I was raised in Conneaut, Ohio which is 20 miles East of Ashtabula. I was always obsessed with this incident. On December 29, 1976, the 100 year Anniversary of this disaster, there was a vigil held at the location of the disaster. Not only to show respect for who died that night, but also the legend. Allegedly at the exact time the train crashed in 1876, we were supposed to hear the crash and screams of the passengers. Well, nothing happened. Just an urban legend. It was bitterly cold that night and most of us got the flu. Thank you for remembering the Ashtabula Train Disaster.
@@_JimS At the actual crash site - NO. There is a plaque in Chestnut Grove Cemetery in Ashtabula where the mass grave is located and 2 other plaques within Ashtabula itself, though cannot remember where. Do remember one of the plaques is just off Route 20 close to a hospital I believe.
Also among the dead were the hymn writer, Phillip P. Bliss, and his wife Lucy. Newspapers at the time reported Mr. Bliss had been able to escape the car, but returned in an effort to rescue his wife. Found in his trunk were the words to the hymn, "I Will Sing of My Redeemer, " to which another wrote the melody. Thank you very much for this excellent video!
@@1pcfred There was a concerted search for artifacts at the site several years ago using magnetometers and ground penetrating RADAR. There is a well done TH-cam video documenting the search. Not much turned up except for some wrought iron fragments. There was slight hope that the failed joint which was postulated might be found. No such luck at this time.
@@wtmayhew yeah I've seen a few other comments that people have been searching the site. They say they've found some things. It is more picked over than I realized.
Fascinating story that I was unaware of. Thank you History Guy. I'm a retired Civil Engineer that has worked on the construction of many bridges over a 35 year career. It appears this is a claasic case of cutting corners for costs and profit.......somewhat similar to that pedestrian bridge collapse in Florida a few years back.
As I was listening to the story of the design and construction of the bridge the ingredients for disaster were recited as a list, with a checkmark for each: A marginal design for the span, Questionable construction practices, Cast iron in tension loads, Metal Fatigue, Cold temperature brittle fracture. With that design, construction, materials, and climate it would have been only a question of when the bridge would fail. To be fair, the dissimilar properties of cast iron in tension vs. compression (steel does not do this), fatigue, and cold temperature brittle fracture were all not understood well (or at all) in the 19th century. So it might have been that even if the bridge were constructed with best practices of the time, and regularly inspected, it would have still failed.
@@gavinmclaren9416 Excellent points, and ones usually overlooked in the rather chronocentric view so many have in looking back and sneering at those in history who "seem so stupid" compared to what we now know, today, having had the benefit of 200+ years (in this case) of scientific development. No one could have know what was unknowable at the time.
You cannot look at this event through the lens of today. These people did not have the knowledge or even the materials to do any better. They were blazing the trail. In the process plenty got burned too. This accident happened two decades before the ASTM was even founded. It was hardly the only of its kind either. For a period train bridge collapses was a relatively common thing. That caused change itself.
@@1pcfred Yes, and thank Providence for the "change". Namely, that our government did something to begin to protect us from the robber barons of the past by instituting laws and regulations that curbed some of the worst business practices that perpetrated these crimes of a "Free Market" economy. Yet, the wealthy elites that still push for "deregulation" would have us believe that they and their businesses would "self-regulate". History proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that oxymoron to be a lie.
What an amazing collection of old photographs, post cards, and illustrations that you and your staff were able to uncover. Yet another event that I was totally unfamiliar with.
I agree with Mr. Dietrich about the quality of this video and the research that went into it. I learned more than I knew before, and I love it when that happens with an event I thought I knew well. I have always been fascinated by this event due to the fact that two of the people that passed away were prominent hymn writer Phillip Paul Bliss and his wife, leaving their two young sons orphaned. From what I have read, Mr. Bliss survived the initial collapse of the bridge, but his wife was trapped in one of the burning cars and he went back in to get her but could not get back out.
Well deserved evocation of this disaster! Philip Paul Bliss died along with his wife on that train. Bliss wrote many great hymns still sung today, including "Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy." He wrote also, in particular, the music for Horatio Spafford's moving poem "It Is Well with My Soul," composed in remembrance of the latter's four daughters who drown in the Atlantic when the Ville du Havre sank, his wife the only survivor.
As someone living in Scotland it’s nice to have a channel talking about US history (amongst other places) rather than focusing on the usual areas like Rome, Mongols, British empire etc.
There are quite a few I like. Ancient Americas, Hikma History for two off the top of my head. And Extra Credits who, like THG, go all over the map. Who else've you found?
@ Raumarik - Ohioan here. We did not learn about this train disaster in school history which is why I am here. He won't say it, but I will. It was Stone's greed that caused the failure of this bridge. Sadly his greed caused so much unnecessary harm, as greed usually does. On a brighter note I adore Scotland, been twice & cannot wait to return! Scottish people are wonderful💗
Ashtabulian here, you can still see remains of bridge down by the river today. When I was a kid the river and lake were polluted heavily, it's strange to see how much the government cleaned up the water here, back then you couldn't even fish or swim in the river, fish were growing with three eyes because of all the pollution.
History was so boring in high school, i didnt learn a thing. This channel in particular makes history so much more interesting and brings it to life in a way that makes me want to learn more. I love that you cover some of the more obscure events , as well as the major ones too. Had i this tool available in school i would have done so much better. Thanks for making history fascinating!
My wife and I have had several conversations about how badly history is taught in school. We both hated it in school and loved it in adulthood. It is a common story. I think the problem is in teaching history as though the result can be graded. That makes the lives of those before us unbearably sterile. History is also taught as a series of snapshots of the world at points in time, destroying continuity. All that we see around us is the result of the evolution of our world, but school curricula do not honor that.
@@flagmichael That is so true, schools do not honour the fact that History is an evolution, and so they do their darndest to make it so sterile that student's are bored by it and lose interest quickly. As a lad, so many years ago at school, (60+ years)), history was my best subject, I absolutely loved it, and that love has thankfully kept with me to this day. People do not realize that history is created every day, and not just what happened in the dim dark past.
I live in Lake county Ohio right next to Ashtabula County and have heard this story more than once in my life. My father was a fire fighter, train enthusiast and history teacher so I got a lot of learning as a child. Thank you
I lived in Mentor and Willoughby my whole life and didn't know about this until now. I live in Paint Rock Tennessee now. Stuff like this this reminds me how small the world is
I live near there. It's nice to know you pronounced it right. A few years ago someone on TV called it "ash-tab-you-lah" and I never forgot how funny that was.
I REMEMBER AN ANNOUNCER SAYING "NEBA-CHA-DUC-NAZAR" INSTEAD OF "NEBACHADNEZZAR"! AND I LIVE IN A SMALL TOWN NAMED "PONCHATOULA" OFTEN MANGLED. AND JUST LOOK AT MY LAST NAME... I'VE LIVED A LIFE OF MIS-READ/SAID MANGLED WORDS! HA!
I learned about this horrifying accident when I was a child. My grandparents lived in Conneaut, Ohio and we would visit the Conneaut railroad museum almost every summer. Thank you for this episode.
Such a tragic loss so long ago. We take for granted many of the bridges in use today. Many are known to be in need of repair and replacement. Sometimes I hold my breath when driving over bridges.
Our town has a bunch of bridges. One is a historic bridge and just reopened after being redone. Basically if you're on one side of town there's no way to get to the other without crossing a bridge.
Luckily the infrastructure bill should go some way to repair crumbling bridges that desperately need upgrading, helping to ensure that terrible accidents like these don't happen. A lot of bridges were built in the 20's and 30's and were not designed for the amount of traffic they receive today, some have decks that extra weight has been added to every time they were resurfaced while some have not had vital maintenance like checking for metal fatigue.
