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  • Train wreck: Brendan Kearns and Arthur Foulkes attempt to locate a wrecked locomotive under the bridge because the water levels of the Wabash River are so low.

    MET 080212 TRAIN WRECK.jpg

  • Photo: Brendan Kearns rigs a pole with a still and video camera to a light while attempting to locate a locomotive under a bridge crossing the Wabash River Thursday afternoon.

    MET 080212 TRAIN SEARCH.jpg

  • Search: Brendan Kearns (left) and Tribune-Star reporter Arthur Foulkes uses underwater video and still cameras while attempting to find the locomotives that fell from the bridge over the Wabash River many years ago.

    MET 080212 SEARCH TEAM.jpg

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August 5, 2012

Search for Big Four train rises as river level falls

Arthur Foulkes The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE — It’s difficult to imagine that a peaceful stretch of the Wabash River about a mile north of Fairbanks Park was twice the scene of tragedy and tremendous wreckage more than a century ago.

The second railroad bridge upstream from Fairbanks Park was known as the Big Four Wabash River Bridge. There, in 1892 and in 1900, massive train accidents caused the deaths of two men and sent three locomotives and dozens of train cars plunging into the river.

For several decades, at least one locomotive involved in the crashes remained visible, still in the river, according to Mike McCormick, Vigo County historian. It’s believed that the locomotive rests now below the surface of the water near the Big Four Bridge. As many as two other steam engines may also remain under water in the same area.

On Thursday evening, Brendan Kearns, a river enthusiast, took his motor boat up the river to the Big Four Bridge. In addition to a mapping depth-finder, he brought along two waterproof cameras and a light in the hope of finding one or more of the sunken locomotives.

According to Kearns’ depth-finder, the river becomes very deep — more than 30 feet in places and up to 40 feet at its deepest — near the bridge. However, near the west bank of the river, exactly where a 1900 newspaper drawing indicated a plummeting locomotive entered the Wabash, the river becomes suddenly much more shallow, perhaps indicating something large below the surface.

“That’s metal,” Kearns said using a large magnet on the end of a rope to explore the depths. He also used a long pole to discover what seemed like something large and metallic only a few feet below the water’s surface near one of the bridge’s abutments.

The drought of 2012 has brought the water level of the Wabash to historic lows, revealing many of the river’s secrets. With the newly shallow water, area residents have dusted off rumors of an ancient cannon in the river near the former Fort Harrison site, a cache of Civil War-era weapons downstream from Terre Haute and other sunken “treasures.”

But most interest has been focused on the possibility of uncovering the lost locomotives below the Big Four Bridge.

“I’ve had several people call me about it,” said Kearns, whose knowledge and experience on the river have made him a go-to person for those interested in current conditions of the Wabash.

Despite the cameras and the other equipment Kearns used Thursday, no conclusive proof of the locomotives was uncovered. Nevertheless, something large and metallic seemed to be under his boat. Unfortunately, the water is so milky-brown, it is nearly impossible to see anything in it, even an inch or two below the surface.

The wrecks

In 1892, a speeding locomotive slammed into a parked engine about midway across the long bridge. The impact sent the speeding engine at least two stories into the air, according to McCormick. That accident caused a section of the bridge to collapse and sent both engines and several train cars plunging into the water below.

The impact of that terrifying crash “could be heard for a mile,” the Terre Haute Evening Gazette reported at the time. Engineer Wesley Allison could not be found amid the wreckage. His body was not discovered until the following spring, McCormick said. His was the only death in that accident.

Eight years later, in the dead of winter in 1900, ice in the river pushed so hard against the bridge that the tracks lost their alignment. As a result, an eastbound train traveling only about 10 mph went toppling into the Wabash, followed by 36 rail cars.

In that crash, fireman Dan Ruddell died from burns and other injuries. The train engineer, Harry Adams, told the Terre Haute Evening Gazette how Ruddell shouted, “My God, look out!” when he saw the tracks out of alignment seconds before the train plunged into the icy water below.

“The next thing I knew, I felt the cold water and found myself paddling around in the water,” Adams told the newspaper. “I heard Ruddell groaning and called to him. He said that he was [trapped] and burning. He told me to tell his wife and children that his last thoughts were of them, and I promised him I would.”

Adams suffered only minor injuries in the accident. Ruddell, who lived in Indianapolis with his family, died that night in St. Anthony’s Hospital, about one hour before his wife could make it to the hospital to be at his side, the newspaper reported.

The Big Four Bridge, despite its well-worn appearance, is still used for rail traffic today. The depth of the water near the bridge, in stark contrast to much of the rest of the rain-starved river, makes it possible something as large as a locomotive, or even three locomotives, lurks below the surface. If somehow recovered, the century-old hauler of freight might pull us all back into Terre Haute’s vibrant rail history.

Reporter Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.

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