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| The 1908 Wreck |
The completion of the Lewisburg & Tyrone Railroad from Bellefonte to Lewisburg in 1885 was a monumental transportation achievement for the region. Passengers and freight could now move faster than the steep and winding turnpikes had allowed them previously. The age of the iron horse had arrived. However, this new age would not come without dangers.
Though constructed through relatively flat farmland, the route did have some challenges. Two of which were tunnels through craggy ridges along Penn’s Creek. Another was situated at the village of Axemann, about two miles from the route’s terminus at Bellefonte. It was here that a protruding ridge forced the line’s engineers to follow it’s outline, producing a sharp horseshoe-shaped curve.
“The curve at Axemann ” as it was was referred to, seems to have had a knack for causing trouble for the railroad. Over the last century, at least one fatality, numerous injuries, and piles of wrecked railroad equipment have been the product of its construction.
Danger lurked on this stretch of rails for several reasons. Firstly, the severe curvature prevented train crews from seeing any hazards that might be ahead of them. An oncoming train or broken rail would be obscured from view until the crew was essentially on top of it. If the integrity of the track or the train was compromised in any way, the curve is the most likely place for a derailment as forces against both are at their greatest. Addition perils stemmed from the steep embankment the track was built on. Near the apex of the curve, this embankment was directly above the waters of the Logan Branch of Spring Creek.
The following is a timeline of accidents that have taken place on or near the curve. Only incidents with verifiable documentation have been included. Others have probably occurred, but were never documented or could not be located at this time.
According to a newspaper account, a two car passenger train left Bellefonte on September 9th, bound for Lewisburg. After traveling two miles, the train was rounding a sharp curve when the engine’s lead wheels jumped the track. The engine rode atop the ties for a distance before going over the embankment and toppling over. Both the engineer and fireman were scalded from escaping steam and received significant injuries. By October, the engine was repaired and chugging along the line once again.
While the article for the above incident never goes into detail about where exactly the wreck occurred, the location is without a doubt the curve at Axemann The distance noted in the article supports this and no other curve of such severity exists anywhere else between those two locations. A photo of the wreck collaborates this conclusion. This incident stands (for now) as the first to be recorded on the curve since the line opened just five years prior. Unfortunately, it would not be the last.
1908
On January 15, 1908, a freight train led by Pennsylvania Railroad locomotive #1611 was rounding the curve at Axemann when an axle broke on the third car behind the engine. The locomotive and several cars derailed and slid down the embankment into Logan Branch. Engineer Edward Graeff and William Winegardner (reported as fireman or brakeman) jumped from the locomotive as it left the track. Unfortunately, Engineer Graeff became trapped under the wreck, his arm pinned under the locomotive.
Though he survived the initial wreck, Edward Graeff now faced a new danger. The overturned cars in the creek had formed an impromptu dam that began impounding water around the engine. Rising water was now threatening to drown the trapped engineer. Another crewman proposed amputating Graeff’s arm with an ax, but the engineer refused. His head was held above water for as long as possible, but with no way to free him in time, Graeff drowned under his iron horse. Reportedly, this was Graeff's first trip over the line as engineer.
Just six weeks later, the curve claimed another wreck. A loaded stone train from Whiterock Quarry was heading to Bellefonte when a wheel on the fourth car broke or derailed as it rounded the curve. It then toppled over and pulled two more cars with it into the creek below. Two-hundred feet of track was torn up as a result. Fortunately, no one was injured. When a crane was brought in to pull the cars from the creek, it derailed in the Bellefonte yard and was delayed for several hours.
