Several weeks ago I posted a question about a Santa Fe train wreck in Azusa, CA dating from the twenties. Shown below is the photo from the wreck. I didn't post it correctly the first time.
Thanks to Jim Walker, Los Angeles MTA Historian I was able to date the photograph. The wreck occurred on March 23, 1922 when the Phoenix Flyer slammed into a steam roller that stalled on the tracks. Both the engineer and fireman died in the wreck.
If you think the media is awful now, not much has changed since 1922;
"When Mrs. Hughes was advised by a Times reporter of her husband's death, she had just telephoned the Santa Fe roundhouse to ask why her husband was late. Upon the news she screamed and fell to the floor in a faint."
An interesting side note is that the engineer's son in-law was actor Warner Baxter. Old movie fans may recognize him from In Old Arizona, for which he won the second Best Actor Academy Award.
Ouch! That had to hurt! Did any passengers die in the wreck?
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