New Inward 1959, A Runaway Educate Smashed Through The Olympia Washington Matrimony Pacific Depot On Fourth Ave As Well As Into Businesses On The Other Side Of The Street, Destroying One-Half A Block. At That Topographic Point Exactly Aren't Whatever Decent Photos Online That Present The Impairment Though
train machine is embedded inwards PRC Clipper Cafe on left, Olympia, March 1959, the 13th of March. Good ol lucky 13th
On March 13, a crewless, runaway 15-car prepare strikes the Union Pacific Depot inwards downtown Olympia amongst such forcefulness that it goes through the edifice in addition to crosses quaternary Avenue, destroying one-half a metropolis block. One homo is killed in addition to twenty persons are injured seriously plenty to necessitate hospitalization.
The displace of the accident is speedily traced to the prepare crew’s failure to properly gear upwardly brakes on the cars in addition to later on leaving the prepare unattended.
About 5:30pm, the prepare stopped at a switching signal nigh 2 miles due south of downtown Olympia. Members of a switching crew uncoupled a department of the prepare from the locomotive, exactly inwards doing so, failed to gear upwardly manus brakes in addition to did non properly apply air brakes on the xv cars that had been uncoupled.
The crew in addition to then briefly left the prepare parked on a slight downhill grade, unattended, in addition to it before long began coasting due north toward Olympia. It speedily gathered momentum, reaching speeds estimated past times diverse witnesses at betwixt thirty in addition to lx miles an lx minutes equally it rolled toward the downtown Union Pacific Depot on quaternary Ave. Twelve of the xv prepare cars were loaded amongst plywood in addition to plasterboard, in addition to the full weight of the 15-car runaway prepare was later estimated at 900 tons.
At 5:44 p.m., the prepare thundered through a dead halt railway bumper guard at the depot in addition to outburst through a brick wall into the depot, immediately killing a telegraph operator for the railroad.
The prepare in addition to then smashed through around other brick wall in addition to out into quaternary Avenue, traveling to a greater extent than than 300 feet equally it crossed the street. The commencement machine demolished the Sta-Well Health Service. The 2nd machine twisted into Bill’s Kitchen, Haumann’s Floral in addition to Gift Shop, in addition to the Eastside Club Tavern. The tertiary machine struck the PRC Clipper, around other cafe, in addition to 2 to a greater extent than cars in addition to an empty gondola machine overturned inwards quaternary Avenue.
Within 24 hours of the accident, Union Pacific Railroad conceded that the accident had been caused past times the switching crew
That was likely the terminal fourth dimension ANYONE finished a crash investigation of anything larger than a machine inwards less than 24 hours.
https://olympiahistory.org/union-pacific-train-wreck-31316/
http://www.historylink.org/File/7929