Bezilla, M. (2006). The PRR’s Lewisburg & Tyrone Railroad: When two halves didn’t make a whole. The Keystone. 39 (1). Retrieved From: https://centrecountypa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/487/ltrrhistory?bidId=
Democratic Watchman. (1908, January 17). Bad wreck on Lewisburg and Tyrone Railroad. Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive. Retrieved From:
Democratic Watchman. (1908, March 13). Another wreck on the Lewisburg. Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive. Retrieved from:https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83031981/1908-03-13/ed-1/seq-#date1=01%2F01%2F1789&city=&date2=12%2F31%2F2010&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&index=4&words=LEWISBURG+Lewisburg+Tyrone+WRECK+wreck&county=&frequency=&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=&andtext=Lewisburg+Tyrone+wreck&rows=20&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1
Democratic Watchman. (1908, April 4). Conductor Snyder killed. Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive. Retrieved From:https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83031981/1908-04-03/ed-1/seq-4#city=&rows=20&proxtext=Engineer+Graeff&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=2&words=engineer+Graeff&page=1
Democratic Watchman. (1917 May 25). Wrecked on the Lewisburg. Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive. Retrieved From:https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83031981/1917-05-25/ed-1/seq-4/#city=&rows=20&proxtext=wreck+on+lewisburg&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=13&words=Lewisburg+Wrecked&page=1
Lewisburg Journal. (1908, January 17). Engineer drowned by bad wreck. Newspapers.com Retrieved from: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24083368/1908_jan_17_lewisburg_journal/
Lewisburg Journal. (1908, April). Another wreck on the branch. Retrieved From:https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2020/04/1908-lewisburg-tyrone-railroad-wreck-at.html
Montour American.(1908, July 23). Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. Engine was overturned. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86083264/1908-07-23/ed-1/seq-4/>
Pittsburg Dispatch. (1890, September 10). Jumped the track. Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive. Retrieved from:https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn84024546/1890-09-10/ed-1/seq-6/#date1=09%2F01%2F1890&city=&date2=09%2F31%2F1890&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&index=5&words=Bellefonte+Wreck+wreck&county=&frequency=&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=&andtext=Bellefonte+wreck&rows=20&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1
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| A topo map showing the village of Axemann and the horseshoe curve Image Retrieved From: https://livingatlas.arcgis.com/topoexplorer/index.html |
Danger lurked on this stretch of rails for several reasons. Firstly, the severe curvature prevented train crews from seeing any hazards that might be ahead of them. An oncoming train or broken rail would be obscured from view until the crew was essentially on top of it. If the integrity of the track or the train was compromised in any way, the curve is the most likely place for a derailment as forces against both are at their greatest. Addition perils stemmed from the steep embankment the track was built on. Near the apex of the curve, this embankment was directly above the waters of the Logan Branch of Spring Creek.
The following is a timeline of accidents that have taken place on or near the curve. Only incidents with verifiable documentation have been included. Others have probably occurred, but were never documented or could not be located at this time.
1890
According to a newspaper account, a two car passenger train left Bellefonte on September 9th, bound for Lewisburg. After traveling two miles, the train was rounding a sharp curve when the engine’s lead wheels jumped the track. The engine rode atop the ties for a distance before going over the embankment and toppling over. Both the engineer and fireman were scalded from escaping steam and received significant injuries. By October, the engine was repaired and chugging along the line once again.
While the article for the above incident never goes into detail about where exactly the wreck occurred, the location is without a doubt the curve at Axemann The distance noted in the article supports this and no other curve of such severity exists anywhere else between those two locations. A photo of the wreck collaborates this conclusion. This incident stands (for now) as the first to be recorded on the curve since the line opened just five years prior. Unfortunately, it would not be the last.
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| The toppled engine from the 1890 wreck Imaged Retrieved From: Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania Library Archives |
On January 15, 1908, a freight train led by Pennsylvania Railroad locomotive #1611 was rounding the curve at Axemann when an axle broke on the third car behind the engine. The locomotive and several cars derailed and slid down the embankment into Logan Branch. Engineer Edward Graeff and William Winegardner (reported as fireman or brakeman) jumped from the locomotive as it left the track. Unfortunately, Engineer Graeff became trapped under the wreck, his arm pinned under the locomotive.
Though he survived the initial wreck, Edward Graeff now faced a new danger. The overturned cars in the creek had formed an impromptu dam that began impounding water around the engine. Rising water was now threatening to drown the trapped engineer. Another crewman proposed amputating Graeff’s arm with an ax, but the engineer refused. His head was held above water for as long as possible, but with no way to free him in time, Graeff drowned under his iron horse. Reportedly, this was Graeff's first trip over the line as engineer.
William Winegardner suffered sprains and abrasions, but was otherwise alright. Roy Inkrote was also listed by one source as being in the locomotive at the time of the wreck and was either fireman or brakeman. Inkrote survived the incident with nothing more than a swim in the creek. He claimed that this was the fifth wreck he had been in since he started working for the railroad. It was also his last wreck, he quit right afterwards.
Just six weeks later, the curve claimed another wreck. A loaded stone train from Whiterock Quarry was heading to Bellefonte when a wheel on the fourth car broke or derailed as it rounded the curve. It then toppled over and pulled two more cars with it into the creek below. Two-hundred feet of track was torn up as a result. Fortunately, no one was injured. When a crane was brought in to pull the cars from the creek, it derailed in the Bellefonte yard and was delayed for several hours.
