 36 children on his bus as he headed to town. After stopping at a badly angled crossing, he thought the tracks were clear and pulled out.

“The train slashed through the bus. Only Harms and 16 of the children survived….In just seconds, 20 children died and a community was devastated….” (Vaughan, Kevin. “Return to The Crossing, Rocky Mountain News, August 27, 2007.)

Wikipedia: “December 14, 1961 – Auburn, Colorado, United States: The Union Pacific passenger train “City of Denver” en route to Denver collides with a school bus carrying 36 children bound for Delta and Arlington elementary schools, Meeker Junior High, and Greeley High. 20 of the children were killed, 16 children and the driver survived.” (Wikipedia. “List of Rail Accidents (1950-1999).”)

From “Rocky Talk Live with Mark Wolf,” interview with “The Crossing” series author, Kevin Vaughan:

“Mark Wolf (Q) A commenter on the blog item pertaining to The Crossing says that, in the Greeley School District, a person is hired to get out of the bus at every rail crossing at grade, looks both ways, then returns to the bus.

“Kevin Vaughan (A) This practice was begun after the accident. A “monitor” would get out and walk across the tracks and wave the bus across if it was clear. However, it was eventually discontinued.

(Q) If I remember correctly, the bus driver was “charged’ and went to trial…was the train crew “charged?”

”Kevin Vaughan (A) The train crew was not charged. Trains always have the right-of-way at crossings. It is the responsibility of motorists to watch for trains. Trains cannot stop quickly — a mile or more is not uncommon — and don’t have the ability to react when someone pulls out in front of them.

”(Q) I would have thought there might have been some negligence on part of the train crew doing 79 mph.

”Kevin Vaughan (A) According to court testimony, the train was within the prescribed speed limit for that section of track.” (Vaughan, Kevin. “Return to The Crossing,” Rocky Mountain News, August 27, 2007.)

Sources

Peters, Mike. “The Crossing: School Bus-Train Crash of 1961 Should Never be Forgotten,” Greeley Tribune, Jan 23, 2007. At: http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20070123/NEWS/101230101

Vaughan, Kevin. “Return to The Crossing,” Rocky Mountain News, August 27, 2007. Accessed at: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5683162,00.html

Wikipedia. “List of Rail Accidents (1950-1999).” Accessed 7-18-2018 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_1950-1999_rail_accidents