Over the past decade my research of local railroad history has been enlightening and even fascinating. When giving rail presentations, most of the historical highlights of the people, places and events I discuss show how the railroads helped grow the Finger Lakes, but accidents and tragedies are exposed, too. This article is about one of those unfortunate events, occurring at the twilight of the passenger train era. It happened on the “Auburn Road,” a term most everyone in our area once knew. It refers to the east-west railroad traversing the northern Finger Lakes and owned for over a century by the New York Central Railroad. Most of it still exists today as part of Finger Lakes Railway.
On the summer evening of Tuesday, August 28, 1951, the Central’s eastbound Train No. 18 was running on schedule, having just departed the Waterloo station at about 10:20 p.m. EDT, en route to Seneca Falls. The railroad had just changed from steam locomotives to diesel engines. Train 18 was led by one of the new diesels, No. 8253, (ALCO RS3) followed by a baggage car, combination mail and baggage car, coach and a Pullman (sleeping car en route to NYC via Syracuse). In the engine’s cab were Engineer Harry McMurdy, 54, and Fireman Hugh P. Welch, 36, both of Rochester.
That same evening, Glen Campbell, 32, of Dayton, Ohio was driving a Chicago Express, Inc. tractor-trailer from Cincinnati, OH to Springfield, MA. The trailer, owned by Mr. Campbell, was carrying 1,106 cases of Kentucky Tavern whisky. The liquor was for the upcoming Christmas trade with many bottles holiday wrapped and in special decanters. In sworn testimony given by Campbell in a later trial involving the collision, he stated that in Clyde he made a wrong turn and “found himself on a black top road.” He stopped a passing motorist who directed him “to continue ahead on the road that would eventually bring him onto Routes 5 & 20.” The highway he was traveling is known today as route (NY) 414, but back in 1951 it was known as Huff Creek Road or Mound Road.
At approximately 10:25 p.m. as Campbell approached the railroad crossing, he saw what he thought was “a light of a car passing on Routes 5 and 20.” From his seat in the engine cab Engineer McMurdy could not see the oncoming truck. From the other side of the cab Fireman Welch only saw it, just as it was about to cross the track. In later testimony given by Welch he stated that he yelled “whoa,” as soon as he saw the truck at which time McMurdy then threw on the emergency brake. The train’s recorder showed that at the time of the collision it was traveling within limit at forty-nine miles per hour.
The tractor with its driver got by, but the trailer was torn in half. The engine flew off the track, turning on its side, and the three cars behind it derailed into the roadbed, remaining upright. The Pullman sleeper car at the end never left the track. Three hundred feet of roadbed was torn up. The engine left the south-side of the track, just past a home where Mrs. William Norcutt and her daughter were finishing dinner. They were listening to radio news of bombing in Korea and when they heard the loud noise of the wreck, they thought they were being bombed.
The diesel oil fuel leaking from the engine soon caught fire and began to blaze, quickly igniting cases of the trailer’s whisky. Fire departments from Waterloo, Seneca Falls, Fayette and the Sampson Air Force Base came to battle the blaze for over two hours. A “motorized bucket brigade” was set up to keep water coming from the village in tank trucks. The fire was contained to portions of both the engine and baggage car. Some of the whisky actually got buried by the engine into the roadbed and was boiled from the heat of the fire.
An eerie glow from the fire & later from the portable lights brought in by the railroad hung over the area throughout the night. State police under Lt. James Russell were present to assist those involved in the accident and to guard the spirits. Trooper Charles Kappeser began the initial investigation. As news spread on the radio, onlookers drove there in throngs. So many came that additional state police from Canandaigua were called in to help clear the Mound Road and 5 & 20 from congestion.
As the fire danger waned, many who were drawn to the scene discovered the “free whisky.” The Geneva Daily Times stated, “mining for whisky became a popular sport between 3 and 4 this morning.” While the broken glass led to cuts, many came with heavy gloves to scarf up as many good bottles as possible. It was stated that the cargo was in cases of fifths, pints and quarts. Alas, an insurance adjuster came and frantically hired Jim Pine’s truck. With the help of firemen, what he could salvage was loaded onto the truck and taken away to a garage for safe-keeping. Very little whisky was salvaged by the adjuster and the claim paid later for the lost bottles was $33,000 (not a small bar bill!).