As one article put it, there seemed to be a "hoo-doo" on the Lewisiburg and Tyrone. By April, three wrecks had occurred within the Axemann Curve. An unfortunate connection with Graeff's fatal wreck had also taken place. Conductor Charles Snyder had been on Graeff''s train at the time of the accident, but had not been injured. Though he escaped injury, the hoo-doo was not through with him yet.
On March 31, 1908, Snyder was riding on top of a box car while a train was shunting cars at the Mifflinburg depot. As the train passed the depot, Snyder was knocked off the car by the protruding roof. He then fell between the cars and was run over by the train, killing him instantly.
On a more positive note, engine #1611 was repaired following the Graeff's wreck and continued service with the Pennsylvania Railroad. In July of 1908, the engine was pulling a train when it ran headlong into a landslide near Sunbury. This time however, the crew was unhurt. Engineer Graeff must have been looking out for them.
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| A crowd gathers around the the wreck that killed Engineer Graeff. Reportedly, over 2,000 gathered to see the wreck. Image Retrieved From: http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/wrk_axemann.jpg
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1917
Assistant Supervisor Betz of the Lewisburg & Tyrone Railroad traveled to Bellefonte to inspect the work on the new iron bridge near the Bellefonte passenger station. He made the trip using his own "motor railroad car." Around noon, Betz was in the vicinity of Axemann station on the return trip to Lewisburg when one of the axles failed. Betz's car "literally broke itself into pieces" which threw him onto the ground. Luckily, he suffered only minor cuts and bruises. On a comical note, Betz's clothes were so torn, that he had to hold his pants together until he borrowed a needle and thread from a nearby home.
The newspaper article does not mention specifically that the accident happened on the curve, but since this type of incident had been caused by it before (i.e. the 1908 wrecks) I included it.
1918
On a February evening, a crew was taking an engine from Bellefonte to Whiterock Quarry to pick up loaded cars. As they were coming around the Axemann curve, one of the steel tires on the engine's drive wheels came off and derailed the locomotive. A wreck train from Tyrone was called in to lift the engine back on the track. Once lifted, the wreck crew heated up the loose tire and had it back on the drive wheel in less than an hour.
1921
The afternoon passenger train from Bellefonte to Lewisburg derailed at Axemann after its leading wheels jumped the track. A wreck crane then had to be brought in to put the engine back on the rails.
Again, the article never specifies if the accident occurred on the curve, but since it had a reputation of doing this same thing (i.e. the 1890 wreck) I included it.
1926
Around 7:00PM, the evening freight from Lewisburg en-route to Bellefonte was rounding the curve at Axemann when a loaded car full of lumber at the rear of the train derailed. Behind the derailed car was the caboose, which was also pulled off the track. Inside the caboose were Flagman Newton Rhone and Brakeman Charles Cupp.
After the caboose jumped the track it then tumbled down the embankment, twice rolling completely over, before stopping short of Logan Branch. Flagman Rhone was found unconscious by first responders and taken to the local hospital; Brakeman Cupp was also admitted. Fortunately, both men only suffered minor injuries.
1979
In the summer of 1979 several freight cars derailed on the curve and slid into Logan Branch. Other than occurring during the Conrail era, no other information could be located at this time. If anyone additional details regarding the wreck, please let me know!
The Axemann Curve's hoo-doo must have worn off as time passed. Trains have been traversing it without incident for the last several years. A combination of better maintenance, higher quality track equipment, and fewer trains probably have contributed to this. Hopefully, it never will return...
Author's Notes:
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| A Pennsylvania Railroad ND class caboose. These were commonly used on the L&T Imaged Retrieved From: Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania Photo Archives |
1979
In the summer of 1979 several freight cars derailed on the curve and slid into Logan Branch. Other than occurring during the Conrail era, no other information could be located at this time. If anyone additional details regarding the wreck, please let me know!
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| Several cars lie in Logan Branch after the wreck Author's Photo |
The Axemann Curve's hoo-doo must have worn off as time passed. Trains have been traversing it without incident for the last several years. A combination of better maintenance, higher quality track equipment, and fewer trains probably have contributed to this. Hopefully, it never will return...
Author's Notes:
-There was reportedly another derailment where several freight cars left the track at the curve in 1993. However, I could not find anything to verify the story. If anyone knows of this wreck or any other, please let me know!
Another wreck in June of 1948 that resulted in the death of two railroad workers is sometimes listed as occurring in Axemann. However, the location of this incident was in the vicinity of the I-99 bridge between Axemann and Pleasant Gap.
Information Retrieved From:
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