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| Re: Tuscarora Almanac for May 25 (1476421) | |||
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Re: Tuscarora Almanac for May 25 |
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Posted by Steve B-8AVEXP on Fri May 25 20:27:02 2018, in response to Tuscarora Almanac for May 25, posted by IRTRedbirdR33 on Fri May 25 09:35:33 2018. This day will live in infamy in Chicago. For it was on this date in 1950 that Green Hornet 7078 split a switch at 62nd Place and State St. and slammed into a gasoline truck heading in the opposite direction. The resulting inferno torched the streetcar and 33 people were killed. Heavy rains that day caused flooding of an underpass just south of 63rd St., just to the north of where the onramps to the Skyway are now. All streetcars used a turnaround loop at 62nd Place to turn around and head north. Crews had nearly finished pumping out the water from the underpass by the time 7078 approached and supposedly the motorman, who perished in the collision, was told he'd be going straight on through and either didn't see or ignored the flagman a block north of the turnaround. The switch to 62nd Place had been plugged in the open position instead of being closed after each car moved to the loop. The motorman was unaware of this and was traveling at an estimated 35 mph when 7078 went through the open switch. Although the conductor managed to release the rear doors after the car derailed, the crush of people was so great that the doors were forced shut after a handful of people managed to escape through them. There was no emergency release feature at the rear doors, but there was a release at the center doors and one quick-thinking 14-year-old girl pulled the release and was able to escape with just a broken finger. |
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