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Ulster & Delaware Railroad "The Only All Rail Route Through the Catskills"

Wreck of the Coal Train! Broadhead's Bridge - June 14, 1907

All photos from the collection of P.M. Goldstein.   From the Catskill Mountain News, June 14, 1907 SERIOUS WRECK ON U. & D. REAR END COLLISION AT BROADHEAD'S BRIDGE WEDNESDAY One Man Missing and Three Injured -- An Engine and 15 Cars Wrecked -- Track Cleared Yesterday Morning The most serious wreck that has ever occurred on the Ulster & Delaware railroad took place in front of the Broadhead's bridge depot at 4 o'clock Wednesday afternoon when a heavy coal train ran in the read of a freight train that was standing in the front of the depot. The coal train was running at the rate of 40 miles an hour and the impact was a tremendous one. Seven cars of the freight train, six cars, and engine 29 of the coal train were thrown in a confused pile, the engine going part way through the depot. Engineer E. Silkworth, fireman I. Schoonmaker, and brakeman Arthur Stanton were badly bruised and burned and a flagman V. Baley of the freight train is missing. It is not known whether he is under the wreck of whether, negligent in his duty, he ran away. Broadhead's Bridge is in a sag and coal trains run past there very fast in order to get up the other side of the depression. The wreck was cleared up at 7 o'clock yesterday morning and trains yesterday were running practically on schedule time. The blame for the accident has not been placed. The engineer says that he had a clear track until the freight loomed up a few rods ahead.   From The Ulster and Delaware . . . Railroad Through the Catskills by Gerald M. Best, pp.135. "On the afternoon of June 14, 1907, the way freight was standing in the station at Brodhead's Bridge (later buried under water by Ashokan Reservoir) when a heavy eastbound coal train headed by engine No. 29, running at a speed of 40 m.p.h., hit the rear of the freight. The new block signals were not yet working, the station was in the middle of a sharp curve impairing the view from the west, and there was no flag protection. Seven cars of the freight train including the caboose were demolished, and six cars of the coal train piled in a heap, the engine knocking down part of the station building. Engineer E. Silkworth, fireman L. Schoomaker, and brakeman Arthur Stanton were badley bruised and burned, but all recovered. Engineer Silkworth said he was making fast time because Brodhead's Bridge was at the bottom of a sag and he had to get the momentum to climb the grade beyond. The cause was a mixup in train orders and the engineer of the coal train was not held liable. Fortunately, there was nobody in the caboose of the freight train at the time of the accident."

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