'A forgotten wreck'

Members of the Southampton Railroad Station Society plan to mark the 1921 crash of two trains near Bryn Athyn, which killed 27.

For many area residents the train track on Creek Road in Upper Moreland is just that - a train track.

But to some railroad historians like Charles Liberto, Frank Baldwin and Richard Mansley and a few area families, the single lane track means history. A painful history.

Saturday will mark the 88th anniversary of a deadly Upper Moreland train wreck that claimed 27 lives and injured 70 people. The crash and the high number of casualties, many of whom burned to death, were the result of several factors, including weather, human error and the railroad system, which was run by the Philadelphia and Reading Railway during that time.

The crash happened in a narrow pathway surrounded by steep rock walls on either side of the track, making it difficult for passengers to evacuate from the train cars. Passengers couldn't flee the intense flames that were fueled by the wooden train cars and gas tanks attached to each passenger car to heat them. Escape was also hindered by snow up to 10 inches deep that covered the ground.

"One man managed to get to the door of one of the coaches but was so badly burned up (in) the front that his skin and clothing were falling off him and he died," according to documents researched by Mansley.

The 1993 book "Great Train Wrecks of Eastern Pennsylvania" by authors Charles J. Adams III and David J. Seibold describes the screams, moans and groans of the dying rising above the roar of the fire. A trapped passenger in a coach erupting in flames pleads with a rescuer to bash his head fearing he would burn to death.

"Piles of bones and ashes were carried out in potato baskets," the book reads. "The charred corpse of a baby was removed by an emotionally drained fireman."

Of the 27 who died, 18 were positively identified. The others were so badly burned that they couldn't be matched by name, only by those who were reported missing. Of those, the youngest was 17-year-old Emma C. Leedom and the oldest was 48-year-old H. Voorhees Hogeland.

The nine were placed in a sack cloth and buried together at Churchville Cemetery Co. on Bristol Road next to the North and Southampton Reformed Church in Upper Southampton. At the cemetery, a large headstone reads, "That they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly."

On Friday, the victims "in the Byrn Athyn Train Wreck" - also etched in the headstone - will be remembered when members of the Southampton Railroad Station Society host a 10 a.m. memorial ceremony of the 1921 tragedy at the gravesite at 1380 Bristol Road.

Two passenger trains were traveling on a single track of the Philadelphia and Reading Railway - one heading to Newtown from Philadelphia and the other in the reverse direction - when they collided head-on that tragic Dec. 5 morning. The site was between the now-defunct Woodmont and Paper Mill stations.

The point of the 7:55 a.m. collision was about 1.3 miles east of the Bryn Athyn station and 0.8 miles west of the Woodmont station, according to the accident investigation report dated Dec. 23, 1921, from the Interstate Commerce Commission, Bureau of Safety.

It happened in the middle of a rock cut about 200 feet in length with a maximum depth of 30 feet. The cut is on a curve in the tracks about 1,000 feet long in a remote, wooded section along the Pennypack Creek.

"On account of this curve and cut, the range of vision was much restricted and there was little opportunity for either engineman to see the opposing train," the report reads.

Because each train was running between 25 and 30 mph, the impact forced both engines upward. The locomotive of the eastbound train which was headed to Newtown - Train No. 151 - landed on top of its own tender, which carried fuel for the engine. The engine of the westbound train - Train No. 156 - came to rest on top of the first locomotive, according to the report.

After the collision, a fire erupted, destroying the first coach of each train. Flames spread, burning the second and third coaches of Train No. 156. The wooden cars - later nicknamed "coffin cars" by the public - fueled the fire. Wood-framed passenger cars subsequently were banned as a result of the accident. The wreck came to be known as "Coffin Cars in Death Gulch." Advertisement

The wreck happened in the gulch, which left little room to remove passengers from the cars or for victims to crawl out. There wasn't much room for firefighters to spray water on the fire either. There was snow and mud on the ground complicating the rescue effort.

