Three More Pelham Train Wrecks

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Pelham has been the scene of many train wrecks in the last 170 years since the first railroad tracks were laid through the town.  The most infamous such wreck, of course, was the Pelhamville Train Wreck on December 27, 1885.  (I have written extensively about that train wreck.  See the following article with links to additional articles about the incident, a full bibliography, and images of the aftermath:  Fri., Dec. 30, 2016:  Pelham Recalled the Pelhamville Train Wreck of 1885 Upon Death of Riley Ellsworth Phillips in 1927.)  There have been a host of other train wrecks as well, many of which I have written about before as well.  See, e.g.:

Bell, Blake A., Train Wrecks Near Depot Square in Pelham Manor, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 44, Nov. 5, 2004, p. 13, col. 1.

Wed., Sep. 21, 2016:  Truck Smashed by Express Train Landed on Pelham Station Platform in 1925.  

Fri., Feb. 26, 2016:  108 Years Ago Today: Freight Train Wreck on the Branch Line Between Pelham Manor and Bartow Station.

Fri., Apr. 25, 2014:  Freight Train Wreck at Pelham Manor Station in 1896.

Detail from Front Cover of the January 16, 1886 Issue of
Scientific American that Featured a Cover Story About the
Pelhamville Train Wreck Entitled "A Remarkable Railroad
Accident." NOTE: Click on Images to Enlarge.

Today's Historic Pelham article details three additional Pelham train wrecks.  The first was a major freight train wreck on the Branch Line near Pelham Manor Depot on June 25, 1899.  The second was a derailment of cars on a New Haven Main Line passenger train on March 10, 1905.  The third was a freight train wreck on the Branch Line near Pelham Manor Depot four days later on March 14, 1905.

June 25, 1899 Freight Train Wreck

At about 1:00 p.m. on June 25, 1899, a westbound freight train with sixty cars carrying merchandise, beef, and vehicles was traveling about thirty-five miles an hour between the Pelham Manor and Bartow stations on the Branch Line when a drawbar (a heavy bar helping to connect the railroad cars) either broke or was removed by a vagabond seen climbing aboard the train earlier.  As the front half of the train slowed near the base of a steep grade, the runaway rear half of the train smashed into it.  About twenty cars derailed and scattered their contents along the tracks.  

The conductor was about to leave the caboose when the wreck occurred.  He was thrown about, knocked down, and "severely bruised."  The brakeman, William Cooney, was badly hurt.  He was in one of the cars that derailed.  He was caught in the wreckage.  His leg was crushed and he was cut badly about the face.

After the accident, the vagabond was seen crawling from the wreck unhurt, though his coat and hat were missing.  Although a wrecking train was dispatched to the site immediately, it was several hours before the tracks could be cleared and traffic along the Branch Line could be resumed.

March 10, 1905 Passenger Train Derailment

At 7:35 a.m. on March 10, 1905, a passenger train traveling through Pelham reached an area where the Main New Haven Line rails had spread.  As the wheels of the train passed over the defective section of the track, five cars were derailed.  

No one was hurt in the accident but, according to a brief newspaper account "six women on the train fainted."  Luckily, someone had the presence of mind to get down the tracks and flag down the express train that was bearing down on the scene from behind and flagged it to a stop in time to prevent a major collision with the derailed cars.

June 14, 1905 Freight Train Pile Up

On the afternoon of March 14, 1905, a westbound freight train passing the Pelham Manor Depot snapped an axle.  Four cars of the train derailed and piled up along the tracks in a terrible wreck.  

Though there is no record of injuries, a brief reference to the accident indicates that the Branch Line tracks were blocked for two hours as a result of the wreck.

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"FREIGHT STREWN ALONG TRACKS.
-----
SMASH ON THE NEW-YORK, NEW-HAVEN AND HARTFORD ROAD NEAR BARTOW CAUSES MUCH DAMAGE.

A westbound freight train, consisting of sixty cars of merchandise, beef and vehicles, was badly wrecked about 1 o'clock yesterday afternoon on the Harlem River branch of the New-York, New-Haven and Hartford Railroad.

