-- John Fierst
Shepherd's Bizarre Log Train Calamity
May 9, 1891
BY HUDSON KEENAN
May 9, 1891
BY HUDSON KEENAN
Coe Township in the southeastern corner of Isabella County was the first township to be organized in the county, in 1855. For governmental purposes it was attached to Midland County for over a decade awaiting settlement of adjacent areas and the organization of Isabella Co. From the beginning the township was recognized for its good farming land and stands of hardwoods. Now in the mid 1880's the economic opportunities of the area broadened in a profound manner. The Toledo, Ann Arbor and Northern Railroad was pushing its way northwestward on a route that would eventually end in Frankfort on Lake Michigan. Salt River had given way to the village of Shepherd located on the new railroad with a station and now a developing village.
Thirty year old Charles Walling had seen these changes and being young and energetic saw a way to make some money in this changing environment. In the early 1890s in central and western Coe Township many stands of high quality hardwood woodlots remained. The papers were full of advertisements for timber for mills manufacturing everything from clothes pins to furniture during those years. An Owosso furniture firm was desirous of obtaining some good saw logs for delivery to its factory. Walling, raised in the Shepherd area, was familiar with Coe Township people, lands and farms. Consequentially he had taken a contract to procure the wanted timber during the winter of 1890-91. The lumbering was completed and the logs were decked ready to be shipped by rail in the spring as soon as arrangements could be made.
The decked trackside timber was at a site known at the time as "Taylor's Hill" which is 2 ½ miles south of the Shepherd village. Not much of a hill, being a part of the gently undulating Gladwin Moraine, it is now farmland. One can view the location just north of the Coe Road crossing of the railroad. Coe road is also an overpass on the 127 expressway. In addition, it is the high point on the railroad grade between Alma and Shepherd.
Since no siding existed at this location a time had to be found when cars could be loaded on the main line. This being the case, special clearance had to be obtained to set a train on the site. Sunday May 9, 1891 was determined as the best time to load the logs.
Train schedules were arranged to clear the main line of traffic. Accordingly, the Toledo, Ann Arbor and Northern dispatched engine #36 a "ten wheeler" with nineteen flat cars and a caboose.
From all accounts, it is fair to say that the conductor of the train, one Sanford Anway, was not in the best humor. His day had started at 2AM when he and his train crew were dispatched from Owosso.Exactly what time they arrived and started work is not recorded, but it must have been near sunrise. It is known that by 6 PM all but two cars were loaded when it was decided to return to Shepherd for supper. Time was running short for the allotted clearance to be blocking the main line to through traffic.
Walling wanted to finish the job and so on arriving at the station telegraphed the road superintendent, Connors, for permission to return and load the last two cars. His request was honored with the requirement that the job be completed by 9:30 PM. Walling knew that if he didn't get the last two cars he would have to wait at least a week to get clearance to spot two flat cars on the site not to mention the additional expense.
Conductor Anway was tired and let Walling know he was not in favor of going back to load two more cars. Nevertheless he proceeded to the Shepherd depot with the entire train. Next he confirmed the order and requested protection for his train. He was told he needed no protection and further he could leave his loaded cars on the main line within switch limits of the village and thus retain possession of the track.
So engine 36 proceeded to move the loaded cars to the north of Wright Avenue and past the depot in Shepherd. Rear brakeman Charles Carr separated the caboose and 15 loaded cars from the four empty flats. The station agent, watching the proceedings, pointed out to conductor Anway that his train extended beyond the north switch limits of the village by about five cars. He then suggested they be moved within switch limits. Amway took a stem look at the agent. The Mt. Pleasant Enterprise reported his reply; "With an oath he declined to do so and remarked they could run into them if they wanted to."
Charlie Walling's day wasn't getting any better either as he was busy rounding up some additional men to finish loading logs on the flats. Most of the original crew who had worked through the long day refused to go back, instead going their separate ways. In securing more help he approached a number of young men about the depot and offered them 50 cents if they would go and help load the final cars. In this he succeeded. The assembled crew boarded the waiting flats and with a short blast of the whistle, steamed back south to Taylor's Hill.
Our story now turns to the north fifteen miles. Engineer Jim Leathers was on the downgrade coming into Mt. Pleasant from Rosebush. His relatively new engine was the common American type (4-4-0). Trailing behind it as it approached the depot in Mt. Pleasant were 15 flats of logs. The station operator passed up orders to proceed to Shepherd, the time was just after 9 PM.
How fast engine #20 was going as it approached Shepherd is controversial. Some residents of the village said he was going faster than most freights. As many a reader may know the tracks curve from southeast to south as one approaches the north edge of Shepherd. Rounding the curve Leathers received a terrible fright that made his heart jump. At about two train lengths ahead stood the parked log train, previously mentioned. There it was, dead ahead on the main track, its caboose lights glowing in the gathering darkness. What Leathers did next is not all together clear. The Alma Record and the Mt. Pleasant Enterprise give conflicting reports of the events which followed, but the results were the same.
