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| Looking across what remains of Miller's Spring Trestle after the collapse |
Safety and progress are forever in a race against each other. However, when progress outdistances safety, only disaster awaits at the finish line. On June 11, 1878, that is exactly what awaited a passenger train bound for Bellefonte.
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| The railroad's famous switchbacks up the mountain at Gum Stump Image Retrieved From: Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania Photo Archives |
The Bellefonte and Snow Shoe Railroad has the distinction of being the first railroad in Centre County. Constructed between 1858 and 1859, it revolutionized transportation in the region, as previously passengers and goods could only move as fast as canal boats or turnpike roads would allow. Its primary purpose was to haul coal from mines at the mountaintop community of Snow Shoe to markets in Bellefonte. The expansive views as the tracks switch-backed up the rugged Allegheny Front unintentionally made it an attraction and a passenger car was often coupled to the end of daily freight trains. While the route was scenic, the dangers associated with its steep grades, sharp curves, and expansive bridges always loomed over those traveling the route.
Even as rapid advances in technology were made, railroading was still very much in its infancy. Wood was the material of choice for 19th Century railroads, both for infrastructure and equipment. It was both economical, and for the time, adequate for the relatively lightweight engines and cars. On the Bellefonte & Snow Shoe, all of the railroad’s 19 bridges and trestles were wooden structures. One of the most prominent was the trestle at Miller's Spring, located 3.5 miles from Snow Shoe. It stretched 575 feet long and towered 65 feet above the ground, making it the highest structure on the line.
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| The railroad's trestle over the South Fork of Beech Creek which was slightly longer than the Miller's Spring Trestle Image Retrieved From: Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania Photo Archive |
In July 1865, an article in Bellefonte's Democratic Watchman published an article that outlined the author's trip over the railroad from Milesburg to the coal mines around Snow Shoe. Conductor Ed Nolan provided details regarding the trestles the train crossed. The author described the following scene from the trestle, "Here, too, we behold beauty and grandeur in the landscape. The' tall pines, the giant oaks, and the dense hemlocks, free as the air, together lift their heads high into the sky, adding much to the appearance of the rolling and broken surface."
On June 11, 1878, a mixed train comprised of 27-ton Engine No. 4, three freight cars, and a passenger car departed Snow Shoe for the downhill trip to Bellefonte. Three passengers and four crewmen, including Conductor Ed Nolan, were onboard. As the train reached the mid-point of Miller's Spring Trestle, the spans suddenly lurched forward from under it, collapsing the piers like dominos and dropping the train and most of the trestle in a thunderous crash of splintering wood.
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| Engine No. 4 and the passenger car are the only recognizable pieces of equipment Image Retrieved From: wikipedia.com |
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| A view of the destruction from the north abutment Photo Retrieved From: Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania Photo Archives |
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| A close up of the damaged passenger car. The engine and freight cars can be seen in the background Image Retrieved From: wikipedia.com |
When the train reached the ground, the less injured set about rescuing and caring for those trapped under debris. Doctors and first responders soon reached the scene. Everyone onboard had sustained injuries of various severity. All were taken back to Snow Shoe by train for further medical treatment.
Passenger William Holt of nearby Moshannon was the most grievously injured. A wooden beam ripped through the floor of the passenger car, injuring both of his legs, breaking his nose and striking his face. William succumbed to his wounds around 8:00 PM that night. He was the only fatality of the disaster. A suit for the loss of her husband was initiated by Mrs. Holt against the railroad. Initially filed for $25,000, the suit was later settled with the railroad agreeing to pay $8,000.
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| Juniata Sentinel and Republican., June 19, 1878 Retrieved From: Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive |
Local photographer John Moore, visited the site of the disaster on the day of William Holt's funeral to photograph the destruction. Four photos were taken. He then sold the photos for $.25 a piece or the whole set for a $1.00. Reportedly, the photos sold quit well.
A second death may also be attributed to the disaster. Conductor Ed Nolan had suffered wounds to his head and shoulders during the train's fall from the trestle. According to newspapers, it was believed that he never fully recovered from the shock of what transpired that day, although an undiagnosed internal injury may very well have been at work. Nolan continued to serve the railroad as a conductor, however spouts of illness continued to plague him throughout his life. A final attack of illness in 1886, finally proved too much to bear. Nolan passed away on May 29, 1886. Burial was made in Bellefonte's St. John's Cemetery.
