Eden train wreck
Encyclopedia
The Eden train wreck of August 7, 1904, occurred when the No. 11 Missouri Pacific
Flyer from Denver, Colorado
to St Louis, Missouri crossed the Dry Creek arroyo
bridge near Eden Station, 8 miles north of Pueblo, Colorado
. As the engine crossed the bridge, a flash flood
wave passed over the trestle shearing off the front half of the train and dragging 97 people to their deaths with 14 missing.
, a large wave threw the cars over to the right, broke the coupling to the rear 2 Pullman and dining cars, and dragged the engine backwards into the river. The Pullman's porter, Melville Sales of St. Louis, quickly pulled the emergency air brakes saving the remaining passengers. The front Pullman car was left hanging four feet over the edge of what remained of the bridge.
As the flood waters receded, searchers found bodies as much as 22 miles down the Arkansas River
. Bloodhounds were used, but had to be recalled because of quicksand
.
"The body of a woman about twenty-five years old, handsomely dressed, was found twenty-two miles down the Arkansas River and brought here to be identified." 24 hours after the accident, the bridge had been rebuilt and train traffic had resumed.
Missouri Pacific Railroad
The Missouri Pacific Railroad , also known as the MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers, including the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway , Texas and Pacific...
Flyer from Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
to St Louis, Missouri crossed the Dry Creek arroyo
Arroyo (creek)
An arroyo , a Spanish word translated as brook, and also called a wash is usually a dry creek or stream bed—gulch that temporarily or seasonally fills and flows after sufficient rain. Wadi is a similar term in Africa. In Spain, a rambla has a similar meaning to arroyo.-Types and processes:Arroyos...
bridge near Eden Station, 8 miles north of Pueblo, Colorado
Pueblo, Colorado
Pueblo is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The population was 106,595 in 2010 census, making it the 246th most populous city in the United States....
. As the engine crossed the bridge, a flash flood
Flash flood
A flash flood is a rapid flooding of geomorphic low-lying areas—washes, rivers, dry lakes and basins. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a storm, hurricane, or tropical storm or meltwater from ice or snow flowing over ice sheets or snowfields...
wave passed over the trestle shearing off the front half of the train and dragging 97 people to their deaths with 14 missing.
Crash
The engineer, Charles Hinman had been given a thunderstorm caution and had slowed the train to 10-15 mph to watch for washaways. After the engine had crossed the creekArroyo (creek)
An arroyo , a Spanish word translated as brook, and also called a wash is usually a dry creek or stream bed—gulch that temporarily or seasonally fills and flows after sufficient rain. Wadi is a similar term in Africa. In Spain, a rambla has a similar meaning to arroyo.-Types and processes:Arroyos...
, a large wave threw the cars over to the right, broke the coupling to the rear 2 Pullman and dining cars, and dragged the engine backwards into the river. The Pullman's porter, Melville Sales of St. Louis, quickly pulled the emergency air brakes saving the remaining passengers. The front Pullman car was left hanging four feet over the edge of what remained of the bridge.
Survivors
Of the 100 people in the engine, baggage, smoking and chair cars, 3 passengers and 1 fireman escaped the wreckage, the fireman being thrown from the engine and the 3 survivors escaping the smoking car. Eyewitness reports say 29 people were saved in the rear of the train, newspapers accounts vary.Response
The first rescue train arrive at the scene 4 hours after the accident.As the flood waters receded, searchers found bodies as much as 22 miles down the Arkansas River
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...
. Bloodhounds were used, but had to be recalled because of quicksand
Quicksand
Quicksand is a colloid hydrogel consisting of fine granular matter , clay, and water.Water circulation underground can focus in an area with the optimal mixture of fine sands and other materials such as clay. The water moves up and then down slowly in a convection-like manner throughout a column...
.
Aftermath
The engine submerged near the bridge, the chair car was found almost a mile from the bridge buried in sand, and the baggage and smoking cars were found more than 4 miles downriver."The body of a woman about twenty-five years old, handsomely dressed, was found twenty-two miles down the Arkansas River and brought here to be identified." 24 hours after the accident, the bridge had been rebuilt and train traffic had resumed.