mystery on the mainline what wrecked the “city of san francisco?” christopher macmahon
TRANSCRIPT
Mystery on the Mainline
What Wrecked the “City of San Francisco?”
Christopher MacMahon
Acknowledgements
The “City of San Francisco”
Jointly operated by the Chicago and Northwestern, Union Pacific, and Southern Pacific Railroad.
One of the first streamliner trains in revenue service.
Luxury train full of amenities.
Twice as fast as regular overland route.
1
Luxury and Amenities
2
August 12, 1939
3
4
What caused the wreck?
Accident
Causes beyond human control
Acts of God
Negligence
Operational negligence
Negligent maintenance
Sabotage
5
Negligence
Maintenance
Condition of track
Condition of bridge
Operational
Braking
Reaction
Speed
Conclusion
6
Sabotage
Early findings
Southern Pacific findings
Interstate Commerce Commission
Federal Bureau of Investigation
7
Sabotage
8 9
Cover-up?
Joe Bell
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Wallar v. Southern Pacific Company
No one brought to justice
10
Role of the Great Depression
The Octopus
Southern Pacific Company and Progressive Movement
Southern Pacific as an employer
Shaping Opinion
Depression and Negligence
Depression and Sabotage
Role of Public Opinion
11
Citations
1. Southern Pacific Company. 39 ¾ Hours to Chicago on the Streamliner “City of San Francisco.” Advertisement. Author’s Collection.
2. Chicago and Northwestern Lines, Union Pacific Railroad, and Southern Pacific Lines, The Streamliner City of San Francisco. Promotional Pamphlet. Circa 1939. Southern Pacific Transportation—City of San Francisco Wreck 1939 Collection, MS NC 505. Nevada Historical Society, Reno, Nevada.
3. Unknown Photographer. “Southern Pacific Railroad (Streamliner) Wreck Near Carlin, 1939.” Southern Pacific Transportation—City of San Francisco Wreck 1939 Collection, MS NC 505, photograph no. 277. Nevada Historical Society, Reno, Nevada.
4. L.B. Haneman. “Wreck of the City of San Francisco streamliner passenger train, near Carlin on Aug. 12, 1939.” Southern Pacific Transportation—City of San Francisco Wreck 1939 Collection, MS NC 505. Nevada Historical Society, Reno, Nevada.
5. A. D. McDonald telegram to John G. Walsh, August 14, 1939. Southern Pacific Transportation—City of San Francisco Wreck 1939 Collection, MS NC 505, Nevada Historical Society, Reno, Nevada.H. E. Watts and J. K. Parkinson. Southern Pacific Company Board of Inquiry Report. August 19-21,1939. City of San Francisco Derailment Collection, MS-39. California State Railroad Museum Library, Sacramento, California.
6. Southern Pacific Company. Table 507—Speeds of Trains Through Curves. 1939. City of San Francisco Derailment Collection, MS-39. California State Railroad Museum Library, Sacramento, California.
7. Unknown Photographer. City of San Francisco Derailment Collection, MS-39. California State Railroad Museum Library, Sacramento, California.
8. United States Interstate Commerce Commission. Report of the Director Bureau of Safety: Accident on the Southern Pacific Railroad, Harney, Nevada, August 12, 1939, Investigation no. 2375. United States Government Printing Office: Washington, D.C., 1939, 6.
9. Unknown Photographer. Tie plate out of alignment with car above. City of San Francisco Wreck Collection, Photograph 739-6. Northeastern Nevada Museum, Elko, Nevada.
10. 10,000 Reward: Whose Jackets Are These? Advertisement. City of San Francisco Train Wreck Collection, Northeastern Nevada Museum, Elko, Nevada
11. G. Frederick Keller, The Wasp 9, no. 316 (August 19, 1882): 520-521. Accessed April 14, 2015 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Octopus:_A_Story_of_California.