An article about an accident on the Niagara Junction Railway on August 31, 1899 that resulted in a steam engine and seven cars ran into the Niagara River in Niagara Falls, NY.
An unusual accident happened on the Niagara Junction Railway, on the lands of the Niagara Falls Power Company, at Niagara Falls, on August 31, by which seven cars and a locomotive plunged into the upper Niagara River. The Niagara Junction Railway is the terminal line on the power company’s lands, and for part of its route it is built on a high trestle or embankment in crossing the tracks of the New York Central and the Erie roads. Whenever a train on the Niagara Junction Railway is about to ascend this grade it is necessary, of course, to get under good speed to make the grade. On the afternoon referred to one of the locomotives of the company, drawing six empty and eight loaded cars, came up the power company’s lands about to follow the main line up the trestle. The train was under good headway, and as it was near Schlosser dock, the train, instead of following the main track, took a switch, which was open, letting it run down toward the dock at the foot of Iroquois street. The locomotive was a 6-wheeler, having steam brakes on two of its drivers, but for some reason the brakes on the locomotive and the cars refused to hold the train, and it fairly slid down the track off the dock into the river. On the dock at the time the train came along was a flat car, and this was struck by the engine and swept into the river. The locomotive made a fly-away jump, and five box cars and a gondola followed it. The locomotive disappeared beneath the water, as did nearly all of the gondola, but the tops of box cars remained in sight. Fortunately the loaded cars did not take the plunge. The engineer, fireman and trainman jumped and were uninjured, after seeing that all their efforts to stop the train were ineffective.
The scene following the accident is well portrayed in Fig. 1. This picture is taken from a dredge brought from Buffalo, and shows the diver making his initial descent to investigate the wreck. The cars are all immediately in front of the lock. The locomotive is under water between the ends of the two box cars, the tops of which are seen to the left. The three box cars and the gondola, on top of one of which the young men are resting, passed clear over the locomotive. Fig. 2 illustrates the scene during the recovery of the cars and the trucks. In the foreground in line with the corner of the dock is to be seen the head of the diver as he stood on the locomotive. The dredge from Buffalo recovered the cars and the trucks, swinging the cars around in position to be lifted from the water by a stronger derrick.
Fig. 3 represents the recovery of the locomotive by the crew of New York Central derrick No. 1, which came from Tonawanda on the morning of September 5. Before this derrick was set to work it was found necessary to shore up a short trestle approaching the dock and also the dock, in order to sustain the immense weight. After this was done, the diver made fast the chains about the sunken locomotive, the signal was given and the derrick hauled the wrecked engine to the position shown in the illustration, after which it was swung around and placed on the track. The locomotive was of Baldwin make and was leased by the Niagara Junction Railway. In the light, the tender of the locomotive flew 40 feet beyond the engine.
At this writing the investigation of the exact cause of the accident has not been completed. It is apparent, however, that somebody had left the switch open. Near this switch a large amount of refuse from a calcium carbide plant has been dumped, and the supposition is that the rails were greasy from this substance, making it impossible for the brakes to hold. The distance from the switch to the edge of the dock is several hundred feet, and all this distance the locomotive and cars slid, pushed on by the loaded cars in the rear. Naturally the Niagara Junction Railway Company is pleased that no lives were lost and that no person was injured, but they do not fancy running a marine railway.
Source: The Railway Age. 29 September 1899, p. 718. Google Books.