Railroads in Oklahoma Page: 75
This book is part of the collection entitled: Oklahoma Historical Society Monographs and was provided to The Gateway to Oklahoma History by the UNT Libraries.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
DARK MORNING NEAR DOVER
By Robert E. Smith
Accidents are hardly what railroaders want or expect. Yet, accidents happen.
Perhaps the worst ever to occur in the area of present-day Oklahoma-at
least in terms of lives lost-occurred on a line of the Chicago, Rock Island &
Pacific Railway (Rock Island or CRI&P) near Dover during the early
morning hours of September 18, 1906. That disaster focused local and
regional attention on the problem of railroad safety standards. The result
was a public demand for safer operations that the carriers were forced to
meet. Such was the legacy of the wreck at Dover.
The Rock Island's train Number 12 pulled out of Dallas, Texas, at 7:00
p.m. on September 17 and headed north into Oklahoma Territory toward
a scheduled eventual destination in Chicago via Chickasha, El Reno, King-
fisher and Enid. On this trip locomotive 628 was in charge of a combination
Railway Post Office-baggage car, a smoker, a day coach and two Pullmans.1
The crew-like Rock Island personnel generally-was concerned about
current weather conditions. During most of early September, 1906, wet
weather had prevailed in the area. There seemed no end to the rain. On
September 17, many towns, along and to the west of the Rock Island's line,
recorded substantial precipitation. Many of these communities were within
the watershed of the Cimarron River, a stream which could not now contain
the water of the unabated downpour. Soon the turbulent river was overflow-
ing its banks. As the torrent gushed into east central Oklahoma Territory,
it gathered momentum, sweeping trees, brush and other debris down the
channel. It would prove to be one of the Cimarron's most violent overflows.2
The unrelenting downpour made the Rock Island's roadbed soft. Never-
theless, Number 12 struggled north through the pitchblack darkness of the
evening of September 17 and into the gloom of the next morning. The train
was running an hour late and steadily losing the battle to maintain its
schedule. Deteriorated roadbed conditions and severely limited visibility
forced the engineer to reduce speed.
When Number 12 ground to a halt in front of the station in El Reno, a
1 The Official Guide of the Railways, (March, 1906), p. 711; The Daily Oklahoman (Okla-
homa City), September 19, 1906.
2 R. C. Crooks to Robert E. Smith, February 3, 1976; Thomas D. Potter to Robert E. Smith,
February 23, 1976; "Report For September, 1906, Oklahoma and Indian Territory Section of
the Climatological Service of the Weather Bureau," United States Department of Agriculture
(Galveston, Texas: Weather Bureau Office, October 16, 1906), pp. 68-72.
75
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Related Items
Other items on this site that are directly related to the current book.
Railroads in Oklahoma (Book)
Book discussing the history of the railroads in Oklahoma, including stories of individual railroads and their effects on the Indian population in the state. Index begins on page 164.
Relationship to this item: (Has Format)
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
Hofsommer, Donovan L. Railroads in Oklahoma, book, 1977; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc862892/m1/85/: accessed April 18, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; .