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Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster
Posted by:
chicagophile
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: July 16, 2012 04:21PM
I'm new to the forum, and I'm enjoying my exploration of the stories.
At cursory glance, I was surprised that there was no posting for "The Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster" of May 25, 1950. Here goes:
The accident occurred near the end of rush hour. It had rained hard earlier in the day, and several viaducts around the city were flooded. Southbound streetcar traffic along State St. had been diverted all afternoon near the intersection of 63rd and State.
A little after 6:30 p.m., a "Green Hornet" streetcar loaded nearly to capacity with rush hour passengers, went through an open switch at an excessive speed in spite of a flagger who was signalling wildly. The streetcar entered the switch and collided with a northbound gasoline truck which was hauling 8,000 gallons of fuel.
The initial explosion was caused when the streetcar flattened the gas truck's own supply tank, located beneath the driver's side door. The first of two tanks being hauled by the truck was damaged when the truck jacknifed on impact and the semi-trailer became unhitched.
The first explosion blew through the streetcar's shattered windshield and caused a stampede toward the rear. Gas flowing from the damaged first tank ignited, and prevented exit from the front doors.
A few passengers managed to get out through the center and rear doors. Eventually, panic in the rear of the car caused passengers to crush against the rear doors, forcing them shut. Most who escaped got out through two rear windows which were shattered.
It was over in less than five minutes. Thirty-three people, including the drivers of both vehicles, were killed. Another 50 people were injured. Seven buildings located on the east side of State Street caught fire, and five were completely destroyed.
"The Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster" is one of those Chicago stories that has slipped under the radar of the average Chicagoan for more than six decades. I have written a book, entitled "The Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster" which was released in May. It's the first stand-alone account of the accident, and I hope those who are interested might check it out.
In the meantime, I'd like to hear from people old enough to remember the accident, and well as those who, like me, heard it told secondhand from an older friend or family member.
Looking forward to the conversation.
Craig
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/17/2012 11:34AM by chicagophile.
At cursory glance, I was surprised that there was no posting for "The Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster" of May 25, 1950. Here goes:
The accident occurred near the end of rush hour. It had rained hard earlier in the day, and several viaducts around the city were flooded. Southbound streetcar traffic along State St. had been diverted all afternoon near the intersection of 63rd and State.
A little after 6:30 p.m., a "Green Hornet" streetcar loaded nearly to capacity with rush hour passengers, went through an open switch at an excessive speed in spite of a flagger who was signalling wildly. The streetcar entered the switch and collided with a northbound gasoline truck which was hauling 8,000 gallons of fuel.
The initial explosion was caused when the streetcar flattened the gas truck's own supply tank, located beneath the driver's side door. The first of two tanks being hauled by the truck was damaged when the truck jacknifed on impact and the semi-trailer became unhitched.
The first explosion blew through the streetcar's shattered windshield and caused a stampede toward the rear. Gas flowing from the damaged first tank ignited, and prevented exit from the front doors.
A few passengers managed to get out through the center and rear doors. Eventually, panic in the rear of the car caused passengers to crush against the rear doors, forcing them shut. Most who escaped got out through two rear windows which were shattered.
It was over in less than five minutes. Thirty-three people, including the drivers of both vehicles, were killed. Another 50 people were injured. Seven buildings located on the east side of State Street caught fire, and five were completely destroyed.
"The Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster" is one of those Chicago stories that has slipped under the radar of the average Chicagoan for more than six decades. I have written a book, entitled "The Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster" which was released in May. It's the first stand-alone account of the accident, and I hope those who are interested might check it out.
In the meantime, I'd like to hear from people old enough to remember the accident, and well as those who, like me, heard it told secondhand from an older friend or family member.
Looking forward to the conversation.
Craig
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/17/2012 11:34AM by chicagophile.
Re: Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster
Posted by:
222psm
(---.br.br.cox.net)
Date: July 16, 2012 06:10PM
Wow, not even 10 min ago I was looking at Charles W Cushman's photos here:
http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/cushman/results/result.do?pagesize=20&page=49&query=city%3A%22Chicago%22&action=search&display=thumbcap
(pics # 977,978,983,984,and 985)
And saw the photos of the aftermath, then I come here to find this tread, weird. I had never heard of this until I saw the photos.
http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/cushman/results/result.do?pagesize=20&page=49&query=city%3A%22Chicago%22&action=search&display=thumbcap
(pics # 977,978,983,984,and 985)
And saw the photos of the aftermath, then I come here to find this tread, weird. I had never heard of this until I saw the photos.
Re: Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster
Posted by:
chicagophile
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: July 16, 2012 09:45PM
I downloaded Cushman's photos a few years ago while I was doing my research. They are the only color photos of the accident site I have ever seen. Makes
me wonder if there's some amateur 8mm film out there?
Cushman had a good eye. The photos of the gas truck, the crowd scenes, and
the buildings, really speak to the devastation of the accident and how more
than the streetcar was involved. It actually changed the landscape of that block in Chicago. No other structures were built to replace the buildings that were destroyed.
Thanks for the post,
Craig
me wonder if there's some amateur 8mm film out there?
