Now...Where Did I Put That Photo???
Darn it. The other day I took some photos over to mom and dad's to scan them-I don't have a scanner here. All but two of them were recent (last 20 years or so). The two that were older are photographs of railroad accidents that occurred in or near Chattanooga, Tennessee. If they were to be lost, they would not be replaceable. Anyways, got home and started organizing the prints to put them in their proper places and noticed that the two older prints were not there. Spent several hours checking all of the places that they might have been put accidentally-other storage folders for other railroad items (I have a MASSIVE collection of photographic prints). My total number of large prints (11" by 8.5") is something over 200, not counting duplicate prints. My collection of 5" by 3" prints is significantly larger. The prints that I was looking for were the large format.
Anyways, the next day they were found in my mom's office-evidently I had left them there after scanning other items. Now I keep the large prints in a large 3 ring binder using photo safe plastic sleeves. When not in use, the binder is stored inside a dark, dry closet. Here are the photographs mentioned previously.
This photograph is believed to be that of the wreck of Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway Extra Train No. 179 on June 12, 1912. The train was chartered by the Knights of Pythias for a trip from Chattanooga to the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park and return. As the train was approaching Dalton, it derailed. A railroad employee and one member of the fraternal order were killed.
This photograph is of the wreck of Southern Railway Train No. 15 on May 16, 1907 on the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway at Chattanooga Creek Bridge. Work being performed on the nearby Lookout Mountain Tunnel caused a massive blast that sent large amounts of large rocks flying. Some rocks landed up to a mile from the site of the blast, damaging some railway camp cars and local houses. One large rock (estimated to have weighed several hundred pounds) struck the bridge's tension rods just as the train was crossing. The bridge then collapsed, almost dragging locomotive No. 306 into the void. The engineer and fireman jumped clear of the locomotive on their respective sides-the fireman was crushed to death by falling debris while the engineer was badly injured. The crew working the pile driver in the background were also killed by falling rocks.
I certainly have a lot of appreciation for the stories behind the photographs-especially the Chattanooga Creek wreck. When I bought the photo from a friend of mine, all he could tell me was that the wreck was a local one-no memory of the date or railroad involved. With the heavy amount of railroad historical research that I was doing in my free time at university, it took me about three years to identify the wreck.
Anyways, the next day they were found in my mom's office-evidently I had left them there after scanning other items. Now I keep the large prints in a large 3 ring binder using photo safe plastic sleeves. When not in use, the binder is stored inside a dark, dry closet. Here are the photographs mentioned previously.
This photograph is believed to be that of the wreck of Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway Extra Train No. 179 on June 12, 1912. The train was chartered by the Knights of Pythias for a trip from Chattanooga to the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park and return. As the train was approaching Dalton, it derailed. A railroad employee and one member of the fraternal order were killed.
This photograph is of the wreck of Southern Railway Train No. 15 on May 16, 1907 on the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway at Chattanooga Creek Bridge. Work being performed on the nearby Lookout Mountain Tunnel caused a massive blast that sent large amounts of large rocks flying. Some rocks landed up to a mile from the site of the blast, damaging some railway camp cars and local houses. One large rock (estimated to have weighed several hundred pounds) struck the bridge's tension rods just as the train was crossing. The bridge then collapsed, almost dragging locomotive No. 306 into the void. The engineer and fireman jumped clear of the locomotive on their respective sides-the fireman was crushed to death by falling debris while the engineer was badly injured. The crew working the pile driver in the background were also killed by falling rocks.
I certainly have a lot of appreciation for the stories behind the photographs-especially the Chattanooga Creek wreck. When I bought the photo from a friend of mine, all he could tell me was that the wreck was a local one-no memory of the date or railroad involved. With the heavy amount of railroad historical research that I was doing in my free time at university, it took me about three years to identify the wreck.