Page 28 - North Haven Magazine Issue 10 Autumn 2019

NORTH HAVEN’S CHAPTER IN
NORTH HAVEN’S CHAPTER IN
RAILROAD HISTORY
RAILROAD
HISTORY

by Susan A. Iverson

Did you ever think, “Nothing ever happens here!”?

hat wasn’t the case on September 2, 1913 - North Haven made national news when two trains collided while heading southbound
Ton the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. What happened that day led to heartbreak, financial ruin and industry
changes. One hundred years later researchers are still probing the impacts of this horrific accident. Here’s what happened…

Many vacationers had chosen to squeak out one more day of fun at New England’s
various campgrounds before boarding the overnight Bar Harbor Express and return-
ing home to their city lives in New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
As they lay mostly sleeping in their berths, the morning of September 2nd, 1913
dawned foggy. Their train stopped on the tracks in North Haven, perhaps for a quick
check of the brakes. One newspaper article referred to this area of North Haven as
Talford Crossing, described as a desolate stretch of sand dunes. I suspect this loca-
tion was what we know as Toelles Road today. Another train, the White Mountain
Express, was also traveling southbound just behind the Bar Harbor. Here is where it
becomes difficult to know what exactly happened, but the outcome was deadly. The
White Mountain did not see the Bar Harbor until it was almost upon it – the engineer
tried to stop but it was too late, and it hit the Bar Harbor with a terrible force. The
White Mountain split the last two cars of the Bar Harbor in half lengthwise and threw
another into the air. The split cars were wooden, and were instantly demolished, their
passengers and belongings tossed onto the resulting rubble and a watermelon patch
beside the track. Several sources remarked that the scene immediately following the
collision was eerily quiet – several minutes of near silence would pass before moans
and cries for help were heard. The uninjured helped in the rescue effort, while a local
man ran a mile to the nearest phone for help. Twenty-one passengers on the Bar Har-
bor were killed that early morning, and more than fifty seriously injured. Amazingly
no one on the White Mountain was injured.
Family members waiting at train stations far away had no clue what had happened for
many hours, and information only trickled in slowly after knowledge of the accident had
been received. It took several days to finalize the list of the dead and injured. One young
woman could only be described as wearing lots of expensive jewelry, not having any iden-
tification on her person. During those painful days there were also countless stories told
about the efforts of rescuers risking their lives to find the victims. A man reported fall-
ing through the wooden boards of one of the sleeping cars while trying to reach those
trapped. A priest who was a passenger on the Bar Harbor administered general abso-
lution to the victims, a practice usually reserved for battlefields. Folks for miles around
visited the site, and a train carrying President Woodrow Wilson from New Hampshire to
Washington DC passed by. He stood somberly on the observation deck as his car moved
slowly past the wreckage.

But why didn’t the engineer of the White Mountain know that the Bar Harbor was so
close ahead? Certainly the foggy conditions were a factor, but there were also concerns
about the signaling system the railroad used. It was hinted that the engineer had worked
too many hours prior to the accident and was impaired from fatigue. Two other wrecks
had also occurred recently on the New York, New Haven and Hartford line, putting pres-
sure on the company to make numerous changes. This terrible accident resulted in im-
provements in signaling and other safety measures industry wide. It has recently been
suggested that the fatalities suffered on this railroad line were no more frequent than
other lines. However, the ongoing questionable financial practices of the New York, New
Haven and Hartford, in addition to the highly publicized accidents ultimately forced out
the management. The timing was such that it acted as a warning to a rapidly growing
industry, and the New York, New Haven and Hartford was the scapegoat.

North Haven played a pivotal role in the development of the nation’s railroad industry.
Pretty cool, don’t you think? Remember, all history is local!

Thanks to the North Haven Historical Society and Museums for their collection of pho-
tos and newspaper articles.

28 North Haven Magazine - Autumn 2019