Near Old Forge in Herkimer County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Train Wreck

Photographed By Kevin Craft, June 24, 2011

1. Train Wreck Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

Here on Nov. 9, 1913 train struck a log, derailed, and went over the cliff killing 3 of its crew.

Erected by NYS Dept. of Transportation.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Railroads & Streetcars. A significant historical month for this entry is October 1878.

Location. 43° 45.565′ N, 74° 51.594′ W. Marker is near Old Forge, New York, in Herkimer County. Marker is on New York State Route 28 just west of Train Wreck Point Road, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 4920 State Route 28, Old Forge NY 13420, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 2 other markers are within 7 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Glennmore Hotel (approx. 4.3 miles away); Old Forge, N.Y. (approx. 6.6 miles away).

Regarding Train Wreck. From the Warrensburg paper dated Nov. 13, 1913. “Raquette Lake Railroad Men Killed.”
Benjamin Hall, engineer; John Case, fireman, and A.G. Lashway, brakeman, all of Raquette Lake, were almost instantly killed Saturday evening, when the work train they were running struck a

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large tree that had been blown across the track near Fairview, between Carter and Raquette Lake, in the Adirondacks. The locomotive and tender broke from the train and plunged down an embankment. A heavy storm of rain and wind was raging when the accident occurred.

From Essex County Republican, Nov. 14, 1913. "THREE OF THE CREW KILLED WHEN TRAIN STRUCK A TREE. Obstruction had been blown across the track by storm. Engine plunged down banking. Three men were killed when a locomotive pulling a wrecking train on the Raquette Lake Railroad ran into a tree which had been blown across the track, Saturday morning. The locomotive and tender broke loose from the train and plunged down the embankment. The first car was derailed but stayed on top of the embankment. The rest of the train remained on the rails. The engineer, Benjamin Hall; his fireman, John Case and the brakeman, A.G. Lashaway, were killed almost instantly. They all resided at Raquette Lake."

From Boonville Herald, Nov. 13, 1913. "Storm blows tree across Raquette track... The train was running from Carter to this place when it struck a large tree...There was a long delay in getting assistance. Conductor John Bank was obliged to walk six and one half miles to reach the nearest telegraph and because of wire trouble the operator was unable to get word to any outside point for a long time. Engineer

Photographed By Deb Hartshorn, August 21, 2010

2. Train Wreck Marker

Hall was 58 years old and for years was an engineer on the main line of the Central. He formerly lived in Oneida.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on August 24, 2010, by Deb Hartshorn of Burlington County, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 3,454 times since then and 141 times this year. Last updated on October 7, 2014, by Kevin Craft of Bedford, Quebec. Photos: 1. submitted on June 26, 2011, by Kevin Craft of Bedford, Quebec. 2. submitted on August 31, 2010, by Deb Hartshorn of Burlington County, New Jersey. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.