Rural Retreat Wreck, 10-20-1920 - 105th Anniversary

[NW Mailing List]

I’m going to show my ignorance here. 

In order for #14 to enter the siding, and assuming the switches in 1920 at this location were set manually (were they?), how did #14 enter the siding with enough speed to cause such damage, if the crew had to first set the switch? Was #37 at the far end of the siding?

Matt Goodman

> On Oct 20, 2025, at 3:55 PM, NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> wrote:
> 
> I receive my N&W List in digest form, which means  I get them in a bundle, rather than singly as they are posted.  So I do not know if anyone has already addressed this matter today, October 20.  But since it would be a shame to let the date go unremarked, I shall set forth...
> 
> Today is the 105th anniversary of the head-on collision of First Class trains 37 and 14, near the west end of the Rural Retreat Passing Siding.  (14 was Superior by Direction and should have held the Main Track at the meeting point, but headed into the siding and met 37 head-on just north of the switch.)
> 
> Thanks to Mr. Blevins' meticulous work with photographic evidence vis-a-vis still-existing structures, we can with reasonable certainty fix the point of collision within less than a hundred feet.
> 
> If you want to find the spot, copy and paste these coordinates into the search box of Google Maps or (much better) Google Earth.
> 
> 36.8936,  -81.2828
> 
> Thank you, Mr. Blevins, for all your research into this matter.
> 
> -- abram burnett
> Now On Sale:  Left-Handed Turnips
>  
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