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| Great Northern Buelow Wreck | |
|---|---|
| Details | |
| Date | March 7, 1966 11:30 AM[1] |
| Location | 5 mi (8.0 km) east from Chester, Montana |
| Coordinates | 48°30′32″N 111°05′08″W / 48.508968°N 111.085637°W |
| Country |  USA |
| Operator | Great Northern Railway |
| Service | Empire Builder and Western Star |
| Incident type | Head-on collision |
| Cause | Disputed |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 2 |
| Passengers | 145[1] |
| Deaths | 2[1] |
| Injured | 29[1] |
The Great Northern Buelow Wreck occurred on March 7, 1966 when two Great Northern Railway trains, an eastbound Empire Builder passenger train and a westbound Western Star mail and passenger train, collided near Chester, Montana.[2]
Summary
editIn the morning of March 7, 1966, the Empire Builder #32 passenger train was headed east and approaching the west side of the Beulow passing siding. At the same time, the Western Star #27 was headed west, approaching the same siding on its east side. The Empire Builder had been directed by the Havre dispatcher to enter the siding, which is 11 miles (18 km) east of Chester, Montana and 47 miles (76 km) west of Havre, Montana; it was approximately 500 feet (150 m) from the siding traveling at 12 miles per hour (19 km/h) while the #27 passenger and mail train approached the siding at a speed of 79 miles per hour (127 km/h). The reason for the high speed of the #27 was disputed, but it ultimately contributed to the head-on collision of the two trains, as the Empire Builder was unable to side before being struck by the fast-approaching Western Star. The ensuing wreck occurred around 11:30 AM caused the death of two train engineers and at least 29 injuries.[3]
The Western Star train was crewed by Bernard L. Runyan, Engineer; Dick Parks, Conductor; Roger Hardy, Fireman; and Bruce Pfrimmer, Head Brakeman. Eric A. "Sonny" Walters was the engineer of the Empire Builder, crewed together with Minor Stocking, Conductor; Arnold Hale, Fireman; Harry Maddux, Head Brakeman; and Dick Guymon, Rear Brakeman.[3] Both engineers were killed in the accident; Runyan, 67, and Walters, 68, were both residence of Whitefish, Montana. Coincidentally, the train company's president, John M. Budd, and vice president for operations, John L. Robson, were on the Empire Builder during the accident but were unharmed.[1]
Investigation
editAn investigation was initiated on March 8, 1966, the day after the wreck.[4] Paul F. Cruikshank, a spokesman for the railway company in Spokane, Washington asserted the same day of the accident that the westbound train driven by Runyan "went through red signals".[5][6] The Liberty County sheriff concurred, saying the Western Star ran through "one red light for sure."[4] Other train officials closer to the scene in Whitefish, however, "were in a quandary as to the cause of the head on train wreck...and some believe the answer may never be known".[7] This dilemma resulted from the testimony of multiple witnesses who said that the signal at the east end of the siding was green, indicating to Engineer Runyan that the track ahead was clear.[3]
The westbound Western Star, carrying 88 passengers[1] and a load of mail[2], had the right away on the main track.[3]. It is for this reason, that the eastbound Empire Builder, a passenger train carrying 57 persons[1], had been directed into the siding at Buelow. The signal for this train was verified after the accident to be red over yellow, indicating that the Havre dispatcher had centrally triggered the switch to allow the Empire Builder to enter the siding. Consequently, it slowed to 12 miles per hour (19 km/h), so it could stop in the siding while the oncoming train passed on the main track. The collision happened prior to the eastbound train entering the siding, however, resulting in a head-on strike.[3]
The westbound Western Star could not see the slow approaching train because it was obscured by a hill[3], a common topographic phenomenon in the rolling hills of the Golden Triangle where the accident took place.[7] This left Engineer Runyan to rely solely on the track's signals which were centrally controlled.[6] Several witnesses present at the accident claimed immediately after the wreck that Runyan's signal at the east end of the Buelow switch was green when it should have been yellow.[3] If it were, Runyan should have slowed to 30 miles per hour (48 km/h) and the signal at the west end of the siding should have been red, indicating to Runyan that the track ahead was obscured by the fateful Empire Builder. Consequently, Runyan, a veteran railroader, missed important signals or there was at least one device failure.
These two theories are depicted in the following figures:[3]
TBD
An autopsy of Runyan showed that the cause of his death was injuries he sustained in the accident. It also "showed no carbon monoxide poising, no natural diseases, no alcohol, and no drugs or pain killers" were present in the engineer's body. As a result, the autopsy "gave no clues [as to] why [the] two passenger trains collided head-on".[8]
The findings of Great Northern were not made public and it held a hearing about the collision behind closed doors.[9] After which, the viewpoint of the Great Northern investigating officials ultimately prevailed, laying the blame on Runyan. Had the alternative view that a signal failure caused the crash won over instead, Runyan would have been absolved of any fault and Great Northern would have had to compensate Runyan's survivors.[3] This conflict of interest on the part of the investigators leaves a shadow over this terrible tragedy.
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g "Head-on Crash Kills Engineers". Chester, Montana: Great Falls Tribune. Associated Press. 1966-03-08. pp. 1, 10.
{{cite news}}:|archive-url=requires|url=(help) - ^ a b Watts Jr., H. C. (1966-03-08). "Editor Sees Area of Wreck As One of Total Devastation". Havre Daily News.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i The Anatomy of Great Northern Buelow Wreck - March 7, 1966. [Exhibition]. Whitefish Museum, Whitefish, Montana, USA. https://www.stumptownhistoricalsociety.org/whitefish-museum
- ^ a b "Investigators Start Studying Cause of Head-on Train Crash". Havre, Montana: The Havre Daily News. Associated Press. 1966-03-08. p. 1.
- ^ "'Obviously Westbound Train Ran Red Signals'". Whitefish, Montana: Great Falls Tribune. Associated Press. 1966-03-08. pp. 1, 8.
{{cite news}}:|archive-url=requires|url=(help) - ^ a b Larry, Stem (1966-03-08). "GN Spokesman Says Train 'Went Through Red Signals'". Eugene Register Guard. Chester, MT. p. 4A. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ a b Larry, Stem (1966-03-08). "GN Officials Probe Causes of Montana Train Collision". The Spokesman Review. Whitefish. p. 6. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
- ^ "Probe Fails to Give Clue to Accident". Chester, MT: The Spokesman Review. Associated Press. 1966-03-10. p. 6. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ "GN Collision Hearing Set for Saturday". The Spokesman Review. Whitefish, MT. 1966-03-11. p. 6. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
Railway accidents in 1966 | |
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| Location and date |
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