Years ago we had the most heavily monitored bridge in the country by me. There were scour holes by the pilings 200 feet deep. She was in pretty bad shape. I was never too keen going across her either. Then replacing it they screwed it up somehow and that was a big scandal. But they finally did get it right.
@@timthehippy9478 no money from the infrastructure bill is going to go into actual infrastructure. Not unless politicians embroider the word infrastructure onto their pockets.
Living in North East Ohio I've know about this disaster all of my adult life. However I had no idea of the real history about this incredibly sad event. Thanks again History Guy.
As a civil Engineer we studied about structural failures in University. Often a simple design error or defective materials led to failure. Excellent. Thank You
My father designed bridges for the Texas & Pacific railroad. He probably learned about this disaster in his structural design classes. He would have enjoyed this video.
History Guy, I always enjoy your lessons in Forgotten History, especially on fire. I remember learning of this tragedy while getting my Fire Science Engineering and Technology degree at West Virginia State University '82-'86. After 27yrs in the Fire Service as an Instructor and Firefighter/EMS First Responder, these stories bring back fond memories of my time at WVSU (still College when I was there).
@@johnhunter9646 thanks Brother!! I'm sure that you know Lanny Adkins then?? When I took Haz Mat Patch and Plug, Lanny was our Instructor at Cabell County Fire School . Great guy!!
Funny thing, I live in Erie, PA, just down the shore from Ashtabula, and the weather described in this video is exactly what we are experiencing now. Received 21" of snow in less than 24 hours Monday and it's been hurricane winds since. Very interesting video, Ive never heard of this wreck.
I’ve never heard of this particular incident before, really nicely presented. What a terrible tragedy because of arrogance & greed to save money by cheaping out on materials. It happens time after time.
It wasn't just greed and arrogance. It was largely ignorance. They simply didn't know. They were constructing some of the first metal bridges mankind had ever built. So there was a learning curve involved. Better materials were not available either. It wasn't like you could go to a steel mill and get ASTM rated beams. That didn't happen until 1898. It was founded because things like this bridge collapse were commonplace.
@@1pcfred Poor metallurgy was certainly part of the problem, both lack of knowledge of that iron gets weaker when it's cold but also how strong iron is compared to steel. If they had used steel instead the bridge would have been a lot stronger. And yeah, they certainly did some mistakes with the blueprint as well but greed certainly plays in as well. They did cut down on supports to save time and money and the lessened how much the bridge should flex. Seriously though, just look on how it looked. There is a reason modern bridges doesn't look like it. They failed from the planning to the building. Fortunately for us, engineers have learned from this and similar mistakes.
@@1pcfred The bridge sagged when the supports were removed thereby showing that it was weak. This happened twice. That's when the bridge should have been rebuilt to the proper specifications. Don't forget too that one designer quit rather than be associated with what felt would be a disaster in the making.
@@sirridesalot6652 did you expect the bridge would rise when the supports were removed? In the course of my life I have on occasion had to temporarily support some structures whilst building them. They invariably settle some once the supports are removed. That's normal!
@@1pcfred I'm referring to the part in the video where they said that the bridge was designed with a 5.7 inches camber (3:39 in the video) and Stone had that reduced to 3.5 inches which made the upper chords too long and the workers shaved some from the ends. Then at the 3:50 point in the video it mentions that "when the temporary support work was being removed the bridge began to sag two and a half inches below horizontal". 3:56 They then instead of replacing the I-beams they shimmed the part to make it to the original plans but when the temporary building supports were removed for a second time the bridge buckled in several places. In my opinion that's when the bridge was doomed to fail.
Several years ago we were driving through Ohio, very late at night, on our way back to Chicago. We were quite tired and booked a motel room in Ashtabula. Going to our room we saw security guards patrolling the hallways. The room was filthy and the bathroom floor tile was black with mold as was the shower. Our sleep was interrupted with nightmares. Whenever I see or hear of Ashtabula I’m reminded of that absolutely dreadful night!
This is so cool! I’m from Ashtabula and grew up learning about the accident along with our history on the Underground Railroad. Man seeing that old train station … it was run down and boarded up when I was a kid but we always drove by it after church or when we were on our way to the bowling alley or harbor.
Look up Engineering Tragedy: The Ashtabula Train Set! It's Set to premiere this year! I'm in several scenes as an extra and has been all locally filmed
I live walking distance from this location in Ashtabula. I’ve seen the sign for a bridge disaster by the hospital, but never knew the story. That old train station in the painting still exists, albeit very abandoned like many buildings near it. Definitely still lots of trains and train tracks still here, and the painted picture of Ashtabula Harbor could be used as a road map still today.
Even though I´m not a structural engineer: When I heard truss bridge and saw the general shape, I thought, well, not too bad of a design for the time. Then I heard cast iron and wrought iron, I knew why it would fail sooner or later. Then snow storm and below freezing were mentioned, and I knew that day was the last for the bridge. It so often ends bad when lack of knowledge meets the desire for profit and the question changes from "How strong can it be build?" to "How many corners can be cut?"
You have to learn sometime. The Bessemer process was developed in 1856 But there was a lot of resistance when it came to adopting the new material. The only other way to make steel was done by a technique called puddling. Where you couldn't make more than 50 pounds at a time. So you certainly weren't using steel for structural members. Wrought and cast iron was virtually all that was available. There's always a lag between invention and widespread use. Although accidents like this one spurred acceptance.
The cherry on top was hearing that they fixed a serious sag with shims. Interestingly I've just watched 2 vids about "tofu dregs" building in modern China. The parallels are uncanny.
@@1pcfred The lack of suitable material is one thing (be it not invented or just rejected), but using an unsuitable material (lack of tensile strength and/or flexibility) is quite another. If a suitable material isn´t yet available for a certain design to work, another design is required. The alteration of the plans without the necessary recalculations lets me tend to lack of knowledge about the materials´ shortcomings on this engineer´s side, despite them being known in the engineering community already.
@@sthenzel the bridge did stand for a number of years before it collapsed. It didn't fall down the first train that went over it. So it did in fact work. I'm sure that fateful night they fully expected it to work then too.
@@1pcfred I fully understand what you mean. But still: They should have known! A rail company with lots of rolling stock including engines had to know the abilities of cast and wrought iron, especially after years of constant vibratory stress. Failures of cast iron parts in bridges, often after years of operation, also were known, albeit in GB (Dee bridge 1847, Wootton bridge 1861), in the US wood was the predominant material used. Not to forget: In 1852 the Bollman Truss Bridge in Savage, Maryland was built (same materials, but they knew how to use it), it was moved to its current location in 1887, continued operation until 1947 and stands to this day.
I’ve known the name Ashtabula since childhood. . . It is a design of bicycle crankset. . . it’s single-piece design eliminated the problem of cottered cranks loosening. . . but they required a larger bottom bracket shell so that the heavier steel crankset could be maneuvered through the opening.
Thank you for covering this. Born and raised in Ashtabula County. I've known about the disaster but hadn't heard about how much the bridge construction played into it. Calling the area a valley is being generous. Localy we refer to it as the gulf and the sides are nearly vertical for much of its length. Also, you got the pronunciation mostly right several times: Ash ta (like tuh) bu (like view) la (like law) will have you sounding like a NE Ohioan. Or just say 'Bula like a lot of locals. Thanks again for the video.
It's amazing what the "railroad" was able to do both good and bad. I live not far from the kinzua bridge in pa before a tornado took it down a few years back had the opportunity to walk it. Think you would enjoy reading about it . great episode as always
i grew up next to ashtabula and lived in the town for a few years and never knew this story thanks. ashtabula is in the middle of the lake effect snow belt. when ohio gets an inch of snow, ashtabula gets about six inches.
