Hello, my name is Betsy Thorpe. I love History. I tell Stories. For almost 20 years, I have waitressed at America's Dinner Table (Shoney's). Can I properly tell this story? I hope so.

The tale of Dutchman's Curve has quietly circulated for almost 90 years, kept alive by others who love history and tell stories.

Dutchman's Curve is the site of the deadliest train wreck in the 175 years of U.S. passenger train history.

I don't know for certain how many died that day.It was more than one hundred people,likely many more.

The July 9, 1918 Nashville train wreck and its sorrowful aftermath has captured my imagination, gripped my soul and filled my heart.

I wander through the mists of time, chasing ghosts, looking for clues and hoping to capture elusive truths. I am on a quest to unravel the threads of history and create a tapestry acknowledging the lives of those riding the rails the day the Hand of Fate reached down and blew the whistle signaling Disaster.

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Train Wreck at Dutchman's Curve, West Nashville, Tennessee July 9, 1918
By Betsy Thorpe

The worst passenger train accident in U.S. history occurred in a rural corn field three miles west of downtown Nashville on the morning of July 9,1918. Two passenger trains on the Nashville Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway collided head on at a section of tracks known as Dutchman's Curve. Researchers are still trying to tally the actual death toll. Official reports record 101 deaths; however that number has been in dispute since 1918.

An inbound train from Memphis collided with an outbound train from Nashville. Veteran engineers William Lloyd and David Kennedy were killed instantly. Engineer Kennedy had time to pull his emergency brake, Engineer Lloyd did not.

In spite of his reputation as a cautious and careful engineer the responsibility for the accident has been placed on Mr. Kennedy. However a series of unfortunate circumstances were at play that resulted in the tragic event.

The United States Railroad Authority took control of U.S.rail service in March of 1918 and new schedules were implemented. Wartime travel required more trains to be on the move. Much of the workforce was away at war and many inexperienced rail workers were on duty. Trains were overcrowded. Wooden cars were in use. Jim Crow laws were in effect.

A number of factors contributed to this accident. The change of schedules and the increase in traffic caused confusion for experienced engineers and their crew. Inexperienced personnel compounded the problem. The morning of the accident a local switch engine was misidentified as the arriving Memphis to Nashville train,signals that should have held the Memphis bound train at the New Shops near Centennial Park were either misunderstood or ignored. Both trains were running late. Overcrowding on the Memphis bound train caused Conductor Eubanks to be in the cars taking tickets, rather than watching for the superior inbound train to pass. Two steel Pullman cars were on the rear of the inbound to Nashville train, all other cars on both trains were constructed of wood. Near the front of the inbound train behind the boiler and the baggage car, was the Jim Crow car carrying more than a hundred passengers of color.

The head on collision was heard more than two miles away. Residents of West Nashville, Bell Meade, and the West End district of Nashville rushed to the site offering assistance. An African American newspaper, The Chicago Defender reported that local residents gave aid with no regard to race. The trapped and dying could be heard crying for water. Local housewives brought ice. West Nashville bootleggers ignored the "Bone Dry" laws, bringing whiskey to alleviate the pain and fear of the trapped. The Nashville Chapter of the Red Cross responded to their first local disaster.

By late afternoon, wrecking crews cleared the tracks and the night train to Memphis made its scheduled run departing Nashville around 10:00 P.M.

The United States Railroad Authority fearing the public would lose faith in their ability to operate rail service, requested newspapers not write about the tragedy. By July 12, 1918 most newspapers stopped reporting on the accident.

On May 21st 2007, the Metro Historical Commission voted to approve a Metro Historic Marker near Dutchman's Curve. It will be dedicated on July 9th 2008.

On July 9th 2007, descendants of victims, survivors and rescue workers attended a ceremony near Dutchman's Curve marking the 89th anniversary of the accident.

How I arrived at Dutchman's Curve
Submitted by Betsy Thorpe on 18. December 2007 - 9:58.
In 1988 I moved to Nashville from Eugene Oregon with my
husband Peter and our daughter Ruby. History has always
interested me, and living in a city with more than
two centuries of recorded history stimulated my imagination.
We lived on Music Row for over fifteen years.
I discovered local lore and history exploring my neighborhood's past. Hillsboro Village, Belmont Villa, South Street, and Sixteenth Avenue South, appears to be one Nashville locale, but each has it's own unique history and I absorbed them all.

In 2001 we moved to West Nashville and one year later my life was forever altered by the death of my husband.
Time and grief worked together and I very slowly let go of my old life and started looking forward, hoping
to find a project to occupy my mind and fill long empty hours.

In November of 2006 I began studying the history
of my neighborhood. It was exciting, West Nashville has a very interesting past. I read "West Nashville, it's people and environs", by Sarah Foster Kelley. The book intrigued me, especially the story of the worst train wreck in U.S. history. The train wreck at Dutchman's Curve.

Perhaps it was a twist of fate, but something unusual occurred after I read Ms. Kelly's account of Dutchman's Curve. The story, untold for nine decades revealed itself, and the voices of the lost souls,released from the silence that muted them for so many years collectively compelled me to make their acquaintance. I now know most of them by name, and where they were born. I know the names of many of their mothers and I have had the pleasure of meeting several of their descendents. They entrusted me with their story, and I often sense their guidance as I unravel the threads of history. I do not know why I was selected to tell this story, but I do know it was presented to me as a gift and I must tell it.

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