April 2, 1945: MAIN TRACKS STILL CLOSED SIXTY HOURS AFTER B&O WRECK

[Defiance, Ohio] Sixty hours of work today had nearly cleared the Baltimore & Ohio and the Wabash tracks at the junction in the west yards here of debris from 26 cars smashed and piled up in a $300,000 freight train wreck, caused by a stalled automobile worth $300.

C.T. Williams, B&O division superintendent, said at noon today that the main east bound track would be back in service by 4 o’clock this afternoon but that some time will elapse before the west bound main track, requiring materials from railroad shops, is restored.

Three railroad cranes, the city’s power shovel, and an army of men--including railroad employees assembled from a wide area and prisoners of war from Camp Defiance--were employed in the continuous night-and-day clean-up struggle, starting soon after the pile up at 1:30 a.m. Saturday.

A scene unparalleled in Defiance annals and shocking even to veteran railroad men drew thousands of spectators to the yards west of Deatrick Street throughout the Easter weekend.

Mr. Williams, of Garrett, set the $300,000 damage estimate and explained how the wreck occurred.

He said John L. Dreves, 22, 1039 Perry Street, stalled his 1937 Plymouth two-door on the Linden street grade crossing during a rainstorm.

Eastbound freight No. 96 knocked the stalled car against a switch control lever, thus opening the switch. As a result, the fast freight of 46 cars and locomotives split onto two tracks.

This caused the locomotive to topple on its side, landing within two feet of the railroad telegrapher’s tower, where C.J. Shelbley of Napoleon was on duty. Twenty-six cars piled up in a great heap of splintered and twisted wreckage.

Both main lines of B. and O. and the Wabash tracks were piled with rubble. Trackage was torn up for some distance between Linden and Deatrick streets. Linden is the second street west of Deatrick, and crosses the Baltimore and Ohio tracks near the Defiance Automatic Screw Co.

At 1:20 p.m. Saturday—10 minutes less than 12 hours after the wreck—the first train was able to get through on a temporary track laid around the wreckage. This was west bound passenger train No. 15.

This temporary line, which was formed by relaying a part of the Wabash rails, ran around the wreckage to south of the main B&O lines. It was used to keep passenger and freight trains moving while wreck crews from Garrett, Willard, and Lima removed wreckage Saturday and Sunday.

Before the temporary line was laid, heavy wartime traffic w as detoured to other railroads.

Dreves, who had left his stalled car, and the freight train crew, escaped injury. Train crewmen included Engineer C.O. Recktanwald, Fireman J.R. Russell and conductor Guy Thompson, all of Garrett, and Brakeman Robert Leiter, Kendallville, Ind.

Recktanwald, Russell, and Leiter rode the careening locomotive until it toppled and then scrambled to safety as steam valves let loose.

All 26 freight cars which piled up were loaded mostly with food. Superintendent Williams said there were eight carloads of meat, five of beer, two of whiskey, five of miscellaneous freight, two of shelled corn, and one each of apples, lettuce and carrots.

The cars piled up directly behind the upset locomotive, that had been in service only six MONTHS. So compact was some of the wreckage that it was difficult to pick out one car from another. Some piled one upon the other until the highest reached telegraph wires strung on poles along the right of way.

The terrific impact ripped up rails, one of which pierced all the way through two cars. One box car smashed through the [continued from Page One] middle of a refrigerator car which had turned cross wise.

Dreves gave a statement to state highway patrolmen. He said he was driving his car north on Linden street, the first crossing beyond Deatrick street, during the rainstorm. He said the wheels of his machine slipped off the narrow crossing and dropped between the rails where the car stalled.

Unable to get the car off the tracks, Dreves said he went to the tower to telephone a wrecker and later to the Defiance Automatic Screw Co. plant. Before a wrecker could be obtained, the train had struck the car and piled up.

Richard Feeney, driving Ray’s auto wrecker in response to a call, said he was in Perry street about three blocks from the scene when he heard the noise of the wreck. He got to the toppled locomotive in time to see Engineer Recktanwald, Fireman Russell and Brakeman Leiter crawl from the cab. Conductor Thompson was coming up the tracks from the caboose.