As a lifelong resident of Ashtabula I have heard and read much on the famous train wreck. This is one of the best treatments of the subject I have ever seen and I am not just saying that as a fan of The History Guy, though as a long time fan of THG I was excited to see my small hometown mentioned. This is, of course, now my favorite documentary on the subject and will very soon be famous around our town itself.
I'm from Jefferson, Ohio about 15 miles from the crash site. Have walked the river and the exact area of the crash many many times. Thanks for the spotlight!
Some years ago a student from Ashtabula worked part time where I worked in London. She showed me a book on the town but I don't remember mention of the bridge.
I had a good part of my childhood in Ohio, back in the 1950s and early 60s. During that time, Ohio was big on including Ohio history, even in elementary school. Though obscure to national history, this disaster loomed big in Ohio history. Thank you for covering this story. Please note that the south shore of Lake Erie is filled with chasms to be crossed, and multiple rail lines crossed the state near the shore. Fortunately, more durable steel was soon available, and soon bridges were built that were much stronger and longer lasting.
Thank you for remembering. I lived in Conneaut, Ohio which is 20 miles east of Ashtabula. I spent many days down at that site. It is a somber feeling at the accident site.
In 1896, the Point Ellice Bridge in Victoria, BC collapsed under the weight of a severely overloaded trolley car dumping 145 people into the cold waters of the upper harbour. According to my father, his mother was watching from the rescue efforts from the western side of the bridge and helping the survivors as they were brought ashore. 55 people were known to have died.
Im only 4 minutes in, but it sounds very similar and has many similar design and arrogance elements as that massive concrete bridge that failed during placement construction in South Florida a few years ago. Pride goeth before the fall. Literally.
Geeze one crazy story. Not all the different than the building collapse in Miami. Lack of proper inspection and regulation companies always cut corners. Still the idea of using that heavy iron for bridge construction seems crazy. Fascinating story.
History guy, your video made the accident seem like it was yesterday. To be honest, it wasn’t so much the actual accident that killed people, it was the perfect storm of incompetence that did. Excellent video
Not only do I love your content, but the timber and cadence of your voice and delivery are suited perfectly for what you do. Thank you for being a delightful steward of lesser-known historical events.
While not born in Ashtabula Ohio, I did spend most of my life there and my boys live in the area to this day. You are to be congratulated on pronouncing the name correctly. Your account here is the best I have ever heard. Many times I have hiked the trail that goes to the valley where this happened.
I once had the pleasure of reading a book titled, "Bridges and Men" by Joseph Gies. It is a complete history of bridge building from the earliest vine, log and stone "bridges" of primitive man to the modern ( Verrazano) era. This event occurred in "The Age of Disaster" chapter, I think. One of the best non-fiction books that I have read and I have read hundreds. Thank you for producing this video. Well done!
Nothing less than horrifying. The description of the carriages being pulled over into the chasm is awful. The inaction of the Fire Chief breathtaking. I'd never heard of this disaster, though there are similarities to the Tay Bridge disaster.
Awesome video!!! THANKS!!! for covering this disaster. I grew up in Madison, OH - roughly 20 miles or so west where this disaster occurred. Growing up, have heard about this disaster and that the area where it happened is supposed to be "haunted". Have visited the disaster site for there is a hiking trail in immediate area that will take you almost all the way to location - will have to hike off trail and follow the Ashtabula River roughly 1/4 mile or so in order to get to the actual crash site. Also, there are state historical markers dedicated to this disaster posted throughout the city of Ashtabula. Most of the people that died are buried in a mass grave in Chestnut Grove Cemetery. There is an awesome granite obelisk and markers with the names of the persons that died. Also, one of those persons that killed themselves (forget which one) supposedly out of guilt over the disaster is buried not too far from the mass grave. Today, the bridge has been repaired - of course - and the bridge is still in use as far as I know.
True story! Once, with my wife, we stopped at the Ashtabula cemetery where the mass grave for the victims is located. We were all alone in this old cemetery. When we first arrived we eerily heard a train. It sounded like a train that was coming to a stop. About 50yds away from the mass grave is the mausoleum for the Engineer Collins. It's a stone building about 12 ft square that looks like a gothic church. To amuse my wife I playfully knocked on the front door. From inside I heard a loud distinct knocking answering mine. It was astounding. I knocked again and a second time heard an answer. It was not an echo. There was a second or two delay between my knock and the answer. There was a heavy grate over the door that was chained and locked so I can't believe anybody was in there. We didn't see anyone else in the cemetery. My wife witnessed this but neither of us knows what to make of it.
Just a quick thank you for all the videos you have created. Your style is how we all should been taught the basics of history, and while I have been out of school for decades, I recall how tedious history class was for me and my friends. You change that. I hope you are proud of the work you do.
Watching this I had the feeling I had heard of Ashtabula before for an unrelated reason. Turns out the Ashtabula Bow Company which provided parts for the folding tops of horse-drawn buggies eventually became the Ashtabula Bicycle Parts Company, and manufactured the single-piece bottom cranksets in American bicycles up through the 1980's. These durable, heavy, one-piece cranksets became known as "Ashtabula" cranks, and as lighter multi-part cranksets were introduced on high-end bikes the old crankset style became associated with the bottom end of the bicycle market. For many years any bicycle you bought from a Walmart, or K-mart, or Target would have a one-piece crankset and any bike you got at a local bike shop would have a 3-piece crankset where you could buy custom crank arms. The Ashtabula crankset itself is bulletproof, but the associated bearings are how they would fail, and since it was hard for an end user to get the right parts and tools to service and change out the bearings these became associated with disposable bikes.
I'm so excited about this video! I was going to ask if you could talk about this but kept getting sidetracked. I lived in Ashtabula for 8 years, but only found out about this after I moved away. I've read some stuff about it, but none of it seemed to be completely factual. Glad to find it here!
I grew up in Brewster, Ohio but never heard about this. My family will like to hear the events of our area as you so eloquently describe them. Thank you, Lance, for being you.
Being a native of Northeast Ohio and also a railroader who just happens to run trains through Ashtabula...not on that line, I've known about this disaster for years. I believe it's still the worst train disaster in our state's history.
Another great story of history forgotten or never known by many. The HG has an endless supply of possible stories - stories like the “Irondale Baby” in irondale, mo where my mother was born 102 years ago or the Cherry Mine disaster in Cherry,Illinois near where I currently live. Thanks History Guy 👍
I've never seen a History Guy episode that I didn't like though this type is a favorite for me, it reminds that triumphs and tragedy's are with us all in life!
Another notable victim was Mr. Bliss and his wife. He was very famous at the time having wrote several Christian hymns. They say he managed to get out of the wreck but went back in and tried to save his wife from the flames and they both perished.
As I commented also, Bliss is the only fatality mentioned by name on the Wikipedia site about this disaster. A poignant and loving sacrifice, especially in contrast to the drunken and callous fire chief, the proud but incompetent engineer, and the ghoulish looters robbing the dead and dying, who are featured in this video. Why is Phillip Bliss ignored?
Philip Bliss wrote the tune for the hymn “It Is Well With My Soul” by Horatio G. Spafford. He also wrote the hymn “Wonderful Words Of Life”. The trunk of Philip Bliss was discovered in the train wreckage. Inside the trunk they found the lyrics for an unpublished hymn, “I Will Sing Of My Redeemer”. It was published posthumously with the tune written by James McGranahan.
There is monument for the Bliss in Rome Pennsylvania were Mr. Bliss met his wife. Every year they have a celebration to his music. His music was so loved at the time by Sunday schools that a collections of pennies and nickels was donated to build the monument. Enough money was raised to send both their sons who was not with them to Princeton
Once again, the H.G. surprises me. I grew up in that general area and had never heard of this.... But then, communities seldom brag about their disasters.
