1923 — Sep 27, flooding, RR bridge fails, passenger train derails near Lockett, WY — 31
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 4-6-2025 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
–25-50 INS. “Bodies Swept Away By River.” Defiance Crescent-News, OH. 10-1-1923, p. 1.
— 35 AP. “Entire Train Plunges Into Swollen River.” Sheboygan Press-Telegram, WI. 9-28-1923, 1.
— 31 Wyoming Tourist Attractions Hometown Website.
— 22 Reed, R. Train Wrecks: A Pictorial History of Accidents on The Main Line. 1968, p. 98.
–21-31 US ICC. Summary of Accident Investigation Reports No. 17, July-September 1923, p. 34.
–17 passengers
— 4 crew
–10 passengers and employees “known to be missing.”
–7 passengers
–3 employees
— 20 UP. “20 Die in Burlington Accident.” Evening State Journal, Lincoln, NE. 9
Narrative Information
US Interstate Commerce Commission: Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. “Derailment of a passenger train near Lockett, Wyo., on September 27, 1923, which resulted in the death of 17 passengers, 1 express messenger, 1 mail clerk, 1 employee, and 1 Pullman porter, while 7 passengers and 3 employees were known to be missing; the injuries were confined to 1 passenger and 1 employee.
“This accident was caused either by a bridge being washed away or to its being so weakened as to cause its collapse under the weight of the train.
“This accident occurred on a single-track line, over which trains are operated by time-table, train orders, and a manual block-signal system, at a point 1.51 miles west of Lockett. Approaching the point of accident from the west there is a tangent 1,627.5 feet in length, followed by a curve of 1° 22′ to the right, which is 5,258.5 feet in length, the accident occurring on this curve 2,214 feet from its western end at bridge 98, spanning what is known as Cole Creek….
“Bridge 98 was a pile-driven trestle 111 feet in length and 20 feet above the creek bed at the highest point; it was built in 1914. This bridge consisted of nine bents, spaced about 14 feet apart, each bent being made up of five piles. At each end of the bridge on the upstream side was riprap from 7 to 8 feet thick at the bottom, 2 feet thick at the top, and about 8 feet in height. On account of the curvature of the track, this bridge is not visible by means of the rays of a headlight for more than 500 or 600 feet, and any unsafe condition which might exist undoubtedly would not be detected until an approaching train was much nearer.
“There was a light rain falling at the time of the accident, which occurred at about 9.05 p. m.
“Eastbound passenger train No. 30 consisted of one baggage car, one combination mail and baggage car, one coach, one chair car, and three Pullman sleeping cars, hauled by engine 350. The cars were of all-steel construction with the exception of the first and third, which were of steel underframe construction. Train No. 30 departed from Casper, which is its initial station and also the last open office, at 8.35 p. m., on time, and was derailed at bridge 98 while traveling at a speed estimated to have been 30 or 40 miles an hour.
“Engine 350 came to rest on its right side, with its head end about 10 feet from the east bank of the creek, and was practically submerged in the sand; the tender was immediately behind the engine. The first five cars went into the creek, while the forward truck of the sixth car was derailed. The bridge was demolished. The employee killed was a brakeman, while the employees missing were the engineman, fireman, and conductor.
“Cole Creek, the stream spanned by bridge 98, is a small stream about 14 miles in length, and joins the North Platte River about one-fourth mile south of the railroad. It drains an area of about 130 miles, approximately 80 of which are composed of adobe soil, which sheds water very readily. The remaining portion consists of a very sandy soil. Within this sandy area are to be found a number of sand bars across shallow spots, forming basins or pools which after a rain of the least severity are filled with water, sometimes of considerable depth. The annual rainfall in this vicinity, as shown by the United States Weather Bureau records for the past nine years, is 12 inches. The precipitation for the month of September, 1928, was 5.10 inches, 2.89 inches of which fell on September 27 and 28. Examination of the, area drained by the creek showed that at three points large amounts of water had been impounded by sand bars. According to one of the residents of the vicinity, there was one point. 11 or 12 miles above the railroad, where at 4 p. m. on the day of the accident approximately 320 acres of land was flooded, in some places to a depth of from 12 to 14 feet. All of this water had accumulated on that day. On visiting this point on the following morning he found that all of the water had disappeared, while there was a channel 60 or 80 feet wide cut through the sand bar, which had held back the water.