The lever of the switch, just east of the Linden street crossing, was broken off. The automobile, valued at a little more than $300, was demolished.

As soon as traffic was restored over the emergency track Saturday, the wreck crews started pulling the debris apart, getting some of the less-damaged cars back on their wheel trucks and out of the way. One crane worked from the east and two from the west.

Claim agents of the railroad arranged for salvage of as much of the food as possible. Prisoners of War from Camp Defiance came on the job after midnight Sunday and carried canned milk and beer in large metal drums to the Maher Coal and Ice Co. yards, where they were picked up by trucks.

After more of the debris had been pulled away, the prisoners retuned Sunday afternoon to carry large quantities of lettuce, carrots, and other produce to be loaded into trucks.

Amos Marihugh, operating the Defiance power shovel, made available for the emergency, won admiration from railroad men and the host of spectators for his fast and efficient work. Splintered sections of cars, and large quantities of meat, canned milk, and other cargo damaged beyond salvage were picked up by Marihugh’s shovel and dropped into waiting trucks.

Railroad men Sunday made a picturesque procession as they carried huge piles of hog fat yet to be rendered, large quantities of liver, summer sausage, dried beef, other processed meats, across the tracks to waiting trucks. Throughout the crowd, there was audible anguish, and people shy on red points saw great quantities of meat torn and mashed and sometimes ground into cinders.

Railroad police came from Garrett, Deshler and Willard, with four other railroad officers being sent in from Chicago later. City police and state patrolmen handled traffic in the area and also helped keep the tracks clear of spectators.

Streets for blocks around packed with hundreds of automobiles and thousands of spectators viewed the wreckage.

Supt. Williams thanked the city of Defiance for putting the service department power shovel on the job to help remove wreckage. “We greatly appreciate the city’s co-operation,” he said.

E.R. Massie of Chicago and C.F. Parks of Akron, both of the B. and O. claims department, today continued salvage of the merchandise. Don Ice and Gerald Martin were taking car of the reshipping of the shelled corn through General Mills here.

The Defiance Commission Co. purchased the carloads of carrots and head lettuce. The Goldenetz Grocery purchased some of the canned milk. Mr. Parks said no doubt much of the meat would spoil but said efforts were still underway to reship what could be salvaged.

The beer, in bottles and kegs, and the whiskey created a problem. Contacts were being made to procure permission to move it, claims agents said. Much of the bottled beer was shattered in the crash and much more was being destroyed today as the big cranes scooped it out of the way.

A source of entertainment for the spectators was the look of astonishment on the faces of all travelers at south windows of the slow-moving passenger trains that traversed the temporary bypass. They showed bewilderment at seeing such a big crowd on hand to watch the train go through. And when spectators violently waved for them to look the other way at the wreckage, most of the passengers would mistake the gestures for a salute, and wave back just as violently.

Occasionally someone on the other side of the car apparently would exclaim about the wreckage, and then all faces would disappear from the south windows as the travelers jumped across the aisle for a fleeting glimpse of the pile-up.

Spent some hours this morning transcribing this old news article from my Dad's hometown of Defiance, Ohio. One reason is that our stash of family photos had a few images of this wreck without any annotation. Last year a historian from Defiance was able to enlighten me with further details about the wreck.

It was awesome. IIRC, he paid $300 to a neighbor who had it parked for about 20 years as he was getting too old to drive it. I almost bought it off him, after learning a bit about replacement parts and such decided I didn’t want to buy an antique, not at 17. Had my first date in that car, too.

But what do I know, I bought a 1992 FMV M1038 HMWVV 6 years ago, I take it out and play with it about a dozen times a year, fix another leaking seal, take it out, change a thermostat, take it out, change window seals, rebuilt/replaces canvas doors for X-doors (SO much quieter), have a complete red dot AC unit in my shed ready to install when I get it moved to TN where I have space to work on it.

Drive it? On the highway? It’s like entering the earth’s atmosphere in a space shuttle.

I replaced the transfer case 5 years ago, dropped it onto my lap/chest and rolled it off onto a creeper, reversed the operation to replace. Has amazing ground clearance.