Among railroad buffs, this incident is infamous. Like the majority of engineering failures, there were multiple contributing factors all heaped one upon another to cause failure. Iron truss bridges remained common in back country road use for over a century. Our last local one was built in the 1880s and was replaced three years ago. It had an eight ton limit, which I'm sure was violated on a regular basis considering avoiding the bridge meant a 30 mile out of your way trip.
I live about half an hour from the Ashtabula Bridge Disaster site. The incident is still often talked about by locals even though it is several generations in time removed from living people. The good which came out of the disaster as THG noted so well was a concerted push for improved railroad safety standards both in Ohio and nationally. George Westinghouse had invented practical air or “atmospheric” brakes following a possibly preventable train bridge disaster in Angola, NY in the early 1850s. Westinghouse further invented a block signaling system in the late 1850s which both improved rail use efficiency by controlling train spacing and also reduced odds of collisions. The Ashtabula disaster served to help make mandatory safety measures and devices which had been available for quite some time.
This is so awesome to see and hear about my home town. I’ve seen the remnants of the bridge and it’s amazing. Looking at the map and knowing exactly what’s what’s is so sweet!
My history teachers were so dry and boring. The history guy is so exciting and pulls up weird facts and pictures to make you remember. Great channel Sir.
As a native Clevelander and son of a railroad buff, I vaguely recall this tragedy. Thanks for sharing this important slice of history. Truly enjoy your content and its presentation. JT: Orlando, FLA
Thank you for bringing us history that should prove to be a warning to all generations of the risks in taking shortcuts and putting profit ahead of people in major construction. It cannot be proven but one might speculate on how many lives are saved in the aftermath of a tragic disaster while it remains fresh in collective memory. Only that we forget and eventually another catastrophe happens.
Years ago I took Amtrak across the country. When traveling too the Midwest there was a very long bridge over one of the Great lakes. It seemed to take forever for the train to get to the other side. Nothing but water on both sides for miles. While I didn't know of this incident, all I could think of was if something happened there's no way to get help.🚂
hey man , so cool to see another banned-from-bumble guy here! love the representation you're bringing to an often maligned and misunderstood group. hats of to ya.
you're channel is a Gem....I live near ashtabula and have never heard about this. I can say that about quite a few of your video's...thank you for the work you do
@@grapeshot WOW! That is really a great link! I will definitely check it out when the weather gets warmer! There was a snowstorm this past weekend dumping 24 inches of snow! Thanks!
There is an obelisk to the Ashtabula bridge disaster victims in Chestnut Grove cemetery. Ironically, Charles Collins' tomb is located in the same cemetery very near the monument. Supposedly the cemetery is haunted. Although I never saw any ghosts, there was a cute black cat that used to hang around the tombs.
A very similar railroad disaster happened on Feb. 5, 1887 in Hartford, Vt. 37 people were killed and 50 injured when a bridge gave out over the White River. The site is said to be haunted by some who were lost. It was a very cold night and there were passenger cars on fire from the lamps and stoves that were on board. Since then a new iron bridge has replaced the wooden one that caused the disaster. Very similar results. Thanks for posting.
In the late 1800s train disasters were a very common occurrence. So common that the government did step in and regulate the industry. The ASTM was founded in 1898 to stem the tide too.
Wonderful video! Thank you!! There's a trail that leads to that spot. The bridge was replaced with massive culverts but the stones from the original stone abutments are still there. It's an ironically beautiful spot. The mass grave marker not too far away is a beautiful, somber cenotaph. I kinda wish you had mentioned P.P. Bliss.
Thank you for this video. I lived most of my life in Northeaster Ohio along Lake Erie and never heard of this event. How tragic! How could anyone use cast iron in that area of sudden temperature change and mountains of lake effect snow. Oh how government moves at a snails pace! Keep up the good work!!!
Your inflection gives it such a dramatic presentation. It gives it such heart that I gives it mourning for today's need to see how things of this nature have changed the landscape from the past. (Hope I made some sense)
Well done ol chap!! I used to live in Ashtabula right by that bridge but I'm next door in Lake County now!! Good job on this vid!!! 👍 Funny thing is is I'm watching this on 1/23 & just a week ago we got the SAME EXACT WEATHER!! Weather we haven't really been getting like normal!!
The looting of victims during this disaster reminds me of rumored stories of looting when the steamboat General Slocum caught fire and burned in the East River here in New York City. 1021 lives were lost on that day of June 15, 1904. I just watched your video o the Slocum. Excellent details.
I would love to watch a collaboration with you and Practical Engineering on bridge disasters in the U.S. and Canada. Thanks for your work in bringing little-remembered events to greater prominence.
We visited the site of the crash couple years back and the cemetery where the mass grave is for the victims of the crash and the grave of the bridge designer is also buried near by in the same cemetery.
I was raised in Conneaut, Ohio which is 20 miles East of Ashtabula. I was always obsessed with this incident. On December 29, 1976, the 100 year Anniversary of this disaster, there was a vigil held at the location of the disaster. Not only to show respect for who died that night, but also the legend. Allegedly at the exact time the train crashed in 1876, we were supposed to hear the crash and screams of the passengers. Well, nothing happened. Just an urban legend. It was bitterly cold that night and most of us got the flu. Thank you for remembering the Ashtabula Train Disaster.
Thanks for sharing
I grew up in Madison, OH. Played you guys plenty of times in high school football.
Was there ever a State memorial plaque of any kind placed at this site? If not, you would think there should be.
@@_JimS At the actual crash site - NO. There is a plaque in Chestnut Grove Cemetery in Ashtabula where the mass grave is located and 2 other plaques within Ashtabula itself, though cannot remember where. Do remember one of the plaques is just off Route 20 close to a hospital I believe.
@@jamesbednar8625 Thanks, much appreciated. Hard to believe some survived this carnage, absolutely horrible.
Also among the dead were the hymn writer, Phillip P. Bliss, and his wife Lucy. Newspapers at the time reported Mr. Bliss had been able to escape the car, but returned in an effort to rescue his wife. Found in his trunk were the words to the hymn, "I Will Sing of My Redeemer, " to which another wrote the melody. Thank you very much for this excellent video!
I live only 30 minutes away from Ashtabula and I have actually never heard this story. Thanks for the good video.
You'll have to go now and look for relics. They couldn't have picked everything up. It was a real mess! I'd try in the summer when the water is low.
@@1pcfred There was a concerted search for artifacts at the site several years ago using magnetometers and ground penetrating RADAR. There is a well done TH-cam video documenting the search. Not much turned up except for some wrought iron fragments. There was slight hope that the failed joint which was postulated might be found. No such luck at this time.
@@wtmayhew yeah I've seen a few other comments that people have been searching the site. They say they've found some things. It is more picked over than I realized.
@@1pcfred Thank you for the reply. Much appreciated.
Make sure to visit the memorial of the victims.
Fascinating story that I was unaware of. Thank you History Guy. I'm a retired Civil Engineer that has worked on the construction of many bridges over a 35 year career. It appears this is a claasic case of cutting corners for costs and profit.......somewhat similar to that pedestrian bridge collapse in Florida a few years back.
Profits before people is hardly a modern phenomenon.
As I was listening to the story of the design and construction of the bridge the ingredients for disaster were recited as a list, with a checkmark for each:
A marginal design for the span,
Questionable construction practices,
Cast iron in tension loads,
Metal Fatigue,
Cold temperature brittle fracture.
With that design, construction, materials, and climate it would have been only a question of when the bridge would fail.
