May 30, 2017
Ricky - OK, I know where Benkelman is. And it was the Republican River in
late Spring flood stage we see. That means almost assuredly it was
either an outright wash out or that high water softened and/or undermined
the tracks. Not knowing the time of day or night the wreck occurred, the engine
crew may have never seen the bad spot in the tracks, or if they did, there
was no time to stop. So, that information sure helps. Now, if we
could only find a newspaper article, hopefully it would tell us what Class B-1
locomotive it was and other pertinent details. Was Benkelman on the McCook
Division? With at least one fatality, it's a little unusual the
wreck doesn't show-up in the ICC Accident Investigation Reports of the era.
Best Regards - Louis
Louis Zadnichek II
Fairhope, AL
In a message dated 5/30/2017 1:27:37 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
CBQ@yahoogroups.com writes:
Louis
Sorry, pasted the link and hit send
Here is another link
http://memories.nebraska.gov/cdm/search/collection/hphsm/searchterm/blue%20point/order/nosort
It says Blue Point was east of Benkelman, NE and you are correct, along the
Republican River
Ricky Keil
Papillion, NE
From: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
<CBQ@yahoogroups.com> on behalf of LZadnichek@aol.com [CBQ]
<CBQ@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2017 12:18
PM
To: cbq@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [CBQ] Can Anyone
Better ID These Photos? [2 Attachments]
[Attachment(s) from
LZadnichek@aol.com included below]
May 30, 2017
Group - Here's a mystery for our Lines West experts to try and solve.
Following are inserted/attached two images of a long-ago derailment
involving an unidentified Class B-1 4-8-2 type locomotive and its passenger
train. The only information given is the date May 21, 1923, the train is No.
2 and the location is Blue Point, NE:
 From the two images, we can see that the locomotive is an almost new Lima
Locomotive Works Class B-1 4-8-2 type constructed in 1922. It has an
extended smoke box for burning lignite coal. There is what appears in the
background to be a river in flood stage. May be the Republican River?
There also appears to be water on both sides of the right-of-way. I would
speculate that the train ran into a wash out and jumped-the-tracks at
speed from the mangled condition of some of the cars that look to have
jack-knifed behind the derailed tender. There may've been at least one or
more shattered wood baggage or RPO mail cars on the head-end, in addition
to the one steel mail storage/baggage car shown. Lastly, there is an
"improved" road and pole line paralleling the tracks.
I have searched the ICC Accident Investigation Reports for 1923 and this
wreck does not appear. I also searched for the years 1922 and 1924. I do
not see the wreck listed. I've been told that ICC Reports do not usually
include accidents where no one was killed or badly injured and no rules
violated. Perhaps, that was the situation with this wreck, although from the
severely torn-up cars, it makes you wonder. Additionally, I can find
no community named Blue Point in Nebraska. May be that was the name of
the nearest siding. Perhaps, the river and train No. 2 together will
point to a clue as to just where this wreck occurred and any details. You'd
think that a newspaper article in some Nebraska newspaper would've covered
this story. I would like to know what the locomotive's road number was,
too. Can anyone better ID these photographs? Best Regards - Louis
Louis Zadnichek II
Fairhope, AL
__._,_.___
Posted by: LZadnichek@aol.com
![]()
__,_._,___
|