“After the accident the bridge structure, with the exception of a few of the stringers, was missing. It had recently received a semiannual inspection by the master carpenter and a monthly inspection by the bridge foreman, being in good condition at those times, and had been examined by the section foreman within approximately one hour of the time the accident occurred. At this latter time there was a small volume of water passing under it, and the investigation failed to develop that there had been any heavy rains in the vicinity after that time. Under these circumstances it seems probable that the large amounts of water which appear to have been impounded by the sand bars at various points upstream finally were released through the giving way of portions of the sand bars, and that this water either weakened the bridge or washed it away entirely.
“The finding of parts of the smokestack, penetration stack, center section of draft plate, and door hinge of engine 350 on the east bank of the creek, from 30 to 50 feet from the edge, raised some question as to whether there had been a boiler explosion at about the time train No. 30 reached the bridge, but careful examination of the engine made by the inspectors of this bureau, as well as by an inspector of the bureau of locomotive inspection of this commission, and by the general boiler inspector of the railroad company, failed to disclose that such was the case.”
(ICC. Summary of Accident Investigation Reports No. 17, July-September 1923, pp. 34-36.)
Newspapers
Sep 28, UP: “Casper, Wyo., Sept. 28. – (By the United Press.) – Because of additional survivors today from the wreckage of train No. 30 on the Burlington railroad which plunged thru a bridge sixteen miles from here, the number of missing is cut to twenty. These are probably dead, in the opinion of C. A. McBride, assistant superintendent in charge of the rescue work.
“Water is so high at the scene of the wreck that the smoker and chair car interiors cannot be reached. The number of passengers in these cars will determine the death list final total. It was said at 2 p.m. that it would be hours before these cars can be reached.
….
“Casper, Wyo., Sept. 28. – All members of the train crew of No. 30, first believed lost, were found alive in the wreckage just out of reach of the swirling waters of the little mountain stream swollen to a torrent by a cloudburst. All were seriously injured.
“McBride’s tabulation showed that of the sixty-six passengers and six trainmen aboard, the following were saved:
“Thirty-two passengers in the rear sleepers which remained on the tracks.
“Fourteen passengers who were in the two day coaches which tumbled into the creek. Most of these were seriously injured.
“The train crew of six.
“This leaves twenty still unaccounted for.
“Rescue workers who toiled throughout the early hours of the morning were unable to make much progress due to the high water.
“The Burlington crosses the Big Muddy near Lockett, about sixteen miles from Casper.
“Besides two day coaches, a mail, a baggage, and an express went into the creek and were completely covered by the little stream which is usually little more than a brooklet.
“Rain had been falling throughout the day along the headwaters of the Big Muddy, but railroad officials did not have a thought that there would be any danger.
“No. 30 was traveling about forty miles an hour when it hit the bridge, weakened by the rush of water. The bridge crumpled beneath the engine. As the engine nosedived in the deep water and mud, the other cars went over it in leap frog fashion. One chair car and one Pullman were only partly submerged and passengers who escaped sprawled to the upper ends in terrified groups.
“Only two coaches of the seven car train failed to go into the water.
….
“Omaha, Sept. 28. – The death toll in the Casper wreck will not exceed thirty, C. L. Gray, chief clerk in the general manager’s office for the Burlington lines west of the Missouri river, said here today….” (United Press. “20 Die in Burlington Accident.” Evening State Journal, Lincoln, NE. 9-28-1923, pp. 1 & 12.)
Sep 29, Evening State Journal, Lincoln, NE: “Casper, Wyo., Sept. 29. – Additional wrecking equipment arrived today at Lockett, fourteen miles east of here, where passenger train No. 30, on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy road went thru a bridge Thursday night and railroad officials expected to be able to clear out most of the wreckage during the day. Twenty missing passengers are believed buried in the wreckage in Coal creek. Three bodies recovered from the mass of twisted steel in the swirling waters have been brought to Casper.
“Continual rains have been falling at the headwaters of the little mountain stream, resulting in the creek bed, which is usually dry, retaining the proportions of a torrent and preventing rescue work.
“Rain which has been falling here for two days ceased early this morning and the additional wrecking crews equipped with heavy lifting machinery left here at dawn for the scene. The storm had forced workers to stop their efforts to clear up the wreck during the night.