To be fair, the dissimilar properties of cast iron in tension vs. compression (steel does not do this), fatigue, and cold temperature brittle fracture were all not understood well (or at all) in the 19th century. So it might have been that even if the bridge were constructed with best practices of the time, and regularly inspected, it would have still failed.
@@gavinmclaren9416 Excellent points, and ones usually overlooked in the rather chronocentric view so many have in looking back and sneering at those in history who "seem so stupid" compared to what we now know, today, having had the benefit of 200+ years (in this case) of scientific development. No one could have know what was unknowable at the time.
You cannot look at this event through the lens of today. These people did not have the knowledge or even the materials to do any better. They were blazing the trail. In the process plenty got burned too. This accident happened two decades before the ASTM was even founded. It was hardly the only of its kind either. For a period train bridge collapses was a relatively common thing. That caused change itself.
@@1pcfred Yes, and thank Providence for the "change". Namely, that our government did something to begin to protect us from the robber barons of the past by instituting laws and regulations that curbed some of the worst business practices that perpetrated these crimes of a "Free Market" economy. Yet, the wealthy elites that still push for "deregulation" would have us believe that they and their businesses would "self-regulate". History proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that oxymoron to be a lie.
What an amazing collection of old photographs, post cards, and illustrations that you and your staff were able to uncover. Yet another event that I was totally unfamiliar with.
The internet is an amazing place. Contemporary books are in the public domain and digitized.
I agree with Mr. Dietrich about the quality of this video and the research that went into it. I learned more than I knew before, and I love it when that happens with an event I thought I knew well.
I have always been fascinated by this event due to the fact that two of the people that passed away were prominent hymn writer Phillip Paul Bliss and his wife, leaving their two young sons orphaned. From what I have read, Mr. Bliss survived the initial collapse of the bridge, but his wife was trapped in one of the burning cars and he went back in to get her but could not get back out.
@@nikihollingsworth9791 Didnt know that, thanks
@@highpath4776 You are welcome. 🙂
Well deserved evocation of this disaster! Philip Paul Bliss died along with his wife on that train. Bliss wrote many great hymns still sung today, including "Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy." He wrote also, in particular, the music for Horatio Spafford's moving poem "It Is Well with My Soul," composed in remembrance of the latter's four daughters who drown in the Atlantic when the Ville du Havre sank, his wife the only survivor.
As someone living in Scotland it’s nice to have a channel talking about US history (amongst other places) rather than focusing on the usual areas like Rome, Mongols, British empire etc.
We talk about those too...
There are quite a few I like. Ancient Americas, Hikma History for two off the top of my head. And Extra Credits who, like THG, go all over the map. Who else've you found?
@@eliscanfield3913 The Sgt. Reckless history is my favorite one.
You immediately made me think of McGonagall's "Tay Bridge Disaster" :D
@ Raumarik - Ohioan here. We did not learn about this train disaster in school history which is why I am here. He won't say it, but I will. It was Stone's greed that caused the failure of this bridge. Sadly his greed caused so much unnecessary harm, as greed usually does. On a brighter note I adore Scotland, been twice & cannot wait to return! Scottish people are wonderful💗
Ashtabulian here, you can still see remains of bridge down by the river today. When I was a kid the river and lake were polluted heavily, it's strange to see how much the government cleaned up the water here, back then you couldn't even fish or swim in the river, fish were growing with three eyes because of all the pollution.
History was so boring in high school, i didnt learn a thing. This channel in particular makes history so much more interesting and brings it to life in a way that makes me want to learn more. I love that you cover some of the more obscure events , as well as the major ones too. Had i this tool available in school i would have done so much better. Thanks for making history fascinating!
It's not just the topics he chooses; it's his obvious passion for history which shines through and holds the viewer's attention.
@@dinascharnhorst6590 Well said! Agree 100 percent
I had some great history teachers that's why I love history
My wife and I have had several conversations about how badly history is taught in school. We both hated it in school and loved it in adulthood. It is a common story.
I think the problem is in teaching history as though the result can be graded. That makes the lives of those before us unbearably sterile. History is also taught as a series of snapshots of the world at points in time, destroying continuity. All that we see around us is the result of the evolution of our world, but school curricula do not honor that.
@@flagmichael That is so true, schools do not honour the fact that History is an evolution, and so they do their darndest to make it so sterile that student's are bored by it and lose interest quickly. As a lad, so many years ago at school, (60+ years)), history was my best subject, I absolutely loved it, and that love has thankfully kept with me to this day. People do not realize that history is created every day, and not just what happened in the dim dark past.
I live in Lake county Ohio right next to Ashtabula County and have heard this story more than once in my life. My father was a fire fighter, train enthusiast and history teacher so I got a lot of learning as a child. Thank you
I lived in Mentor and Willoughby my whole life and didn't know about this until now. I live in Paint Rock Tennessee now. Stuff like this this reminds me how small the world is
Your the BEST STORY TELLER EVER!!!!!
I live near there. It's nice to know you pronounced it right. A few years ago someone on TV called it "ash-tab-you-lah" and I never forgot how funny that was.
I REMEMBER AN ANNOUNCER SAYING "NEBA-CHA-DUC-NAZAR" INSTEAD OF "NEBACHADNEZZAR"!
AND I LIVE IN A SMALL TOWN NAMED
"PONCHATOULA" OFTEN MANGLED.
AND JUST LOOK AT MY LAST NAME... I'VE LIVED A LIFE OF MIS-READ/SAID MANGLED WORDS! HA!
Or commonly known as “Trashtabula” these days
I learned about this horrifying accident when I was a child. My grandparents lived in Conneaut, Ohio and we would visit the Conneaut railroad museum almost every summer. Thank you for this episode.
I've had my morning coffee, and my morning history lesson. Thanks THG, my day is complete!
Such a tragic loss so long ago. We take for granted many of the bridges in use today. Many are known to be in need of repair and replacement. Sometimes I hold my breath when driving over bridges.
Our town has a bunch of bridges. One is a historic bridge and just reopened after being redone. Basically if you're on one side of town there's no way to get to the other without crossing a bridge.
Luckily the infrastructure bill should go some way to repair crumbling bridges that desperately need upgrading, helping to ensure that terrible accidents like these don't happen. A lot of bridges were built in the 20's and 30's and were not designed for the amount of traffic they receive today, some have decks that extra weight has been added to every time they were resurfaced while some have not had vital maintenance like checking for metal fatigue.
Years ago we had the most heavily monitored bridge in the country by me. There were scour holes by the pilings 200 feet deep. She was in pretty bad shape. I was never too keen going across her either. Then replacing it they screwed it up somehow and that was a big scandal. But they finally did get it right.
@@timthehippy9478 no money from the infrastructure bill is going to go into actual infrastructure. Not unless politicians embroider the word infrastructure onto their pockets.
Living in North East Ohio I've know about this disaster all of my adult life. However I had no idea of the real history about this incredibly sad event. Thanks again History Guy.
As a civil Engineer we studied about structural failures in University.
Often a simple design error or defective materials led to failure.
Excellent. Thank You
My father designed bridges for the Texas & Pacific railroad. He probably learned about this disaster in his structural design classes. He would have enjoyed this video.
History Guy, I always enjoy your lessons in Forgotten History, especially on fire. I remember learning of this tragedy while getting my Fire Science Engineering and Technology degree at West Virginia State University '82-'86. After 27yrs in the Fire Service as an Instructor and Firefighter/EMS First Responder, these stories bring back fond memories of my time at WVSU (still College when I was there).
Thank you so much for your heroic service to so many.
I have to agree with the fire chief. It was hopeless. Sometimes you just have to cut your losses. Even drunk he had a good head on his shoulders.
I was Huntington Fire Dept '83-93. Thank you for your service, brother!
