Help me reunite my father in law with the train that hit him

My father in law was struck by a locomotive, 99% sure this was on the Erie line in/near Scranton, when he was only a few years old. Probably very lucky to be alive, he wandered out of the yard and right into the path of an oncoming train.

Is there any way to confirm this? It would have been April/May/June of 1951 or '52. He thinks there was a newspaper article done, but can't say for sure. He does know there was a small payout from the line for his suffering.

DM me for his name and a specific location if you think you can help. Last time he mentioned the incident, I asked how he'd feel if the train was still out there, and if he would want to go see it. Maybe he would give it a good kick across the cow catcher. Lol. I think it's a pretty good human interest story.

Montclaire wrote:Is there any way to confirm this? It would have been April/May/June of 1951 or '52. He thinks there was a newspaper article done, but can't say for sure.

Local library newspaper archive is the way to go.

He does know there was a small payout from the line for his suffering. PM me for his name and a specific location if you think you can help. Last time he mentioned the incident, I asked how he'd feel if the train was still out there, and if he would want to go see it. Maybe he would give it a good kick across the cow catcher.

Let me get this straight: He walked into the path of a train, and the railroad paid him? And now he wants mock "revenge" on the train that "did him wrong?"

There's a very high chance that whatever locomotive struck him has long since been scrapped.

-otto-

Haha, well that's one way to put it. I think they paid him, his family anyway, for probably some sort of negligence (missing fence section, etc.) or just because they felt bad about the incident. I know it was not a large sum by any means. I think he also said that the engineer resigned afterward. He was only 2 or 3 years old at the time, it's not like he was 10 or 12. His interest is in finding out more information. Both of his parents passed on early so he has no one to ask.

Finding the train that actually hit him, well that was my idea, and I'm not even sure he would want to see it when it came down to it. I know the odds are slim to none of it still being out there, but you never know until you ask. As far as the newspaper archives, yeah, that's definately a source, but if there's any way to avoid reading through 180 or so papers on microfilm, I'd welcome it.

Depending on the newspaper in question, the pertinent articles may be on line.

I was looking for a rather obscure fact (not train related) and a Google News search came up with about a dozen entries for it available via a pay to read service. I was not that interested and I had the fact I wanted from the snippet that was made available outside the paywall, so I stopped there.

The paper in question is not online, to the best of my knowledge. Microfilm reels are indeed available at the local library though. There is an archive office at the newspaper but I have gotten no response from them on an email request I sent, and I have called down on other matters only to be referred to the public library. I know for a fact that they do have a 'master index' which can look up nearly any article published by them, going back decades and decades, by name. However, they seem to pick and choose who they allow to access this information. At least if I had the month or even the year it would be much less of a search, but it's looking like I'm going to be spending a couple months at the library. Lol

I have access to NY Times, maybe I can find it

Adam, I'll send you a DM with the info. I went through June and May of 1952 on the local reels on Friday after work, no luck yet.

Just wanted to post an update, I found a follow up article, unfortunately the paper from the intial incident was missing from the microfilm reels. There is no mention of the number of the engine, only that it was an Erie Diesel. The engineer was charged with 'assault and battery with a locomotive.' It seems as though there was a counter-charge of trespassing, which was then settled out of court. I'm going to try the local courts to see if there is any record of the charges or a suit, but outside of that, I don't know how I'm going to find the original article.

I will update if I find anything further

Just a thought, are there log books that have been preserved? I know the incident happened at 6:30pm on Saturday, September 1st, 1951.