Leonard engineer 1900 s

I am trying to locate place to get my grand fathers work and death on train Hudson area. He died about 1914/15. Was engineer on New York central Hudson area. Was told put head out window and head was hit by mail hook something coming into depot. Name Charles Sumner Leonard Cannot find any date of death obit anyone have ideas

Main thing maybe someone can help by telling me who do I contact for old employees in the early 1900's on the New York Central Hudson river line??? Maybe would have had date of employment and termination??? Please any help appreciated

Try the US Dept of Transportation web site: http://specialcollection.dotlibrary.dot.gov" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. it may help, though it is for 1911-1993 rr accidents, and not all accidents are here.
I worked the PC/CR/Amk Hudson Div from the early 70's to my retirement in 2010, don't recall any old timers (my experience with 1938 men onward) taliking about this particular incident at Hudson. The last one I heard about (from the men involved:signal dept/transportation), occurred in the early 60's when the local frt left the yard to ML switch open at MP 113 (south end of Hudson Yd) and a pax train slammed through the switch and smashed into the local's caboose, I don't recall any deaths, but I know one crewman lost his leg (my wife worked with his wife later with NYS state).
Good luck.

You can try but I'd be very surprised if that site had anything on this incident. The government only got involved in significant wrecks. While no less tragic, back in those days one employee getting killed was taken as routine and no big deal. It happened day in and day out and was considered a part of the job. It may have made the local newspaper but I doubt there was any .gov report, and railroad records from back then seem to be non-existent.

At places where fast trains did not stop, there was a device to which a canvas mail sack could be fastened right near the track. The mail car had an arm which could be extended and it would scoop the mail sack off the crane as the train flew by. It is quite possible that if he was leaning out far enough he could have hit his head on one. Although if he was the engineer, I doubt anybody TOLD him to stick his head out, he probably did so as a matter of routine, looking his train over, and forgot where he was in relation to the obstruction.

Jim - any further details on that incident in the 60's at Hudson Yard?

Thank you both for giving a reply to my questions on my grandfather, appreciate it. I know as you said not a big thing compared to major train accident, thought might be records of some kind. Have continued to go through old newspapers in NY for any kind of article so far just of letters of administration to my grandmother June 22, 1914 so would have happened some time in say late May or June.

I am trying every venue that might be able to give some infomation, he is such a mystery, just disappeared off the earth after that no obit etc as if never exhisted only from census 1910 to 1915 where think first list my grandmother as head of house widow.

Again thanks for replying have a great day! Bernadette

BR&P, sorry don't have anymore info on that wreck at Hudson, NY that occurred in the mid 60's. The people I worked with, who told me of the wreck, are sad to say, all gone now. The area where it happened was at the south end of Hudson yard, with a switch from the yard (east/land side) that came out onto TK 1, then about 30-40 feet south of that was a "hand-thrown" crossover switch from TK 1 to TK 2. The signal system in place at that time on Hudson Div (upper) was timetable,train orders and Automatic Block Signals (with track side speed control), directional "running" (TK1 west/TK2 east).
The crewman who lost his leg, when I met him, did not talk about it, nor did I bring it up.

Thanks anyway, Jim. Worth asking.

My biggest regret of my entire working career is that I did not, back when I started out, take the time to ask the old timers about their early days and experiences. Some of those guys would have started in the 20's or even late teens, and would have provided enough material for many books if I had been smart enough to care. But when you are a kid yourself, you don't see things in those terms.

Yeah same here, BR&P,...some of the old timers I worked with were late 1929 to 1939 men, who talked about it if you asked, but a lot of them were layed off in the Depression too. Now the '40,'41, and '42 men, they talked about the old days and working (serving) in the WWII Railway Battalions around the world! What stories! Always great to listen to them in the caboose and/or head end on long days.
Of course I always heard about the "old days" at home too, I come from a long line of NYC (PC) men going all the way back to my great grandfather (mother's side) to my father, uncle and 2 grandfathers (my brother and I were PC).

Wreck at Hudson.

"The last one I heard about (from the men involved:signal dept/transportation), occurred in the early 60's when the local frt left the yard to ML switch open at MP 113 (south end of Hudson Yd) and a pax train slammed through the switch and smashed into the local's caboose, I don't recall any deaths, but I know one crewman lost his leg (my wife worked with his wife later with NYS state)."

Cannot find my file on this at the moment but what happened is that the dispatcher forgot about No. 69 Friday only and gave the yard job permission to cross over from the east to west yard. At that time the crossover switches did not have time locks. Conductor was killed. This was down at old Tower 82 which I worked at in the late 50's and early 60's. 82 was closed in 1963 and the wreck happened not long after as I recall. No. 69 got by the last automatic signal before the crossover switch was thrown. When the yard job saw No. 69 it was too late to get the switch thrown back.

Thanks Jack!

Human error will never be 100% eliminated. As long as there are people, we will forget, misjudge and screw up. Sadly, the results are sometimes tragic.

I presume that was one of the old wooden cabooses - no doubt reduced to kindling wood.