The accident was caused by the pulling out of a drawbar while the train was descending a steep grade between Bartow and Pelham Manor at a speed of about thirty-five miles an hour.  Before the locomotive and forward section could get out of the way the rear section could get out of the way the rear section overtook it and struck it with a crash, throwing about twenty cars off the rails and scattering their contents along the track.  Conductor Llewellyn was about to leave the caboose when the crash came, and was knocked down and severely bruised.  William Cooney, a brakeman, was standing on one of the cars that left the track.  He was caught in the wreckage and had his leg crushed, in addition to being cut about the face.

Just before the accident one of the brakemen saw a tramp board the train and take refuge in an empty box car near the place where the train was broken in two.  After the wreck he was seen crawling out from under the car hatless and coatless, but unhurt.  The accident blocked all trains and delayed traffic on the road about six hours."

Source:  FREIGHT STREWN ALONG TRACKS -- SMASH ON THE NEW-YORK, NEW-HAVEN AND HARTFORD ROAD NEAR BARTOW CAUSES MUCH DAMAGE, New-York Tribune, Jun. 26, 1899, Vol. LIX, No. 19,216, p. 1, col. 5.  

"A Wreck on the Branch Line.
-----

Pelham Manor, June 26. -- The west-bound freight train on the Harlem River branch of the New Haven road at one o'clock Sunday noon, was badly wrecked at Pelham Manor.

The accident was caused by the pulling out of a drawbar.  Several of the freight cars left the track and some of them were badly wreck.   

A brakeman by the name of Cooney, had his leg crushed, and was otherwise badly bruised.

The grade between Bartow and Pelham Manor is very steep, and when the drawbar pulled out, the forward cars, with the engine, moved away from the rear section, and [as] the engine slowed up, the broken section crashed into the cars ahead of it and a general smashup took place.

The wrecking train was soon on the scene, and after a few hours delay the tracks were cleared for traffic."

Source:  A Wreck on the Branch Line, Mount Vernon Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Jun. 26, 1899, Vol. XXIX, No. 2,222, p. 1, col. 4.  

"FREIGHT STREWN ALONG TRACKS.
-----
Smash on the New York, New Haven & Hartford Road Near Bartow Causes Much Damage.

A west bound freight train, consisting of sixty cars of merchandise, beef and vehicles, was badly wrecked about one o'clock Sunday afternoon on the Harlem River branch of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.  

The accident was caused by a broken flange while descending the grade between Bartow and Pelham Manor at a speed of about thirty-five miles an hour, throwing fifteen cars off the rails and scattering their contents along the track.  Conductor Llewellyn was about to leave the caboose when the crash came, and was knocked down and severely bruised.  William Cooney, a brakeman, was standing on one of the cars that left the track.  He was caught in the wreckage and had his leg crushed in addition to being cut about the face.  

Just before the accident one of the brakemen saw a tramp board the train and take refuge in an empty box car near the place where the train was broken in two.  After the wreck he was seen crawling out from under the car hatless and coatless, but unhurt.  The accident blocked all trains and delayed traffic on the road about six hours.  The cars are still piled along the track, some of them standing on an end, and others with the wheels in the air.  The trucks of some of the cars are thirty feet away from the body."

Source:  FREIGHT STREWN ALONG TRACKS, The New Rochelle Press, Jul. 1, 1899, p. 1, col. 2.  

"NEW HAVEN TRAIN DERAILED.

Mount Vernon, N. Y., March 10. -- The 7:35 a.m. westbound local was derailed at Pelham, on the New Haven Railroad by the spreading of the rails.  Five loaded cars were thrown from the track.  Six women on the train fainted but none was injured.  The express train was flagged in time to prevent a collision with the derailed cars."

Source:  NEW HAVEN TRAIN DERAILED, The Daily Saratogian, Mar. 10, 1905, p. 2, col. 3.

"WRECK ON CONSOLIDATED.
-----
Four Cars of Westbound Freight Piled Up.

New York, March 14. -- Four cars of a westbound freight train on the New York, New Haven and Hartford railroad, were wrecked by the breaking of an axle at the Pelham Manor Station this afternoon.  The suburban branch was blocked for two hours."

Source:  WRECK ON CONSOLIDATED -- Four Cars of Westbound Freight Piled Up, The Daily Morning Journal and Courier, Mar. 15, 1905, p. 1, col. 3.  

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