A definitive cause for the disaster was never ascertained or made publicly known. It was surmised that the bridge had been weakened by a heavy freight train that had crossed it just an hour before. No documentation has been found to ascertain what the trestle was initially designed to bear or how heavy the freight train was that weakened the bridge. Just a week before, "important work" had been done on the trestle according to local newspapers, however there were no specifics mentioned.
Engineer Temple and Fireman Rapp reported they heard no sound of splintering wood before the trestle began falling. James Sommerville, one of the passengers, also reported that nothing seemed amiss before he felt the train fall from beneath him.
The age of the structure may have played a significant role in its collapse. According to A Treatise on Wooden Trestle Bridges According to the Present Practice on American Railroads published in 1900, the average lifespan of a wooden trestle in the United States was 10-15 years. Miller's Spring Trestle was 20 years old when it collapsed. Two decades of exposure to the elements and increasingly heavier freight trains may have finally been too much to bear for the structure.
Rather quickly, the railroad decided to not rebuild the trestle, but rather lay a new track around the hollow. Perhaps questioning the integrity of their other trestles, the railroad began to either fill in or bypass the remaining trestles. By October 1879, the line's longest trestle over the South Fork of Beech Creek was rebuilt and partially filled in, a bypass track was built around the 550 ft. long Wolf's Trestle east of Snow Shoe, and 300 tons of steel rail was laid to replace the older iron rail.
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| William Holt's final resting place in Askey Cemetery Author's Photo |
By that November, Engine No. 4 and the coach that had been involved in the wreck were brought out from the repair shop. A test run from Bellefonte up to Snow Shoe was made with Engineer William Temple back at throttle of the iron horse he had taken the plunge with just a few months ago. Thankfully, this run was uneventful.
Information Retrieved From:
Bezilla, M (2017). Branch line empires: the Pennsylvania and New York Central railroads. Indiana University Press.
Clearfield Republican (1878, June 19). Terrible railroad accident. Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive.https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83032199/1878-06-19/ed-1/seq-3/#date1=01%2F01%2F1875&city=&date2=12%2F31%2F1880&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&index=12&words=Miller+Miller's+Spring&county=&frequency=&ortext=&proxtext=Miller's+Spring&phrasetext=&andtext=&rows=20&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1
Democratic Watchman (1929, December 13). Fifty years ago in Centre County. Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive. https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83031981/1929-12-13/ed-1/seq-4/#city=&rows=20&proxtext=miller+spring+trestle&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=4&words=Miller+Springs+trestle&page=1
Centre Reporter (1875, June 10). Snow Shoe saved by rain- a bridge burned. Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive.https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83032058/1875-06-10/ed-1/seq-3/#words=Miller+Spring+trestle
Legislative documents, comprising the department and other reports made to the Senate and House of Representatives of Pennsylvania during the session of 1879. (1879). Bellefonte and Snow Shoe. Retrieved from: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Legislative_Documents_Comprising_the_Dep/26YrAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1
Miscellaneous documents read in the legislature of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. (1864). Bellefonte and Snow Shoe. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/TTg1AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1
1870
https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/fu01AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=bellefonte
https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn84009409/1886-06-03/ed-1/seq-8/#words=Miller%27s+Spring+Trestle
https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83031987/1878-11-20/ed-1/seq-8/#words=engine+engineer+Shoe+Snow
Moore Photos
https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83031981/1878-06-21/ed-1/seq-8/#words=Shoe+Snow+trestle
1879 Rebuilding
https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83031987/1879-10-29/ed-1/seq-4/#words=Shoe+Snow+trestle
1865 Trip
Work on Bridge
https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83031987/1878-06-12/ed-1/seq-4/#words=SHOE+SNOW+TRESTLE
Whites Trestle Reroute
https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83031981/1879-10-10/ed-1/seq-4/#words=Shoe+Snow+trestle
https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83031981/1865-07-21/ed-1/seq-3/#words=Little+Trestle
More about the big wreck
https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83031987/1878-06-19/ed-1/seq-8/#words=Beech+Creek+trestle
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