by 130MM
Andy M wrote:I hope I'm not posting a topic in the wrong sub-forum. My apologies if I have.Often, but i don't know if it was always, the ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission) would investigate boiler explosions.
I'm working on a family history. I believe that in the very early twentieth-century my great-grandfather worked on a railroad as either a conductor or a fireman. (I only state what I believe to be true as I am not knowledgeable about railroads.) I say this because I was told that he died on the job when the boiler of the engine exploded and blew him off the engine and onto some rocks near the rail bed. It was said that he had extreme burns, but I don't know if he died from the burns or other traumatic injuries. This incident, I believe, happened either in east Tennessee, southwest Virginia, or western North Carolina. My great-grandfather's name was MacEwen "Mack" Vance. His wife's maiden name was Mary Beaver (here come the jokes), and she lived on to re-marry at least one after his death.
Is there some kind of database (railroad-related or any other kind) out there where I can find out the facts and circumstances of his death? I know that the information that I've shared is small, but that's all that I can provide.
Try this:
http://www.archives.gov/research/guide- ... 4.html#top
DAW