He whistled for the brakes and reversed his engine, but time, distance, grade and momentum were against him. On down the tracks slid #20 until contact was made with the standing caboose. The engine pulverized the wooden caboose to splinters as it worked its way to the last log car which it derailed, sending logs in every direction. The engine then rolled into the ditch, badly damaged. The Alma paper reported that although timbers crashed through the cab, Leathers held to his lever and emerged from the debris without a scratch. The Mt. Pleasant paper reported that, when he could see he could not check his speed, Leathers and his fireman jumped before impact. What they did agree on is that no one sustained a major injury.
But now the story goes on—
Unfortunately, Charles Carr, rear brakeman on the crew of engine 36, for whatever reason, had not set brakes on the loaded log flat cars left at the depot. The impact of train 20 into the caboose had the immediate effect of transferring energy to those standing log flat cars. The thirteen remaining loaded flats of logs started rolling south out of the village on a down grade toward the Little Salt River with ever increasing speed. No mention is made of anyone recognizing at the time the potential disaster these free rolling cars might present. In any event it was too late—they moved quickly away in the darkness.
While all this was happening in Shepherd several miles south at Taylor's Hill conductor Sanford Anway pulled out his pocket watch. It was just a bit after 9:15 PM and at last the loading portion of the job was complete. The train had four cars, two completely loaded behind the tender, followed by one partially loaded and one empty. Most of the men quickly took positions sitting on logs of the partially loaded flat car. Conductor Anway and brakeman Bert Squires also took positions on one of the flats. The signal was given and the engineer threw the lever in reverse and #36 started, backing into Shepherd.
They had gone but a short distance and the train rapidly picked up speed backing through the darkness to join the existing loaded cars of earlier in the day. Walling told Anway that it was not safe to run so fast. That was the wrong thing to say to Conductor Sanford Anway at this point in the day. It was later reported that he turned to Walling and said "Go to Hell, I'm running this train!"
Rolling towards them through the darkness and approaching the river were the impacted log cars from the Shepherd depot. Probably no more than three to four minutes elapsed between the first accident and the second which was about to occur.
It is doubtful if anyone on those flat cars had more than an instant of warning before the impact. Just as the backing train was approaching the Little Salt River the rolling flat cars reached the bridge. The collision was just south of the bridge, the location was in sight of "Kennedy's Corners," today the junction of Pleasant Valley and Shepherd roads. The impact resulted in logs and men flying in all directions. The leading empty flat car was broken in the middle, derailed and slammed into the following partially loaded car with persons aboard. The two fully loaded cars ended up in a pool of water just south of the bridge on the flood plain.
How long it was before outside help arrived in not clear. The engineer and fireman on engine 36 were not injured in the least, being furthest from the impact and protected by the tender as they were backing up on the return trip. Local citizen Ed Kelly drove by shortly after the collision and seeing the carnage ran his horses as fast as possible to Shepherd a mile away for help.
The Shepherd News related that it was but a few moments before the word of the catastrophe had spread over he the entire village. Fire and church bells were rung for the purpose of arousing the populace. The paper reported 200 people were at the scene of the wreck to render assistance as was necessary.
Groups of men arrived on the river flood plain with lanterns. Mostly by brute force they attempted to unscramble the mess. The logs had exacted a toll of death and injury. Three men, all in their twenties, were instantly killed by the crush of logs. They were Zeb Bigelow, Sherwood Clark and Clark Struble. Struble, married and the father of two children, required two hours of continuous work to remove his body from the debris.
Conductor Anway and contractor Wailing were both in the words of one paper "knocked insensible," and for a time it was thought that both would die; however, both were to recover from the experience. The other 12 received an assortment of bruises, lacerations and broken bones. Most of the injured were initially cared for at nearby farm houses. Several days after the Sunday evening wreck, a coroner's jury was convened in Shepherd. They gave their verdict in a long statement blaming Charles Carr, the rear brakeman for negligence and Sanford Anway, the conductor on train 36 with indirect negligence in the death of the three men.
The upshot of the coroner's jury statement was that H.O. Bigelow, father of Zeb Bigelow, one of the three men killed, filed charges of manslaughter against brakeman Carr. Charles Carr was tried in the June 1891 session of the Isabella County Circuit Court. He was acquitted after a two day jury trial. Free Estee, well known local attorney, was appointed in the defense of the accused Charles Carr. He was able to show that the Toledo, Ann Arbor and Northern Railroad work rules for brakeman were such that Carr could not be held liable.
The case faded from the papers with a final note in The Shepherd News They reported the "boys" injured in the accident had settled with T.A.A & N. RR Settlements ranged from George Starr getting $25 to Lewis Cole receiving $75 and two 500 mile tickets on the railroad.
I would suspect people in the Shepherd area talked about the log train calamity for a long time. And—if you are looking at who to blame—well, where would you like to start?