![]() In preparation for the crash, a 500 man crew had constructed a four-mile spur and piped water from two water wells as well as five tank cars to supply drinking water for the spectators. The location was given the “temporary” town name of Crush in honor of the promoter. It didn’t take long for the news media to pick up on the plan and an estimated 40,000 people showed up to view the spectacle, many of whom had purchased tickets on “The Katy” and arrived from all over the state. The location for the “disaster” would be just north of Waco, a few miles south of the town of West, and it would take place on September 15, 1896. The main requirement was that each one be able to attain a speed of 60 miles per hour. All he needed from “The Katy” were two obsolete locomotives and a few stock cars. ![]() Railroad officials were skeptical but eventually gave the nod to Crush who went to work on the idea. So, he proposed a plan to stage a head-on collision between two locomotives and invite the public to witness the event! In response to the sagging economy and the competition in the industry, a ticket agent named William George Crush devised a plan to create a renewed interest in the railroad and to boost ticket sales.Ĭrush was a keen observer of human nature and noticed that people of the time had a morbid fascination with train wrecks. The nation was in the midst of an economic depression partly due to railroad overbuilding and shaky financing which resulted in a series of bank failures as well. The year was 1896 and the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, popularly known as “The Katy,” was going through some tough times.
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