While I am not sure how to go about finding significant items for this particular date in history, I remember a time when a lot of people were playing the game “Trivial Pursuit”. I have often thought that it would be fun to create a game like this just for us railroad enthusiasts. Has anyone else out there had basically the same thought??
I was thinking about this, this morning. I think that more than likely this is a typo on the part of the person who authored the web site where I had gotten the information from. Add a 0 to 15 and presto! You have 150.
I beleive in there attempt to stop the train they caused a catastrophic train wreck that resulted in a huge loss of life. Not hard to do with wooden coaches, telescoping and the ensuing fires.
I am glad you brought this up, it is a possibility that I didn’t even think of. And it certainly is plausible, considering that it would have happened during the Civil War era or shortly thereafter.
Here is a link that staes on September 27th, 1864 " The James Gang suprise attack a train. 150 killed." From the NHRS i.e. National Railway Historical Society. This act and the national attention it drew was the begining of the end for whatever pouplar support the James Gang enjoyed. http://avenue.org/nrhs/histsep.htm
I, too, am doubtful about this information, no matter where it’s posted. First off, at that point in time there wasn’t any “James” gang. I believe Jesse was serving with Quantrill, and Frank may not have been active in the partisan forces, by then. Secondly, I could understand Quantrill attacking a Union army train but I would assume his tactic would be “wrecking” it, rather than engaging in a firefight with the occupants(they could have too much cover from the cars). I find it difficult to believe that at the speeds involved you would have that many casualties, umless if fell off a mountainside that would be difficult to find in Missouri or Kansas.
My source of information is www.Railwaystation.com . I suspect that a lot of the information in this web site is wrong. And I wish I knew of another online source that I could use to verify a lot of what I am coming up with. If anyone has any suggestions, I will certainly try them.
As for a source, you’ve got the best possible source right here, with a lot of well-informed correspondents, experienced railroaders, and historians. No malice in corrections–just a desire to set the records straight whenever possible.
Actually, Quantrill’s Raiders, the renegade Confederate gang that Jesse James rode with during the Civil War, ransacked Lawrence, Kansas, killing 150 people. I don’t think a train was involved.