@@johnhunter9646 thanks Brother!! I'm sure that you know Lanny Adkins then?? When I took Haz Mat Patch and Plug, Lanny was our Instructor at Cabell County Fire School . Great guy!!
@@SMichaelDeHart I took Vehicle rescue from him
Funny thing, I live in Erie, PA, just down the shore from Ashtabula, and the weather described in this video is exactly what we are experiencing now. Received 21" of snow in less than 24 hours Monday and it's been hurricane winds since. Very interesting video, Ive never heard of this wreck.
Damn, having lived in Buffalo, NY, I can relate. Stay warm, brother.
Yep. Ashtabula is part of the Cleveland-to-Buffalo Snow Belt.
I’ve never heard of this particular incident before, really nicely presented. What a terrible tragedy because of arrogance & greed to save money by cheaping out on materials. It happens time after time.
It wasn't just greed and arrogance. It was largely ignorance. They simply didn't know. They were constructing some of the first metal bridges mankind had ever built. So there was a learning curve involved. Better materials were not available either. It wasn't like you could go to a steel mill and get ASTM rated beams. That didn't happen until 1898. It was founded because things like this bridge collapse were commonplace.
@@1pcfred Poor metallurgy was certainly part of the problem, both lack of knowledge of that iron gets weaker when it's cold but also how strong iron is compared to steel. If they had used steel instead the bridge would have been a lot stronger.
And yeah, they certainly did some mistakes with the blueprint as well but greed certainly plays in as well. They did cut down on supports to save time and money and the lessened how much the bridge should flex.
Seriously though, just look on how it looked. There is a reason modern bridges doesn't look like it. They failed from the planning to the building. Fortunately for us, engineers have learned from this and similar mistakes.
@@1pcfred The bridge sagged when the supports were removed thereby showing that it was weak. This happened twice. That's when the bridge should have been rebuilt to the proper specifications. Don't forget too that one designer quit rather than be associated with what felt would be a disaster in the making.
@@sirridesalot6652 did you expect the bridge would rise when the supports were removed? In the course of my life I have on occasion had to temporarily support some structures whilst building them. They invariably settle some once the supports are removed. That's normal!
@@1pcfred I'm referring to the part in the video where they said that the bridge was designed with a 5.7 inches camber (3:39 in the video) and Stone had that reduced to 3.5 inches which made the upper chords too long and the workers shaved some from the ends. Then at the 3:50 point in the video it mentions that "when the temporary support work was being removed the bridge began to sag two and a half inches below horizontal". 3:56 They then instead of replacing the I-beams they shimmed the part to make it to the original plans but when the temporary building supports were removed for a second time the bridge buckled in several places. In my opinion that's when the bridge was doomed to fail.
Several years ago we were driving through Ohio, very late at night, on our way back to Chicago. We were quite tired and booked a motel room in Ashtabula. Going to our room we saw security guards patrolling the hallways. The room was filthy and the bathroom floor tile was black with mold as was the shower. Our sleep was interrupted with nightmares. Whenever I see or hear of Ashtabula I’m reminded of that absolutely dreadful night!
This is so cool! I’m from Ashtabula and grew up learning about the accident along with our history on the Underground Railroad.
Man seeing that old train station … it was run down and boarded up when I was a kid but we always drove by it after church or when we were on our way to the bowling alley or harbor.
Look up Engineering Tragedy: The Ashtabula Train Set! It's Set to premiere this year! I'm in several scenes as an extra and has been all locally filmed
I live walking distance from this location in Ashtabula. I’ve seen the sign for a bridge disaster by the hospital, but never knew the story. That old train station in the painting still exists, albeit very abandoned like many buildings near it. Definitely still lots of trains and train tracks still here, and the painted picture of Ashtabula Harbor could be used as a road map still today.
Even though I´m not a structural engineer:
When I heard truss bridge and saw the general shape, I thought, well, not too bad of a design for the time.
Then I heard cast iron and wrought iron, I knew why it would fail sooner or later.
Then snow storm and below freezing were mentioned, and I knew that day was the last for the bridge.
It so often ends bad when lack of knowledge meets the desire for profit and the question changes from "How strong can it be build?" to "How many corners can be cut?"
You have to learn sometime. The Bessemer process was developed in 1856 But there was a lot of resistance when it came to adopting the new material. The only other way to make steel was done by a technique called puddling. Where you couldn't make more than 50 pounds at a time. So you certainly weren't using steel for structural members. Wrought and cast iron was virtually all that was available. There's always a lag between invention and widespread use. Although accidents like this one spurred acceptance.
The cherry on top was hearing that they fixed a serious sag with shims. Interestingly I've just watched 2 vids about "tofu dregs" building in modern China. The parallels are uncanny.
@@1pcfred The lack of suitable material is one thing (be it not invented or just rejected), but using an unsuitable material (lack of tensile strength and/or flexibility) is quite another.
If a suitable material isn´t yet available for a certain design to work, another design is required.
The alteration of the plans without the necessary recalculations lets me tend to lack of knowledge about the materials´ shortcomings on this engineer´s side, despite them being known in the engineering community already.
@@sthenzel the bridge did stand for a number of years before it collapsed. It didn't fall down the first train that went over it. So it did in fact work. I'm sure that fateful night they fully expected it to work then too.
@@1pcfred I fully understand what you mean. But still: They should have known! A rail company with lots of rolling stock including engines had to know the abilities of cast and wrought iron, especially after years of constant vibratory stress.
Failures of cast iron parts in bridges, often after years of operation, also were known, albeit in GB (Dee bridge 1847, Wootton bridge 1861), in the US wood was the predominant material used.
Not to forget: In 1852 the Bollman Truss Bridge in Savage, Maryland was built (same materials, but they knew how to use it), it was moved to its current location in 1887, continued operation until 1947 and stands to this day.
I’ve known the name Ashtabula since childhood. . . It is a design of bicycle crankset. . . it’s single-piece design eliminated the problem of cottered cranks loosening. . . but they required a larger bottom bracket shell so that the heavier steel crankset could be maneuvered through the opening.
Thank you for covering this. Born and raised in Ashtabula County. I've known about the disaster but hadn't heard about how much the bridge construction played into it. Calling the area a valley is being generous. Localy we refer to it as the gulf and the sides are nearly vertical for much of its length. Also, you got the pronunciation mostly right several times: Ash ta (like tuh) bu (like view) la (like law) will have you sounding like a NE Ohioan. Or just say 'Bula like a lot of locals.
Thanks again for the video.
It's amazing what the "railroad" was able to do both good and bad. I live not far from the kinzua bridge in pa before a tornado took it down a few years back had the opportunity to walk it. Think you would enjoy reading about it . great episode as always
Is that the bridge that lays on it''s side near the Bradford PA airport?
i grew up next to ashtabula and lived in the town for a few years and never knew this story thanks.
ashtabula is in the middle of the lake effect snow belt. when ohio gets an inch of snow, ashtabula gets about six inches.
As a lifelong resident of Ashtabula I have heard and read much on the famous train wreck. This is one of the best treatments of the subject I have ever seen and I am not just saying that as a fan of The History Guy, though as a long time fan of THG I was excited to see my small hometown mentioned. This is, of course, now my favorite documentary on the subject and will very soon be famous around our town itself.
I'm from Jefferson, Ohio about 15 miles from the crash site. Have walked the river and the exact area of the crash many many times.
Thanks for the spotlight!
Modern design and engineering standards usually prevent disasters like this but cost cutting measures can still result in catastrophic failures.
As a native of Ashtabula, I was taught sparse details of this in 5th grade. Much thanks to you for doing such an informative episode on it!
Some years ago a student from Ashtabula worked part time where I worked in London.
She showed me a book on the town but I don't remember mention of the bridge.