Engineer McMurdy and Fireman Welch were hospitalized in Waterloo with first, second and third-degree burns. Their condition was listed as not serious and McMurdy was released late on Wednesday. All other Central employees and postal clerks aboard the train were unhurt. They were: Conductor Nathan Goldberg, 60, of Rochester; brakemen J. G. Dougherty, 60, of Auburn and F. K. Lewis of Rochester; baggageman A. G. Leavens and porter R. Potter, both of Rochester. The mail clerks were Sidney V. Hooker of Syracuse, Frank Cumey of Jordan, and Fay Knight, 53, of Phelps.
One passenger, Mrs. George Morphy of Canandaigua was shaken-up and taken for observation to the Seneca Falls Hospital and released. She was traveling to Lake Placid, but returned home following her hospital visit. The remaining 11 passengers, along with Campbell were uninjured. The uninjured passengers were transported by taxi to Syracuse in order to make connection with the New York train. They were: Charles Beer of Auburn, Mike Sacko of Syracuse, John Doyle of Auburn, Jacob Niesenbaum of Brooklyn, Leslie H. Ward of New York City, Mr. and Mrs. D. Metzer of Woodside, L. I., Mrs. S. W. Cregier of Dallas, Tex., Wilber E. Jessup of Cincinnati, OH., and Rabbi Max Schay of New York City. Commenting on so few injuries, railroad officials said, “it was a miracle.”
With rail traffic halted on the Auburn Road, not only was regular freight and passenger service disrupted, but also the mail. The Geneva Daily Times noted that local post offices indicated that their mail is affected only by “star routes,” meaning the night passenger train. They hoped that by the next evening this train would again be running, or a substantial amount of mail would be affected. As was common then by the major railroads of the time, the New York Central worked continuously to get service restored by 10:30 p.m. the following evening. The next day in place of the normal westbound morning passenger train, the railroad provided a special train from Syracuse to Seneca Falls. It also provided another train from Syracuse over its mainline north of here to Lyons and down to Geneva, where it continued on the Auburn line to Rochester. I call that Precision Scheduled Railroading, where true service counts!
The burned baggage car was taken on Wednesday, August 29, to a siding along Rumsey & Oak Streets in Seneca Falls where it again caught fire. Seneca Falls Fire Chief Fred Fornesi and his firemen brought this second blaze under control with its origin undetermined. An unscheduled Cayuga “stub freight” was the first train to pass over the newly relaid track at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, August 30.
When writing about significant railroad accidents, this story was at least spared what could have been a tragic ending. It was even noted, that if the engine had left the rails several feet earlier than it did, the Norcutt’s home would have been hit. However, it was costly. The railroad paid over $100,000 to repair the engine. It also paid for the repair of the three damaged cars, the roadbed, work crews and incurred the loss of freight and passenger revenues. Chicago Express lost a truck cab and paid $33,000 for the whisky. Campbell lost his trailer, which in the lawsuit was stated at $4,500. Oh, yes, the lawsuit. The New York Central filed a claim against Chicago Express and Campbell, both of whom also filed counterclaims. The trial showed that the railroad followed the law at the time. Evidence supported that the engine’s bell and horn were blown for the crossing, its speed was within the limit, and the crossing was legally marked with warning signs. Because of the warning sign it was determined that Campbell’s speed and lack of control of his vehicle approaching a railroad crossing was negligent. The New York Central sued for and was granted $100,000 for the collision and the counterclaims were denied.
A life-long resident of Seneca Falls, Paul is a CPA and retired member of the faculty of Cayuga Community College in Auburn, New York, where he taught for 35 years. In his retirement when not at home enjoying his own HO-scale model layout, Paul enjoys researching our region’s railway history. Along with various railroad brochures, he has compiled a comprehensive booklet highlighting historical facts of nearly all the railroads once traversing the Finger Lakes. He is a member of the Central NY Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society in Syracuse and also of the New York Central System Historical Society. His love for trains began when he was very young, receiving a Lionel train set originally given to his sister. His earliest memory of a train experience was riding with his mom on the last westbound passenger train from Seneca Falls to Geneva on May 18, 1958.