From the Woodmont station to the wreck site, it was about a 10-minute walk without snow.

When rescuers arrived, it was nearly impossible to get to those trapped in the wreckage because there was only about 5 feet of space on either side of the rock walls. Pinned passengers burned to death as rescuers watched helplessly.

The New York Times, in a Dec. 6, 1921, article, describes the unfathomable tragedy and futile rescue efforts.

"Save us," two women screamed, according to the article. "Then suddenly the entire indescribable mass of twisted steel and wood broke into flames from the burning gas lights inside the coaches and from the coals from the fireboxes of the engines."

The article continues: "Rescuers tried desperately to save the two women, but the flames crept closer and closer and suddenly the screams ceased. A few minutes later two charred bodies could be seen where the women had once been."

Laborer John Taliaferrio was one of the first at the scene, according to the Times. He entered a wrecked car through a window and tried to help a man who was pinned.

"My God!" the helpless man cried. "Can't you do something for me? My feet are caught. I'm hurt. Get me away from that fire. I cannot get loose. Get something and knock me unconscious. Get a gun and shoot me. Please don't let me die like a dog." Taliaferrio was unable to save the man, according to the Times.

Rescuers threw rope into the flames hoping people would latch on and get pulled out. However, the ropes burned quickly.

Train No. 156 had the right of way over Train No. 151, according the railroad schedule. Because there was one single track, one train had to pull over to provide right of way. But the engineer of Train No. 151 did not wait at Bryn Athyn, as directed by a written order, and instead got back on the track to continue to the Upper Southampton station after another train passed through.

Some speculate the engineer never knew that there was a second train coming - Train No. 156 - from Upper Southampton.

"The wreck was considered one of the worst train disasters in American history," said Liberto. "The railroad and some employees were both blamed for this ghastly tragedy."

The conductor and engineer of train No. 151, and the Philadelphia and Reading Railway were held responsible by investigators. The two men served time in prison, but later were pardoned by the state's governor.

Earlier this week, Liberto and society member Frank Baldwin walked from the Woodmont station on Creek Road in Upper Moreland to the wreck site.

"The wreck was known as the day Southampton died," Liberto said. "Half of Southampton's commuter population died that day."

Now, there is nothing at the wreck site to show the pain and suffering from 88 years earlier, least of all a memorial. This is the time of year when the tracks and ties are covered in leaves and weeds on the line that is no longer used. Naked trees surround the track, which is now owned by SEPTA. Private property signs are posted nearby.

An aging telegraph pole still stands on top of some nearby rocks, which are covered with graffiti.

Looking at the tracks and surroundings Baldwin says, "This is the forgotten wreck."

Editor's note: Historical background was obtained from several sources, including "Great Train Wrecks of Eastern Pennsylvania," published in April 1993; New York Times article dated Dec. 6, 1921; the accident investigation report dated Dec. 23, 1921, from the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Bureau of Safety; and Southampton Railroad Station Society.

The original negatives from that old train wreck would have more resolution than all but the best modern day digital cameras.

Film still rules (but not for long!)

I don’t even remember hearing about this accident and the 27 people who died. I lived in the Doylestown area, rode the Reading line to the same town, after all this happened. No way I’m that old.

There were other less used Reading lines and obviously this one that was closed. The line north of Lansdale was closed decades ago and I’m not sure about how much traffic the Hatboro line had.

How they can have a wreck with 27 people killed and I never heard about it years later is beyond belief. I heard about the Johnstown floods, the Delaware River Boy Scout mishap and most other major loss of life back in the old days.

Today if anyone dies the media is all over it. I guess back before smoke detectors, safe cars and the advances we have made accidental death was much more common.

after reading the title, I thought this post was about Ted Kennedy..

I grew up near this area as well and never heard of it. Scary though how some of those folks died.

Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord, and may the perpetual light shine upon them.

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