I had a good part of my childhood in Ohio, back in the 1950s and early 60s. During that time, Ohio was big on including Ohio history, even in elementary school. Though obscure to national history, this disaster loomed big in Ohio history. Thank you for covering this story. Please note that the south shore of Lake Erie is filled with chasms to be crossed, and multiple rail lines crossed the state near the shore. Fortunately, more durable steel was soon available, and soon bridges were built that were much stronger and longer lasting.
Thank you for remembering. I lived in Conneaut, Ohio which is 20 miles east of Ashtabula. I spent many days down at that site. It is a somber feeling at the accident site.
Thank you Sir, for once again ensuring that lives lost in a historic tragedy will not be forgotten. Bless you
In 1896, the Point Ellice Bridge in Victoria, BC collapsed under the weight of a severely overloaded trolley car dumping 145 people into the cold waters of the upper harbour. According to my father, his mother was watching from the rescue efforts from the western side of the bridge and helping the survivors as they were brought ashore. 55 people were known to have died.
Im only 4 minutes in, but it sounds very similar and has many similar design and arrogance elements as that massive concrete bridge that failed during placement construction in South Florida a few years ago.
Pride goeth before the fall. Literally.
Geeze one crazy story. Not all the different than the building collapse in Miami. Lack of proper inspection and regulation companies always cut corners. Still the idea of using that heavy iron for bridge construction seems crazy. Fascinating story.
The building collapse in Fla. wasn’t a matter of inspection, the owners chose to ignore the inspectors.
History guy, your video made the accident seem like it was yesterday.
To be honest, it wasn’t so much the actual accident that killed people, it was the perfect storm of incompetence that did.
Excellent video
Not only do I love your content, but the timber and cadence of your voice and delivery are suited perfectly for what you do. Thank you for being a delightful steward of lesser-known historical events.
While not born in Ashtabula Ohio, I did spend most of my life there and my boys live in the area to this day. You are to be congratulated on pronouncing the name correctly. Your account here is the best I have ever heard. Many times I have hiked the trail that goes to the valley where this happened.
I once had the pleasure of reading a book titled, "Bridges and Men" by Joseph Gies. It is a complete history of bridge building from the earliest vine, log and stone "bridges" of primitive man to the modern ( Verrazano) era. This event occurred in "The Age of Disaster" chapter, I think. One of the best non-fiction books that I have read and I have read hundreds. Thank you for producing this video. Well done!
Nothing less than horrifying.
The description of the carriages being pulled over into the chasm is awful.
The inaction of the Fire Chief breathtaking.
I'd never heard of this disaster, though there are similarities to the Tay Bridge disaster.
That was a bad one, I believe the death toll for both wrecks was about the same, but at least Ashtabula had some survivors.
Look up the Collinwood School fire of 1908. Just up the rail about 30 miles.
Awesome video!!! THANKS!!! for covering this disaster. I grew up in Madison, OH - roughly 20 miles or so west where this disaster occurred. Growing up, have heard about this disaster and that the area where it happened is supposed to be "haunted". Have visited the disaster site for there is a hiking trail in immediate area that will take you almost all the way to location - will have to hike off trail and follow the Ashtabula River roughly 1/4 mile or so in order to get to the actual crash site. Also, there are state historical markers dedicated to this disaster posted throughout the city of Ashtabula. Most of the people that died are buried in a mass grave in Chestnut Grove Cemetery. There is an awesome granite obelisk and markers with the names of the persons that died. Also, one of those persons that killed themselves (forget which one) supposedly out of guilt over the disaster is buried not too far from the mass grave. Today, the bridge has been repaired - of course - and the bridge is still in use as far as I know.
Another fine bit of history. Amazing how THG entertains while educating on such a wide variety of subjects
True story! Once, with my wife, we stopped at the Ashtabula cemetery where the mass grave for the victims is located. We were all alone in this old cemetery. When we first arrived we eerily heard a train. It sounded like a train that was coming to a stop. About 50yds away from the mass grave is the mausoleum for the Engineer Collins. It's a stone building about 12 ft square that looks like a gothic church. To amuse my wife I playfully knocked on the front door. From inside I heard a loud distinct knocking answering mine. It was astounding. I knocked again and a second time heard an answer. It was not an echo. There was a second or two delay between my knock and the answer. There was a heavy grate over the door that was chained and locked so I can't believe anybody was in there. We didn't see anyone else in the cemetery. My wife witnessed this but neither of us knows what to make of it.
Echo can take time
Pipe can shoot sound and back
In front of every science museum is the sound cones
Try them
Just a quick thank you for all the videos you have created. Your style is how we all should been taught the basics of history, and while I have been out of school for decades, I recall how tedious history class was for me and my friends. You change that. I hope you are proud of the work you do.
Watching this I had the feeling I had heard of Ashtabula before for an unrelated reason. Turns out the Ashtabula Bow Company which provided parts for the folding tops of horse-drawn buggies eventually became the Ashtabula Bicycle Parts Company, and manufactured the single-piece bottom cranksets in American bicycles up through the 1980's. These durable, heavy, one-piece cranksets became known as "Ashtabula" cranks, and as lighter multi-part cranksets were introduced on high-end bikes the old crankset style became associated with the bottom end of the bicycle market. For many years any bicycle you bought from a Walmart, or K-mart, or Target would have a one-piece crankset and any bike you got at a local bike shop would have a 3-piece crankset where you could buy custom crank arms. The Ashtabula crankset itself is bulletproof, but the associated bearings are how they would fail, and since it was hard for an end user to get the right parts and tools to service and change out the bearings these became associated with disposable bikes.
Wow, I had never heard any of this. Thanks, Michael. Two great history lessons in one stop. Very cool!
THG is high if not first on my list of favorites. I look forward to each contribution.
Thank you history guy!
Im from Ashtabula. Thanks for covering this. Not many people know about the Ashtabula Train Disaster
Incredible. I grew up I'm Trumbull County just south of Ashtabula and I never heard of this. Great reporting and thank you for covering this
I am a life long resident of Ashtabula City, I am very familiar with the history of the Ashtabula Train Disaster, so it was treat especial
Once again I learn history That happened just two hours away ... And never knew.
I'm so excited about this video! I was going to ask if you could talk about this but kept getting sidetracked. I lived in Ashtabula for 8 years, but only found out about this after I moved away. I've read some stuff about it, but none of it seemed to be completely factual. Glad to find it here!
I grew up in Brewster, Ohio but never heard about this. My family will like to hear the events of our area as you so eloquently describe them. Thank you, Lance, for being you.
Happy Hump Day THG
Similar accident in Vermont, February 1887. Train crossing a trestle over the White River fell to the ice about 40 ft. below, caught fire
What a mess! Amazing that anyone behind the locomotive survived at all. Great video!
Being a native of Northeast Ohio and also a railroader who just happens to run trains through Ashtabula...not on that line, I've known about this disaster for years. I believe it's still the worst train disaster in our state's history.
Thank you, I work in Ashtabula County and it was nice to hear a local story.
Another great story of history forgotten or never known by many. The HG has an endless supply of possible stories - stories like the “Irondale Baby” in irondale, mo where my mother was born 102 years ago or the Cherry Mine disaster in Cherry,Illinois near where I currently live. Thanks History Guy 👍
I've never seen a History Guy episode that I didn't like though this type is a favorite for me, it reminds that triumphs and tragedy's are with us all in life!
Another notable victim was Mr. Bliss and his wife. He was very famous at the time having wrote several Christian hymns. They say he managed to get out of the wreck but went back in and tried to save his wife from the flames and they both perished.
I’m surprised The History Guy didn’t mention him. His name is literally on the main historical monument near the site.
