Rails of Misfortune: The Fatal Ice Train Accident of 1923
Prominent businessman Thomas P. Temple and his wife left their home in Waterbury, Connecticut, on the morning of September 19, 1923, to head to the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Massachusetts.
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| Bird's-Eye View of the Eastern States Exposition |
Driving through Southwick, Massachusetts, Thomas accelerated his luxurious five-passenger Jordan touring car and passed a Ford approaching the Springfield grade crossing on the Feeding Hills - Southwick highway.
Meanwhile, a southbound ice train on the Northampton Division of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad, running about 20 minutes late, gave its signal as it approached the Springfield grade crossing. It also rang its bell. The train, consisting of a tender followed by a locomotive (the Congamond Switcher) pulling a caboose, was traveling at a higher rate of speed than usual to make up for lost time. (The tender was in front of the locomotive switcher instead of in its typical spot behind it.)
Upon noticing the train, Thomas braked hard. A member of the train's three-man crew saw that the car was not stopping and applied the emergency brake, but it was too late.
The train's tender slammed into the classy automobile and carried it about 100 feet before ejecting both occupants. The Jordan's powerful Continental engine got caught beneath the tender, causing it to derail at about 225 feet, as the locomotive continued pushing it down the railroad track before it too likely derailed. The impact scattered parts and debris along more than 300 feet of railroad track, with most of the Jordan reduced to a ball of twisted metal lodged under the caboose.
Thomas's body landed on top of one of the Jordan's doors on the side of the railroad track. Mrs. Temple landed about three feet away from her husband's body in a patch of brambles with nearly all her clothes torn off.
When the train finally stopped, roughly 350 feet from the grade crossing, the crew rushed over to the bodies, where a couple of passing motorists (one who happened to be a friend of the Temples) had already gathered to check for survivors.
It was easy to assume that Thomas was dead, for he lay motionless, with his head crushed in. Mrs. Temple was a different story as her almost nude body, covered in brambles, lay pretty still. They saw that her head was fractured, but upon closer inspection, the crew realized that she was breathing, although barely.
Southwick physician Dr. Carr arrived minutes after the collision, but there was nothing he could do for Mrs. Temple as she had already taken her last breath. When later asked to offer his opinion on who died first, Dr. Carr said that Mrs. Temple's body was warm, unlike Thomas's, which was cold.
Authorities had the bodies removed to the undertaking rooms of the Hearn & Company furniture store in neighboring Westfield for examination by the medical examiner, who determined that Thomas likely died on impact. In addition to their fractured skulls, the medical examiner said that both victims had a broken leg. Thomas also had a fractured arm. Authorities noted that Mrs. Temple's wristwatch was not broken but had stopped at precisely 10:45.
The medical examiner released the bodies to the family, who held a double funeral service, with the governor of Connecticut and the mayor of Waterbury attending.
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| The bodies were brought to the Hearn & Company Furniture Store in Westfield, Massachusetts |
When settling the estates of Mr. and Mrs. Temple, a brother of each of the deceased represented their respective siblings with the Merchants Trust Company of Hartford, Connecticut, becoming administrators of both estates. Because the Temples had no children, the question of who died first arose. If Mrs. Temple died first, her estate would be combined with Thomas's and then go to his heirs. If Thomas died first, his estate would be combined with his wife's and then go to her heirs.
An inquest into the horrific accident was required. At its conclusion, a Westfield District Court judge filed his findings in Superior Court on October 19. In his report, the judge cleared the railroad of any wrongdoing, solely blaming Thomas's carelessness for the accident, saying he failed to stop, look, and listen at the grade crossing. He also noted that Thomas was traveling too fast. In the case of Mrs. Temple, the judge found that Thomas's "gross carelessness" was the cause of her death.
Although the railroad was free of blame, the judge said that it would serve the safety of the greater public to have some of the shrubbery growing along the highway near the grade crossing removed.
In the judge's opinion, Thomas died first, so his estate would go to his wife, then both estates would pass to her siblings in the event of no will.
Thomas's heirs filed lawsuits contesting that he died first. The matter was settled out of court on May 21, 1924, with nine heirs of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Temple agreeing to split the two estates jointly, estimated at $10,000. (Coincidentally, the Jordan Motor Car Company started using hydraulic front-wheel brakes that same year.)
The ice train accident was not Thomas's first run-in with death.
On the morning of December 30, 1914, eight-year-old Alva McClelland was knocked unconscious after sledding down Lincoln Avenue, a side street in Torrington, Connecticut, and striking the rear wheel of Thomas Temple's car as it traveled down South Main Street. The chain on the tire cut and fractured the child's skull; he died about 24 hours later on New Year's Eve.
Immediately following the accident, Thomas reported it to the medical examiner and the local police. That afternoon, police arrested Thomas on a technical charge of reckless driving, and on January 7, authorities in Connecticut suspended his driver's license. The secretary of state returned Thomas's license to him on January 27 after finding him not guilty, thanks to witness accounts that the accident was unavoidable.
Thomas Patrick Temple: December 31, 1883 - September 19, 1923.
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Edited Out/Author's Additional Research Notes
Working titles: Tragedy on the Track, Fatal Encounter, The Ice Train Tragedy, The Fatal Ice Train Accident of 1923, Final Drive, Rails of Misfortune, The Last Ride: A Cautionary Tale of Wealth, Technology, and Fate, Luxury Meets Disaster, Crossing Fate
Thomas had a sister that shared the same name as his wife.
Before he was married, Thomas lived on South Main Street in Waterbury, Connecticut. The sled accident was on South Main Street in Torrington.
Opened in 1916 as the Eastern States Agricultural and Industrial Exposition, its name was shortened to Eastern States Exposition in 1923.
Thomas Temple owned a successful plumbing and sheet-metal business. He also owned a bowling alley - Lafayette Alleys at 151 Bank Street, Waterbury, Connecticut.
