Green Mountain train wreck
Encyclopedia
The Green Mountain train wreck is the worst ever railroad accident in the state of Iowa
. It occurred between Green Mountain
and Gladbrook
on the morning of March 21, 1910 and killed 52 people.
A train wreck earlier that morning at Shellsburg
meant that the Rock Island Line trains were being diverted from Cedar Rapids to Waterloo
over Chicago Great Western
tracks via Marshalltown
. The trains concerned were the No. 21 St Louis-Twin Cities
and No. 19 Chicago
-Twin Cities; which had been combined into a ten car train; the two locomotives travelling backwards, tender first. The new combined train now had two wooden cars sandwiched between the locomotives, a steel Pullman car
, and other steel cars.
At a place between Green Mountain and Gladbrook, just east of the Marshall county
border the lead engine left the tracks and hit a clay embankment coming to a sudden stop. The steel cars sliced through the two wooden coaches: a smoking car and a ladies' day coach containing many children. There were no fatalities in the Pullman cars; one of the uninjured passengers said "I saw women in the coach crushed into a bleeding mass, their bodies twisted out of human shape. I have seen what I shall see all my life when I dream". A relief train arrived two hours after the accident "The sight was one of horribly crushed, mutilated, and dismembered bodies".
No official cause was ever released for the wreck, nor were any charges of neglect made although the crash did result in the introduction of new safety procedures.
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. It occurred between Green Mountain
Green Mountain, Iowa
Green Mountain is a rural unincorporated community in Marshall County, Iowa, United States. It is located in Marion Township.-History:The town of Green Mountain was established in 1883....
and Gladbrook
Gladbrook, Iowa
Gladbrook is a city in Tama County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,015 at the 2000 census.-History:On March 21, 1910, The Green Mountain train wreck occurs between Gladbrook and Green Mountain in which a derailment killed more than fifty people riding on the Chicago, Rock Island and...
on the morning of March 21, 1910 and killed 52 people.
A train wreck earlier that morning at Shellsburg
Shellsburg, Iowa
Shellsburg is a city in Benton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 938 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Shellsburg is located at ....
meant that the Rock Island Line trains were being diverted from Cedar Rapids to Waterloo
Waterloo, Iowa
Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the population decreased by 0.5% to 68,406. Waterloo is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the more populous of the two...
over Chicago Great Western
Chicago Great Western Railway
The Chicago Great Western Railway was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago, Minneapolis, Omaha, and Kansas City. It was founded by Alpheus Beede Stickney in 1885 as a regional line between St. Paul and the Iowa state line called the Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad...
tracks via Marshalltown
Marshalltown, Iowa
Marshalltown is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Iowa, United States. The population was 27,552 in the 2010 census, an increase from the 26,009 population in the 2000 census. -History:...
. The trains concerned were the No. 21 St Louis-Twin Cities
Twin cities
Twin cities are a special case of two cities or urban centres which are founded in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time...
and No. 19 Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
-Twin Cities; which had been combined into a ten car train; the two locomotives travelling backwards, tender first. The new combined train now had two wooden cars sandwiched between the locomotives, a steel Pullman car
Pullman (car or coach)
In the United States, Pullman was used to refer to railroad sleeping cars which were built and operated on most U.S. railroads by the Pullman Company from 1867 to December 31, 1968....
, and other steel cars.
At a place between Green Mountain and Gladbrook, just east of the Marshall county
Marshall County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 40,648 in the county, with a population density of . There were 16,831 housing units, of which 15,538 were occupied.-2000 census:...
border the lead engine left the tracks and hit a clay embankment coming to a sudden stop. The steel cars sliced through the two wooden coaches: a smoking car and a ladies' day coach containing many children. There were no fatalities in the Pullman cars; one of the uninjured passengers said "I saw women in the coach crushed into a bleeding mass, their bodies twisted out of human shape. I have seen what I shall see all my life when I dream". A relief train arrived two hours after the accident "The sight was one of horribly crushed, mutilated, and dismembered bodies".
No official cause was ever released for the wreck, nor were any charges of neglect made although the crash did result in the introduction of new safety procedures.