As I commented also, Bliss is the only fatality mentioned by name on the Wikipedia site about this disaster. A poignant and loving sacrifice, especially in contrast to the drunken and callous fire chief, the proud but incompetent engineer, and the ghoulish looters robbing the dead and dying, who are featured in this video. Why is Phillip Bliss ignored?
Philip Bliss wrote the tune for the hymn “It Is Well With My Soul” by Horatio G. Spafford. He also wrote the hymn “Wonderful Words Of Life”. The trunk of Philip Bliss was discovered in the train wreckage. Inside the trunk they found the lyrics for an unpublished hymn, “I Will Sing Of My Redeemer”. It was published posthumously with the tune written by James McGranahan.
Another hymn written by P. P. Bliss is Let the Lower Lights be Burning, notable for its popularity in the maritime community of the Great Lakes.
There is monument for the Bliss in Rome Pennsylvania were Mr. Bliss met his wife. Every year they have a celebration to his music. His music was so loved at the time by Sunday schools that a collections of pennies and nickels was donated to build the monument. Enough money was raised to send both their sons who was not with them to Princeton
I am over 1/2 century old and this is the first time I have heard this. Well told. Thank you.
Once again, the H.G. surprises me. I grew up in that general area and had never heard of this.... But then, communities seldom brag about their disasters.
Among railroad buffs, this incident is infamous. Like the majority of engineering failures, there were multiple contributing factors all heaped one upon another to cause failure. Iron truss bridges remained common in back country road use for over a century. Our last local one was built in the 1880s and was replaced three years ago. It had an eight ton limit, which I'm sure was violated on a regular basis considering avoiding the bridge meant a 30 mile out of your way trip.
The site of the bridge is close to Conneaut, the town with one of the largest DDay reenactments in the US. Highly recommend going.
I used to work in conneaut. At first I was aghast to hear the d-day reenactment... is in August. Wat? Oh well, it was a good time.
Thank you for your sensitive handling of this tragedy. Noticed the two TH-cam plaques in the background. Congratulations. Good vid. Keep at it.
I live about half an hour from the Ashtabula Bridge Disaster site. The incident is still often talked about by locals even though it is several generations in time removed from living people. The good which came out of the disaster as THG noted so well was a concerted push for improved railroad safety standards both in Ohio and nationally.
George Westinghouse had invented practical air or “atmospheric” brakes following a possibly preventable train bridge disaster in Angola, NY in the early 1850s. Westinghouse further invented a block signaling system in the late 1850s which both improved rail use efficiency by controlling train spacing and also reduced odds of collisions. The Ashtabula disaster served to help make mandatory safety measures and devices which had been available for quite some time.
Great work Sir thank you
This is so awesome to see and hear about my home town. I’ve seen the remnants of the bridge and it’s amazing. Looking at the map and knowing exactly what’s what’s is so sweet!
My history teachers were so dry and boring.
The history guy is so exciting and pulls up weird facts and pictures to make you remember.
Great channel Sir.
This is the kind of history that gets lost as time goes on. Thanks History Guy for remembering and sharing it.
Enjoyed it immensely, thank you. As always, you did a splendid job.
I worked landscaping at the cemetery where the monument is. One of the “haunted” locations here in my hometown of Ashtabula. I definitely believe it
As a native Clevelander and son of a railroad buff, I vaguely recall this tragedy.
Thanks for sharing this important slice of history.
Truly enjoy your content and its presentation.
JT: Orlando, FLA
Thank you for bringing us history that should prove to be a warning to all generations of the risks in taking shortcuts and putting profit ahead of people in major construction.
It cannot be proven but one might speculate on how many lives are saved in the aftermath of a tragic disaster while it remains fresh in collective memory. Only that we forget and eventually another catastrophe happens.
Years ago I took Amtrak across the country. When traveling too the Midwest there was a very long bridge over one of the Great lakes. It seemed to take forever for the train to get to the other side. Nothing but water on both sides for miles. While I didn't know of this incident, all I could think of was if something happened there's no way to get help.🚂
Thank You for posting.
hey man , so cool to see another banned-from-bumble guy here! love the representation you're bringing to an often maligned and misunderstood group. hats of to ya.
This was especially interesting to me as I am a fan of both history and railroads.
I was only mildly fascinated as I am neither a fan of trains nor snow.
I love your remembrances of history; many of which I had never heard. I also love the many variations on your opening. So interesting!
you're channel is a Gem....I live near ashtabula and have never heard about this. I can say that about quite a few of your video's...thank you for the work you do
Oh yeah the Ashtabula Horror. People go down there to the site of the disaster with metal detectors and still find artifacts.
Just curious, as someone that has a cottage in the area, I’ve looked at many of the covered bridges in the area, where is that location?
@@kingwood207 th-cam.com/video/qzDdwbz3afc/w-d-xo.html
@@grapeshot WOW! That is really a great link! I will definitely check it out when the weather gets warmer! There was a snowstorm this past weekend dumping 24 inches of snow! Thanks!
There is an obelisk to the Ashtabula bridge disaster victims in Chestnut Grove cemetery. Ironically, Charles Collins' tomb is located in the same cemetery very near the monument. Supposedly the cemetery is haunted. Although I never saw any ghosts, there was a cute black cat that used to hang around the tombs.
A very similar railroad disaster happened on Feb. 5, 1887 in Hartford, Vt. 37 people were killed and 50 injured when a bridge gave out over the White River. The site is said to be haunted by some who were lost. It was a very cold night and there were passenger cars on fire from the lamps and stoves that were on board. Since then a new iron bridge has replaced the wooden one that caused the disaster. Very similar results. Thanks for posting.
In the late 1800s train disasters were a very common occurrence. So common that the government did step in and regulate the industry. The ASTM was founded in 1898 to stem the tide too.
Wonderful video! Thank you!!
There's a trail that leads to that spot. The bridge was replaced with massive culverts but the stones from the original stone abutments are still there. It's an ironically beautiful spot. The mass grave marker not too far away is a beautiful, somber cenotaph. I kinda wish you had mentioned P.P. Bliss.
Thank you for this video. I lived most of my life in Northeaster Ohio along Lake Erie and never heard of this event. How tragic! How could anyone use cast iron in that area of sudden temperature change and mountains of lake effect snow. Oh how government moves at a snails pace! Keep up the good work!!!
loved the cspan interview dude!!!!
A gruesome tale, very well told, well done!
Your inflection gives it such a dramatic presentation. It gives it such heart that I gives it mourning for today's need to see how things of this nature have changed the landscape from the past. (Hope I made some sense)
Received my History Guy pint glasses yesterday. Enjoying them very much.
Prost!
🍷😎😎@@TheHistoryGuyChannel
Brilliant video. Thank you as always. Tragic the way railroads were mostly built and operated in the earlier day.
Well done ol chap!! I used to live in Ashtabula right by that bridge but I'm next door in Lake County now!! Good job on this vid!!! 👍 Funny thing is is I'm watching this on 1/23 & just a week ago we got the SAME EXACT WEATHER!! Weather we haven't really been getting like normal!!
The looting of victims during this disaster reminds me of rumored stories of looting when the steamboat General Slocum caught fire and burned in the East River here in New York City. 1021 lives were lost on that day of June 15, 1904.
I just watched your video o the Slocum. Excellent details.
My hometown of Ashtabula. Thanks for the video of the Disaster.
I would love to watch a collaboration with you and Practical Engineering on bridge disasters in the U.S. and Canada. Thanks for your work in bringing little-remembered events to greater prominence.
We visited the site of the crash couple years back and the cemetery where the mass grave is for the victims of the crash and the grave of the bridge designer is also buried near by in the same cemetery.
I really enjoy your content History Guy! Thank you so much!