Cushman had a good eye. The photos of the gas truck, the crowd scenes, and
the buildings, really speak to the devastation of the accident and how more
than the streetcar was involved. It actually changed the landscape of that block in Chicago. No other structures were built to replace the buildings that were destroyed.
Thanks for the post,
Craig
Re: Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster
Posted by:
Rustymuscle
(---.lightspeed.elgnil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: July 17, 2012 05:49PM
If you search the Facebook Forgotten Chicago group, you will find several photos of the accident posted....and discussed. I would post the photos here, but it takes a bit of time. Just go to FB FC group and type in green hornet, should bring up several photos.
Re: Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster
Posted by:
chicagophile
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: July 17, 2012 09:39PM
Thanks for the post, rustymuscle.
Unfortunately, most of the sites out there contain badly flawed information, photos notwithstanding.
You can view more photos of the accident at my website:
http://www.craigallencleve.com,
which also contains more factual information not included in my original post.
I've heard a lot of myths about the accident while doing my research. Some of the most popular ones include:
1. The streetcar struck one of the two large tanks that the truck was hauling;
2. The death toll was over 100;
3. The accident was the reason that the streetcars were gone by 1958.
None of that is true.
Most folks who have taken time to write about the accident have read the first couple of days of newspaper coverage after the accident and stopped there. Many of the early reports were based on hearsay and faulty information.
I based my book on information taken from the Coroner's Inquest and from interviews of actual living survivors and eyewitnesses.
I'd still love to hear from folks out there that have some family lore to share: a family member or friend who was there that day; a story related to the accident that has passed through the generations.
Looking forward to them,
Craig
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/18/2012 03:53PM by chicagophile.
Unfortunately, most of the sites out there contain badly flawed information, photos notwithstanding.
You can view more photos of the accident at my website:
http://www.craigallencleve.com,
which also contains more factual information not included in my original post.
I've heard a lot of myths about the accident while doing my research. Some of the most popular ones include:
1. The streetcar struck one of the two large tanks that the truck was hauling;
2. The death toll was over 100;
3. The accident was the reason that the streetcars were gone by 1958.
None of that is true.
Most folks who have taken time to write about the accident have read the first couple of days of newspaper coverage after the accident and stopped there. Many of the early reports were based on hearsay and faulty information.
I based my book on information taken from the Coroner's Inquest and from interviews of actual living survivors and eyewitnesses.
I'd still love to hear from folks out there that have some family lore to share: a family member or friend who was there that day; a story related to the accident that has passed through the generations.
Looking forward to them,
Craig
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/18/2012 03:53PM by chicagophile.
Re: Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster
Posted by:
chicagophile
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: July 19, 2012 10:56AM
I had the great privilege of being interviewed earlier this year by the Tribune's Rick Kogan on his [i]The Sunday Papers[/i] program on WGN Radio.
A podcast of the interview from May 20th is available here:
http://www.wgnradio.com/shows/sundaypapers/wgnam-kogan-120520-craig-cleve-green-hornet-streetcar-disaster,0,6263315.mp3file
Enjoy,
Craig
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/19/2012 10:58AM by chicagophile.
A podcast of the interview from May 20th is available here:
http://www.wgnradio.com/shows/sundaypapers/wgnam-kogan-120520-craig-cleve-green-hornet-streetcar-disaster,0,6263315.mp3file
Enjoy,
Craig
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/19/2012 10:58AM by chicagophile.
Re: Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster
Posted by:
Rustymuscle
(---.lightspeed.elgnil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: July 20, 2012 07:33PM
The photos at the FB Forgotten Chicago site may be of some help. There are some good historians there too, I would check it out.
Re: Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster
Posted by:
chicagophile
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: July 24, 2012 03:46PM
Thanks for the tip, rustymuscle. I've added four photos related to the accident to the Forgotten Chicago FB group.
Re: Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster
Posted by:
ThenNowFuture
(---.chi.clearwire-wmx.net)
Date: July 27, 2012 10:44AM
My father, as a young man, drove a wrecker and responded to this horror. He talked about it every-so-often.
Re: Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster
Posted by:
chicagophile
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: July 27, 2012 03:25PM
I wonder if your dad was the guy who hauled the streetcar to the carbarn at
77th and Vincennes? Or maybe he pulled the gasoline out of the street and into the turnaround?
77th and Vincennes? Or maybe he pulled the gasoline out of the street and into the turnaround?
Re: Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster
Posted by:
ThenNowFuture
(---.chi.clearwire-wmx.net)
Date: July 28, 2012 01:42AM
My dad never mentioned what exactly he did there, but I don't think he did any of the actions you mentioned. I think he moved some of the autos. I think he would have elaborated if otherwise.
Re: Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster
Posted by:
chicagophile
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: July 28, 2012 08:12PM
Yet another casualty of the accident. Things happened so fast that car owners who had parked their cars on the east side of State didn't have time to move them. The gasoline flowing from the damaged tank followed the path of least resistance, pooled in the gutters, and began to flow south toward the viaduct.
