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what were grade crossing accidents like During the steam years....
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My late dad played in the SMU band in college in the 1930's. This was a very well-known and popular swing band (made Collier's Magazine in 1940) that traveled to away games with the team on the special train. Dad always said that the RR made it a practice to put a board across an open baggage car door or two so the students could hang out (try this today on a main line train at speed!). He said he was on a special going to Notre Dame in about 1939, up on the Alton, hanging in the door with a bunch of his buddies, running at about 100 behind steam (in those days, the Alton was a very fast line), when they nailed a loaded hay wagon at a rural grade crossing. Said the horses/mules went flying and the wagon itself exploded. They got off in Chicago and went up to the locomotive and found whole front end of the train was covered with hay, poked in all sorts of places. <br /> <br />The TX state archives has some photos taken after the T&NO Border Limited hit a truck full of migrant workers that ran a crossing down in the Rio Grande Valley in the late 1930's or early 40's. Not a pretty sight. Since this is a family website, will forego any further description. No one on train was hurt, if I recall correctly. Border Limited never ran behind diesels. <br /> <br />Crossing safety has always been an issue.
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