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Topic starter
30/05/2026 5:08 am
Back in 1911 in my hometown of Riverside, IL there was a train pile-up in the center of town that took out the trains and part of the station. Thankfully, and amazingly, no one was killed. The station (on the Burlington RR triple-track main line out of Chicago's Union Station) was repaired and remains exactly the same today.
30/05/2026 5:16 am
OUCH! What a mess and yes amazing that no one killed.
This post was modified 2 weeks ago by John Bono
John Bono
North Jersey
30/05/2026 5:42 am
excellent old photos! Man, that was some wreck!
30/05/2026 6:24 am
How no one lost their life in that disaster is a miracle. You have shown how little your home town has changed over very many years Mike; you are a fortunate man to live in such a special town.
30/05/2026 6:47 am
I'm surprised the train was going that fast by the station to do that kind of damage. Thanks for the picture Mike.
30/05/2026 7:15 am
Wow, yes, thankfully no one was killed. But it sure made a hell of a mess. We had a troop train derail in downtown back in 1945 that made a mess.
Topic starter
30/05/2026 1:17 pm
Thanks ! By the way, I did NOT take these pictures, lol ! 
Also, a nearby cemetery right near town has a place known as "Showman's Rest" which is a mass grave containing the multiple unidentified victims of a circus train wreck that killed members of the show back in 1913 or so. Either side of the grave area has a statue of circus elephants.
The rumor was on quiet, foggy mornings one could hear the ghostly roar and trumpeting of phantom animals ! Actually ..... one COULD hear the animals. It was the animals in the nearby Brookfield Zoo/Chicago Zoological Park loudly calling out for their early morning feedings !
30/05/2026 1:46 pm
I did not know about this. Glad I missed the commute that day! 