“Bodies brought here by rescue train today were identified as follows:
- J. Mouise, Gunnison, Col., a passenger.
Albert Hill, Garden City, Kas., passenger.
- J. Klover, Cheyenne, Wyo., brakeman.
_______
“Omaha, Sept. 29. – Word from Casper this morning was that the work of rescuing bodies from two passenger cars in the waters of the raging torrent near Lockett was still held up because of inability to work in the water that had almost entirely covered the cars. Rain and snow had fallen almost continually since the Burlington train went thru the bridge over coal creek, …The estimate of the railroad officials of lives lost is still in the neighborhood of twenty-five, an accurate check being possible only when the cars can be raised from the water.” (Evening State Journal, Lincoln, NE. “Wreck Crews Go To Work. Hope to Clear Debris From Lockett Accident.” 9-23-1923, p. 3.)
Oct 1, INS: “Casper, Wyo., Oct. 1 – After three nights and three days of feverish work, rescuers today had recovered but three bodies from the wreckage of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy passenger train which plunged into the raging torrents of Cole Creek near Lockett, 15 miles east of here last Thursday night. Estimates of the toll of Wyoming’s most disastrous railroad wreck continued to range from 25 to 50, but it is expected now that most of the bodies have been swept down the waters of the Platte river and many may never be recovered.” (International News Service. “Bodies Swept Away By River.” Defiance Crescent-News, OH. 10-1-1923, p. 1.)
Oct 2, AP: “(Associated Press.) Casper, Wyo., Oct. 2. – A piece of one side of the demolished smoking car of Burlington train No. 30, wrecked at Lockett, Wyo., last Thursday night, today was found at the fair grounds at Douglas, Wyo., where it had been washed up by the Platte river, more than thirty-five miles below the wreck. Railroad men believe many of the bodies of the wreck also have been washed down stream.
_______
“Casper, Wyo., Oct. 2. – After a futile search of four days and nights for the score of missing dead in the wreck of Burlington passenger train No. 30, which plunged into Cole creek several days ago, practically all hope of recovering the bodies was abandoned here this morning.
“Word was received from Lockett early today that the body of an unidentified woman was taken from the chair car but that decomposition and mutilation had rendered identification impossible. While it is hoped that more bodies will be fund in this car, authorities are of the belief that the shifting sands of the stream have buried them many feet below its bed.
“The splintered side of the smoking car in which the bulk of the missing are supposed to have been caught, was found today several hundred feet from the scene of the wreck but no bodies were located.
“Twenty-five mounted soldiers will patrol both sides of the Platte river for a distance of twenty-five miles in search of all brush and drift wood in which bodies may be concealed.” (Associated Press. “Hope of Finding Victims Wanes.” The Lincoln Star, NE. 10-2-1923, p. 11.)
Sources
Associated Press. “Entire Train Plunges Into Swollen River.” Sheboygan Press-Telegram, WI. 9-28-1923, p. 1. Accessed 4-6-2025 at:
https://newspaperarchive.com/sheboygan-press-telegram-sep-30-1923-p-1/
Associated Press. “Hope of Finding Victims Wanes.” The Lincoln Star, NE. 10-2-1923, p. 11. Accessed 4-6-2025 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/lincoln-star-oct-02-1923-p-22/
Evening State Journal, Lincoln, NE. “Wreck Crews Go To Work. Hope to Clear Debris From Lockett Accident.” 9-23-1923, p. 3. Accessed 4-6-2025 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/lincoln-evening-state-journal-and-daily-news-sep-29-1923-p-3/
International News Service. “Bodies Swept Away By River.” Defiance Crescent-News, OH. 10-1-1923, p. 1. Accessed 4-6-2025 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/the-crescent-news-oct-01-1923-p-1/
Reed, Robert C. Train Wrecks: A Pictorial History of Accidents on The Main Line. New York: Bonanza Books, 1968.
United Press. “20 Die in Burlington Accident.” Evening State Journal, Lincoln, NE. 9-28-1923, p.1. Accessed 4-6-2025 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/lincoln-evening-state-journal-sep-28-1923-p-2/
United States Interstate Commerce Commission. Summary of Accident Investigation Reports No. 17, July, August, and September 1923. Washington, DC: GPO, 1924. Google digitized at: http://books.google.com/books?id=c3zNAAAAMAAJ&printsec=titlepage&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0