Valley Girl Views: Engine Explodes, Killing 4

Train Explosion, Muncy Pa , March 2 1912

Train No 58, fast freight east bound, left Williamsport about 9:20am. It was running thirty miles an hour when, just in front of Muncy Station, without warning, the engine suddenly exploded.

Following the explosion of the boiler, the trucks and substructure of the engine ran along the rails for a distance of 500 feet, then left the tracks, turned at right angles with one end hanging over the embankment and the other effectually blocking all other tracks.

"The bursting boiler stripped the engine clean above the running gear and shattered to kindling the four cars following it. The splintered fragments of the cars, and wreckage of the engine, were strewn over the tracks."

At the time of the explosion, four men were riding in the cab of the engine. None of them survived the explosion. Those killed were: William Fink of Tamaqua, Engineer; Bolton Whitenight of Tamaqua, Conductor; William Meyers of Tamaqua, Fireman; Harry Robertson of White Deer, brakeman.

"A sad feature of the tragedy was the arrival of a baby boy at the home of Conductor Whitenight las Sunday afternoon. In the expectation of this happy event, Whitenight had expressed a desire to leave the crew at Newberry Friday evening, and return home by passenger train, but was prevailed upon by the crew to finish the run."

The explosion blew in all of the doors and windows of Muncy Station.

Inside the station at the time was Clifford R Warg, Telegraph Operator from Milton, W.C. Painter, Station Master. Warg was severely cut and bruised, and had four teeth knocked out.

A furniture factory on the opposite side of the track from the station was badly damaged. Sides of the finishing room were blown in, and coals shot from the locomotive set fire to the building. Fire companies quickly got the fire under control.

1906 Map showing the passenger station across from Muncy Manufacturing Furniture Company

The train, the fastest on the Reading line, was called the "Beef Train". "The Beef Train, taking freight from the west through Philadelphia, travels on a passenger schedule."

The cause of the explosion was believe to have been a clogged inspirator, which failed to force water into the boiler. "Stay bolts and crown sheet, whitened with heat, substantiate the low water theory"

This photo is labeled simply "Muncy Train Wreck"

At first I thought it could not possibly be of this wreck, because of the location of the train station and Muncy Manufacturing. However, this is the clean up effort, and the train stopped some distance from where it exploded. I would need to look at the maps more closely to rule this out for certain.

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