The 10 Biggest Arizona Train Mistakes

Arizona is the land of cacti and spectacular sunsets, but it also has its share of train-related mishaps. A major factor in this is the complicated, twisting nature of Arizona’s terrain. Arizonabased trainual saas series altos. There are extensive mountain ranges, rugged landscape and many narrow canyons that make travel difficult for both trains and drivers. The majority of track occurs from Phoenix to Tucson on either side of Interstate 10.

In this post we’ve outlined 10 mistakes that have been made by railroad professionals over the course of Arizona’s history.

1. A Train Runs Into a Car on the Mesa & North Mountain Railroad

This is perhaps the most well known train-car collision in Arizona history. Construction on this line began in 1902 and was completed in 1906. The Mesa station was one of two located between downtown Mesa and the city of Chandler. At 7:00 AM on May 20, 1910, a Freight Cars full of rock supplies used by masons was taking a shortcut through Fountain Hills when it ran off the track at Wilson’s Station and struck another train car that had stopped for water. No one was seriously injured, but there were 20 carloads of merchandise that were ruined.

2. A Train Runs Off the Tracks in Eloy

On June 12, 1913, a Mesa & North Mountain Railroad train was running from Phoenix to Tucson and had pulled into Eloy with 13 cars of freight. Just before 8:00 AM it had entered the yard when a man named Roy Robinson ran out of his house and started throwing stones at the train. The train hit a switch that sent it rolling in reverse into a ditch where it continued backing up until it hit the fence and caromed into another section of the track. The engineer managed to quickly get the engine turned around to stop just short of hitting a house, but it was not enough. The engine’s tender derailed and slammed into the house, killing Mr. Robinson instantly. The damage to the house was estimated at $100.

3. A Train Collides With a Car in Florence

On the morning of May 23, 1924, a Mesa & North Mountain Railroad train had stopped at the station outside of Florence for water and was waiting for a freight train to pass when it hit a car on the other tracks. The car’s driver had died instantly and it is believed that he was standing up in his seat when he crashed into the side of one of train’s box cars. The engine did not suffer damage but three cars were slightly damaged. 

4. A Train Collides With a Car in Gila Bend

In the early morning hours of March 5, 1933, the westbound Santa Fe Express had hit a car that was stuck on the tracks at Gila Bend. It was believed that there were two men aboard who tried to stop the train. The train then ran off the track, hit a ditch and derailed. The crew was able to arrest the engine as it rolled out of control and shortly after that stopped it from killing a man named Frank Jones who had been looking for his wife. There were no injuries on either side but everything on both trains was damaged and needed to be replaced:

5. A Train Runs Into a Truck in Kingman

On the morning of July 10, 1936, the eastbound Santa Fe Express was on its way to Needles and was going very slowly in order to make room for an eastbound K&P dispatcher’s train. At 8:00 AM it approached Kingman where two men were standing on the tracks to flag down the train. The engineer did not see them at first and his first thought was that he hit a horse. The train continued and hit a truck, killing one man instantly and injuring three others who were taken off to be treated by physicians. The engineer was not seriously injured. The truck’s payload of flour was spilled onto the railroad tracks and filled with water. Although the Santa Fe Express was able to get through Kingman, it had to be taken out of service until the problem could be solved.

6. A Train Runs Into a Car at Kingman

The next day, July 11th, a train with two locomotives and 10 cars derailed near the same spot as before because of a submerged water tank car in front of it. The engineer made an emergency stop when he saw his throttle controls were malfunctioning due to an ice buildup and his train was resting on wheels which were partially buried in the sand on both sides. The freight train was not carrying any explosives or poisonous fumes and the only casualties were two of the crewmen who suffered minor injuries.

7. A Train Runs Off the Tracks in Phoenix

In 1954, a Santa Fe passenger train was going about 30 miles per hour when it barreled through a switch off of track number one and into another track that runs next to it. This is where the tracks are between 24th Street and 25th Street in Phoenix, which has been known as “Cooke’s Curve” since 1902 when the first roundhouse there opened. The train took out four light poles and continued to travel down track until it struck another light pole at Main Street in front of a high school and stopped there. In the accident ten people were killed and another 150 were injured. Many of the injured students were transported to local hospitals between a bus and a helicopter.

8. A Train Runs Off the Tracks in Globe

On July 30th, 1951, the eastbound Santa Fe Express had left Phoenix for Texas with two diesel engines and about 25 passenger cars when it derailed at Arizola Siding which was just east of Globe. The train had just started passing over a bridge when it began to shake violently. It then stopped, tipped over and slid off of the bridge into a gully. The crew was able to get the passengers off of the train much quicker than it would have been possible if it had stayed upright. The cause of the accident was not found, but many speculate that it was because a railroad inspector had just recently inspected those tracks and did not notice that there were three ties on one side which were shorter than they should have been. Luckily there were no deaths from this crash.

9. A Train Runs Into a Car at Green Valley

On the morning of December 6, 1952, a westbound Santa Fe train hit a car that was on the tracks at Green Valley and derailed. The train’s crew was able to get everyone off safely and the car was empty. It is estimated that $3,000 worth of damage was done to the railroad at this location.

10. A Train Runs Into a Car at Fort McDowell

In 1953, the eastbound Santa Fe Express had just past Fry’s Well when it struck a car on the tracks at Fort McDowell. The train was going about 35 miles per hour and the car, which was sitting on the tracks, was not hit by the locomotive. The train’s engineer heard bells ringing and saw a red light in the distance, but he did not stop. The engineer said that he had seen a bulldozer which was parked at Fort McDowell and thought it was just sitting there which caused him to speed up. The actions of the bulldozer were revealed to have been an accident as well but one that occurred while they were working on another railroad track.

Conclusion of this article:

These 10 Train Accidents were all different and occurred for different reasons, but none of them could have been prevented by the railroad companies or the government. Although some people may say that we should start building tracks above or below ground to prevent accidents, that would be extremely costly and it is doubtful that there will ever be such a high demand for railroad travel as to warrant such an expense. What we can do about these train accidents is to ensure that we are always aware of our surroundings when we are near the tracks and to make sure that there is always someone available at home who knows where we are going and when they should expect us back, because sometimes those things can save a life.