Looking
Forward to the Future
While Cherishing the Past
August
23, 1998 brought the Town of Thurman together for a commemoration of the
D&H Railroad Crash that shook their town in August of 1946.
The placement of a memorial plaque by the Town of Thurman on County
Railroad property marked a day back in history that many will never forget
that left one man dead and many others injured.
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just another day, August 26th, 1946 experienced the sound of
iron and steel colliding together in an upheaval of two Delaware &
Hudson trains. Coming to a fiery halt after a regular northbound train
failed to wait at The Glen, a special southbound train carrying 318
children from several Adirondack Camps were subject to shock, bumps and
bruises as the Northbound train headed directly at them. It was more than fortunate that all of the children survived.
Left dead from this wreckage was veteran engineer of more than 40 years, Frank J. Keehan, 57 of Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The North Creek News August 28th, 1946 edition explains that Keehan was "pinned in the cab at the throttle of the northbound train." It was clear that Mr. Keehan held fast to the controls of the No. 181 train as it collided head on with the southbound train. He was buried underneath the coal after the other northbound train telescoped into the rear of Keehan’s cab. Fourteen other railroad employees were injured.
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Scroll down to view the different pictures of
this
historical train wreck that shook the Town
of Thurman
and its surrounds.
Thank you for
sharing a piece of
history with the Town of Thurman
and the Warren County Planning &
Community Department.