At least a half dozen cars caught fire quickly, and their gas tanks blew. The book "Chicago: City on the Move" has a neat photo of the day after the accident. It takes up two pages and shows CTA tower trucks and other vehicles restoring normalcy to the street, be it hanging overhead wires or removing damaged vehicles. Wonder if your dad was somewhere in the shot.
At least a half dozen cars caught fire quickly, and their gas tanks blew. The book "Chicago: City on the Move" has a neat photo of the day after the accident. It takes up two pages and shows CTA tower trucks and other vehicles restoring normalcy to the street, be it hanging overhead wires or removing damaged vehicles. Wonder if your dad was somewhere in the shot.
Re: Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster
Posted by:
tomc
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: December 16, 2012 01:43AM
yes, I remember when it happened. I was standing on the corner of Marquette Road 66th Street) and Ingleside Ave. I looked West and saw a large column of black smoke.The next day when I went to school(Mountt Carmel) the instructor would not let us talk about it.The newsewspapers of the day were quite graphic. They showed the bodies all burned and charred and jamed inside and I especially remember the motoman's photo. He was shown sitting in his seat and you could see the bone of his arm reaching out. The cause was that a lazy switchman put a bolt in the track to keep it open.When he saw the street car coming he suddenly realized the bolt was still in the track. Meanwhile the streetcar continued on at top speed thinking he was going to go straight and then suddenly "whipped" into the gas truck. To block the track with a bolt was common pratice in those days, but you had to know what you were doing. I often wondered if that guy slept at nights. TomC
Re: Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster
Posted by:
chicagophile
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: December 23, 2012 08:43PM
You're right, Tom. "Plugging the switch", as it was called, was common practice among flaggers. It saved them the time of bending over and pulling up on the switch handle every time a streetcar approached a turnaround. It was also officially frowned upon by the CTA. As you imply, if the motorman wasn't paying attention and went through a switch at full tilt, bad things could -- and did -- happen. Had the switch NOT been plugged, NO ONE would have died that day.
I find it interesting that your teacher at MC wouldn't let you talk about it the next day. Considering the events in Sandy Hook last week, things sure have changed.
I find it interesting that your teacher at MC wouldn't let you talk about it the next day. Considering the events in Sandy Hook last week, things sure have changed.
Re: Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster
Posted by:
robspost
(---.sd.sd.cox.net)
Date: January 31, 2014 04:33PM
The switch was "plugged" because all south-bound route 36 cars were being short-turned at this loop one block north of 63rd street. The loop was the temporary southern terminus for rt. 36 as the underpass on State St. just south of 63rd was flooded. Plowing through the flooded underpass would surely have shorted out the motors or worse. The responsibilty for this tragedy was on the motorman first for going too fast as he approached the turn-out, in approaching slowly he should have readily observed that the switch-point was not set for going straight ahead. As all southbound rt.36 cars were being short-turned here temporarily, from the flagger's perspective it made sense to plug the switch, even though the practice was"frowned" upon (one of those chance decisions where one thinks everyone does it and nothing bad will happen). As I see it this placed a secondary responsibility on the flagman to make very sure that his signals were seen. Apparently the motorman was distracted or what have you by something for him not to observe the switch setting or respond to the flagger.
Touching on one other factor is a car safety aspect, ironically the bars on the windows were a safety feature so passengers, especially children, could not stick their heads or limbs outside the windows, especially from the windows on the left side of the car (as looking forward) because of the narrow devil-strips between parallel tracks. The devil-strips on Chicago trackage were narrower then many other systems - so narrow in fact that when Chicago Surface Lines engineering team originally ordered their first-generation PCC cars, they specified cars that were 4'5"longer and 5" wider than "standard" off the shelf PCCs then being built for Brooklyn, N.Y., Chicago PCCs were engineered and counter-weighted to be offset mounted on its trucks from the cars-centerline, with the cars right side (as facing forward) overhanging the track-centerline by three inches more than the left side, this was to allow for approximately the same passing distance between the PCCs as between narrower standard cars. As the PCCs were single ended, unlike most of CSL's older cars, the PCCs would always travel with the left sides to the devil-strips.
Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/31/2014 06:30PM by robspost.
Touching on one other factor is a car safety aspect, ironically the bars on the windows were a safety feature so passengers, especially children, could not stick their heads or limbs outside the windows, especially from the windows on the left side of the car (as looking forward) because of the narrow devil-strips between parallel tracks. The devil-strips on Chicago trackage were narrower then many other systems - so narrow in fact that when Chicago Surface Lines engineering team originally ordered their first-generation PCC cars, they specified cars that were 4'5"longer and 5" wider than "standard" off the shelf PCCs then being built for Brooklyn, N.Y., Chicago PCCs were engineered and counter-weighted to be offset mounted on its trucks from the cars-centerline, with the cars right side (as facing forward) overhanging the track-centerline by three inches more than the left side, this was to allow for approximately the same passing distance between the PCCs as between narrower standard cars. As the PCCs were single ended, unlike most of CSL's older cars, the PCCs would always travel with the left sides to the devil-strips.
Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/31/2014 06:30PM by robspost.