Lots of fun. Both my kids have driven it. Wife won’t even ride in it. Just me and my dog (GSD Hudson Shepherd on fakebook).

As someone who loves cars and who pays a great deal of attention to every-day societal history, it just strikes me that very few over the decades regularly used cars older than 20. Try to find some in any given vintage photo.

In fact now, you won’t find a whole lot of ‘80s cars on the road.

Then there is Cuba, where they keep the last American cars they had when Fidel took over running as well as they can…

Interesting. Usually the only cars that “old” being used regularly were hot rodders. Stock is pretty rare actually!

If his car was hardly used most of its life it’s easy to imagine just picking it up as a driver. Very nice.

Closest I got to “old” for myself was a ‘60s Dart, in the late ‘80s. Also looked at a ‘57 Dodge more for fun than regular but it could’ve been.

As it is I just sold my Monte Carlowhich will be 20 this next year. Sad but had to be.

True, most people want newer cars. At the moment, our vehicles are 20, 16, and 14 years old, with no plans to get rid of any of them soon. I have only owned two new vehicles, both work trucks (the 14-year-old is one of them). The oldest car I owned was a 1969 VW van that I bought in 1987 and sold in 2004 (wish I had kept it).

I don’t count the 1957 Ford Skyliner that I inherited from my father, because it never ran while I had it. I finally sold it when we moved last year.

It was ‘72-’73.

Even more miraculous was driving me home one night from his place in Seminole, FL in a thunderstorm, as we were turning off park street onto 1st AVE North, a bit east of there a BRIGHT lightning flash had my brother yell HOLY SH!th (John Belushi style) and come to a splashing halt by the curb, then he backed up until another flash of light confirmed what he had seen:

Twin fishtails from a Harley Davidson parked under a tarp next to a garage.

As he worked in that neck of the woods anyway, he stopped by the next business day to find the owner, whose son had died in a crash on the thing in 1957, having fixed the frame (with a length of plumbing pipe) after having bought it off someone who likewise had died in an accident years earlier.

She was hesitant to sell, said it was cursed.

He got it for $200.

long story ensued, much work/detail (I rebuilt the carb and transmission) it ran great. a 1937 FL Knucklehead model, I ALMOST bought it off him for $600 in high school. Came THIS close.

Next owner died on it.

Go figure.

“Read Zola’s La Bete Humaine (The Beast Within) . It’s also a film.
Psychopaths, jealousy, train crashes in 19th century France.”

*****

Thanks for the recommendation. I’ll look for that!

I would’ve taken the ‘57 Ford! I love those!

Parents’ ‘79 Lincoln rotting away now for 20 years. I love them, grew up on them but also lots of sentimental family value. I don’t know what todo. 2 people have offered for it just working at my parents’ house which I refused. Dad was getting impatient with me to do something. He died 2 years ago this week RIP. Mom loves the cars more than dad so I don’t hear it from her.

I also wish I had thought more about my Grandpa’s Cadillac (c ‘56) when we sold their house (they were still alive). Wasn’t as into cars yet and certainly not old enough. But maybe could’ve begggggeeed them to keep it!

True with the only exception being CJ Jeeps. Made in the '50s through the '80s, I still see quite a number of those on the road in my parts. Still wish I had my '88 Ford F250 4X4 truck with a straight six that I bought brand new.

I regretted selling the Ford, as it was the first car my dad ever bought new. He always thought to restore it someday, but never did. I didn’t have the money, the facilities, or really the expertise to do a proper job on it, so I decided to let it go to someone who could.

I’m sure I set much too low a price on it. The phone started ringing as soon as I made a post on Craigslist, two guys came from 80 miles away with cash before noon, and the thing was on a flatbed that evening.

I hope to track the car down in a few years, just to see what’s been done with it. If I have won the lottery before then, I might try to buy it back.

OHIO PING!
Please let me know if you want on or off the Ohio Ping list.

April 2, 1945: MAIN TRACKS STILL CLOSED SIXTY HOURS AFTER B&O WRECK
Defiance Crescent News ^ | April 2, 1945 | Unknown

Posted on 11/26/2021, 4:17:17 PM by Fester Chugabrew

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