Deb Malewski
Contributing Writer
Trains were a major form of transportation in this area in the 1940s. The Eaton Rapids New York Central train depot was a busy place and was/is still located on Hall Street, although it is no longer in operation. There was a second depot on Line Street which was in use until about 1929.
On June 30, 1945, a head-on collision of two Michigan Central trains occurred at Eaton Rapids and resulted in the death of two people. The crash involved a freight train and a passenger train. Killed were Engineer David Greer and Brakeman R. O. Rhoades of the freight train, both from Grand Rapids. Rhoades was thrown to the ground and crushed under the coal car. Howard Hotchkiss, fireman, was thrown clear of the wreckage and miraculously escaped death.
No. 101, a westbound first-class passenger train was en route from Jackson to Grand Rapids. It held almost 175 persons in eight cars, many that were headed for vacation in west Michigan. The train made a stop at Rives Junction and then departed about 3 a.m., arriving at Eaton Rapids about 3:22 a.m. where it stopped and waited for an oncoming train to pass. According to the report from the Interstate Commerce Commission, “The engine was standing 1,521 feet east of the west siding switch and 155 feet east of the manual block signal, which displayed ‘stop’. About 8 minutes later the engine was struck by Extra 2038 East.”
Extra 2038 East was a freight train, with a locomotive, 48 cars, and a caboose.
Both trains had received an order establishing Eaton Rapids as a meeting point. No. 101, the passenger train, arrived at the station and stopped, its headlight dimmed. There was a manual block displaying stop in each direction as the trains approached.
The first that No. 101 knew that the freight train had failed to enter the siding, taking it off the main track, was when they saw the headlight coming towards them about 500’ away. The freight train was traveling about 45 mph, although the crew later claimed it was only going about 15 mph and that the train’s brakes had failed to hold.
The freight train plowed into the passenger train, derailing their engine and coal tender, and destroying those cars plus four boxcars. The force of the impact sent the passenger train backward about 50 feet.
The conductor of the passenger train, Phillip J. LeMiere, told the State Journal that the freight train had orders to meet his train at Eaton Rapids. “Instead,” he said, “it came right down the mainline and crashed into us.” LeMiere suffered a broken collar bone.
Ambulances were called to the scene from Lansing, Jackson, Eaton Rapids, Charlotte, Vermontville, and Nashville. Passengers were thrown from their seats and berths, and luggage tumbled from the racks above onto their heads. Victims were taken to the Stimson Hospital, located only three blocks from the wreck. Although some had bruises and broken bones, no one was in critical condition.
Human error, a failure to obey the meet order, was determined to be the cause of the crash by government officials.
