The Chester train wreck occurred on August 31, 1893, outside of

Chester, Massachusetts Chester is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, situated in Western Massachusetts. It is part of the Springfield metropolitan statistical area. The town includes the Chester Factory Village Historic District. The total popu ...

. A bridge collapse plunged four train cars into the

Westfield River The Westfield River is a major tributary of the Connecticut River located in the Berkshires and Pioneer Valley regions of western Massachusetts. With four major tributary branches that converge west of the city of Westfield, it flows (measure ...

, killing 14 people. An investigation by the Massachusetts Railroad Commission found that the bridge had been weakened by a maintenance crew that had removed rivets from the bridge.

Bridge

The wreck occurred on a , two-span iron

lattice truss bridge A lattice truss bridge is a form of truss bridge that uses many small, closely spaced diagonal elements forming a latticework, lattice. The design was patented in 1820 by architect Ithiel Town. Originally a means of erecting a substantial bridge ...

that crossed over the

. The bridge had been built in 1874 and was in the process of being strengthened for larger locomotives. Crews were working that day and were on break at the time of the accident.

Accident

Around 12:30 pm, the bridge collapsed under the weight of the

Boston and Albany Railroad The Boston and Albany Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York, later becoming part of the New York Central Railroad system, Conrail, and CSX Transportation. The mainline is currently used by CSX for freight a ...

’s

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

limited express A limited express is a type of express train or express bus service that stops at fewer locations compared to other express services on the same or similar routes. Japan The term "limited express" is a common translation of the Japanese ...

. The train's locomotive made it over the bridge, but was smashed. The

buffet car A buffet car (British English) or café car (American English) is a passenger railroad car, where food and Drink, beverages can be bought at a counter.

, two

sleeping car The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car (rail), passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the main American innovator and owner of sl ...

s, and the

dining car A dining car (American English) or a restaurant car (British English), also a diner, is a passenger railroad car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant. These cars provide the highest level of service of any rai ...

plunged 20 feet into the water and shattered upon impact. The two day coaches and the smoking car in the rear of the train remained on the track. Although the accident occurred in a fairly isolated area, a man driving by on horse observed the wreck and rode into the village for help. Hundreds soon rushed to the scene including a physician, George L. Wood, who treated the injured with the help of the train's porters in a nearby apple orchard. They were then moved to nearby houses before being transported to hospitals in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

via a two-horse wagon filled with hay and covered in blankets. 13 bodies, many of them horribly mutilated, were pulled from the wreck. A fourteenth victim died three days later.

Investigation

The Massachusetts Railroad Commission launched an inquiry into the accident. The commission heard testimony from four expert witnesses, all of whom testified that the bridge could have held the weight of the train under normal conditions, however the bridge had been weakened by 50% when the work crew removed the rivets from the connector plate on the top chord of the south truss and neglected to secure it with bolts or draft pins and failed to bolt the new plates in place at the end post. An inquest overseen by Judge Homer B. Stevens of the Western Hampden District Court in

Westfield, Massachusetts Westfield is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, Hampden County, in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts, United States. Westfield was first settled by Europeans in 1660. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield metrop ...

placed the blame on J. D. Reed and Daniel Belville, the supervisors of the crew working on the bridge. Stevens criticized Reed for not giving Belville specific instructions and Belville, who was not a knowledgeable or qualified bridge builder, for not personally inspecting the work before he and his crew left.

References

{{reflist 1893 in Massachusetts August 1893 Bridge disasters in the United States Bridge disasters caused by maintenance error Chester, Massachusetts Railway accidents in 1893 Railway accidents and incidents in Massachusetts

Bridge

Accident

Investigation

See also

References