On the morning of July 11, 1893, a northbound Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee freight train stopped at the station at Fourth Street, just east of Washington Avenue in Royal Oak. The engineer directed his fireman to move the train into a railroad siding or (sidetrack) so that a soon-to-arrive Detroit-bound suburban passenger train could pass. Assuming the fireman would do as he was told, the engineer walked to a nearby lunchroom for a glass of milk.

To get the train clear of the switch, the fireman had to run the train a short distance up the track and then put the engine in reverse to back into the siding. However, for a reason unknown, the fireman continued up the line. When the engineer was informed that the fireman did not follow his orders, he bolted from the lunchroom, ran after the slowly moving train, and managed to board the train’s last car. After climbing the car’s ladder, he began running on top of the cars toward the locomotive, taking the time, as he went, to set the hand brake on each car.

As the train approached the curve where the tracks begin to parallel Woodward Avenue (near the present-day Royal Oak Ford dealership), the fireman spotted the oncoming Detroit-bound passenger train and jumped from the moving train. Shortly thereafter, the engineer reached the locomotive, threw the engine into reverse and jumped from the train.

Upon spotting the oncoming freight train, the passenger train’s engineer set the airbrakes on his train, put the locomotive in reverse and then, along with his fireman, jumped from their train. The two locomotives collided at low speed, and while both were extensively damaged, there were no deaths or significant injuries.

While the accident was probably investigated, no follow-up newspaper accounts clarified precisely what happened.

There were two news accounts, one in The Evening News (now The Detroit News) and another in the Detroit Free Press. Both differ in reporting which train was driven by a John Stewart. The Evening News reported that Stewart was the passenger train’s engineer while the Free Press reported that he was the freight train’s engineer.

Nearly three years later, on January 25, 1896, The Pontiac Gazette reported John Stewart was identified as the engineer in another train incident on January 22. The news article was about a court case and said Stewart was the engineer of a seven-car passenger train that killed Edward Stevens, a cattleman, who was crossing the track in Drayton Plains. The Gazette reported that Stevens, whose view was obstructed by other freight cars, drove his rig with his horse into the path of the oncoming train. The train, “running 50 miles an hour, struck the rig, completely demolishing the road wagon and drawing it and poor Stevens under the wheels.” The headline said he was “CUT TO PIECES.” The horse survived.

As engineers assigned to passenger trains did not usually operate freight trains, it can be concluded that Stewart was the engineer of the passenger train that collided with the freight train in Royal Oak on July 11, 1893.


Please visit and support the Royal Oak Historical Museum at 1411 W. Webster Road in Royal Oak. For more information visit royaloakhistoricalsociety.com or call 248-439-1501. Hours are 1-4 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.


ALL ABOARD

The Royal Oak Historical Museum’s upcoming exhibit in June and July will be on the era of railroads in Royal Oak and the region, and will feature historical photographs and stories about the railroad and its impact on the growth of the city and the area.


HISTORY LESSONS

The Royal Oak Historical Society hosts monthly speakers on the history of Royal Oak on the second Friday of every month. Tickets are $15 and are limited to 50 people. Call (248) 439-1501 or visit royaloakhistoricalsociety.com.