Moline Railroad Depot

[Marcia Moore]

     In April 1895, the Santa Fe accommodation going south was wrecked about six miles south of Severy.  The train consisted of the engine, four box cars and one passenger coach, and was just turning the curve south of Fiat when one of the box cars jumped the track, followed by the three others, the engine and coach remaining on the rails.  A wrecking train came down from Topeka and cleared the track for trains to pass.

[Marcia Moore]

     Tramps and hoboes were a problem throughout the area - it seemed like Severy always had a plentiful supply.  In January 1905, a tramp called at a north side Severy home and asked for a handout.  The lady of the house gave him a pie and told him when he finished eating it he could saw her a few sticks of wood.  The tramp was seen leaving the backyard shortly after and the woman hailed him.  "See here!  You promised to saw wood for that pie!"  "It's just this way, lady," said the tramp.  "You oughtn't to've gave me the pie first.  I have just ruined the saw trying to cut the pie."
     Hobos traveled to find work, while tramps traveled to avoid it.  Both knew how to correctly ride on, in, and under the cars and how to jump the freight trains.  They shared the same lifestyle, mode of travel and dangers, and because many of them traveled the same routes, they crossed paths with each other often, creating a family bond amongst them.

[jarhead]

I learn something new every day. I did not know there was a differance betwen a hobo & a tramp. I did call one sister and she says she vageuly remembers the sign/ cross on a RR crossing south of Howard that means someone got killed there. I sure thought there were like 3 of the signs. My sister wasn't sure where it was at except somewhere between Moline and Howard and just west off US 99. My post seemed to have dissappeared off the forum so maybe an old timer like Jo could help me out on this one. Or detective Marcia .

[jarhead]

Aw the plot thickens. An older sister says she also remembers the signs signifying someone was killed at a RR crossing a few miles south of Howard. She thinks the signs were there in the 50's and looked kinda old then. She also thinks Joe Brown was hit and killed by a train and she thinks it was south of  the rock quarry. Now a new enrelated mystery. My sis & me both remember someone sitting fire to their mattress in Howard jail and dieing from smoke inhalation sometime in the late 50's---possibly. I think it was a citizen of Elk Falls. Who was it ?? Or is my whole family crazy as a pet coon and just dream up this nonsense ??

[greatguns]

NO! NO!  I must not answer that question.

[W. Gray]

The Howard Branch website also says that on January 22, 1949, steam locomotive 2535 was heavily damaged in a wreck at Severy. It was replaced by number 2301 so that locomotives numbered 2301 and 2650 continued the service.

[ddurbin]

 Since this thread has digressed somewhat to railroad fatalities in Elk County, I've copied a post from 2006 about the 1908 death of W.H.H. Lamb, one of Moline's "Founding Fathers".  I also remember reading about a fatality involving a non-local young man that happened 2 miles or so west of Moline, near where the Lawrence Wilson family lived.  It happened long before they lived there.
Re: W. H. H. Lamb (Biography)
« Reply #1 on: October 25, 2006, 11:51:30 AM »     

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
taken from THE MOLINE REVIEW  May 1, 1908
A SERIOUS ACCIDENT
W.H.H. Lamb was run down by the Emporia train Wednesday morning.  He was walking to his work in the east part of town on the branch track and the train was backing out on the main line to the  "Y".  Thinking that the train was on the track on which he was walking, he stepped over on the main track just in time to be struck by the steps on the rear coach.  He was thrown over and his foot was caught by the wheel and badly mashed.  His head was bruised also where it struck the ground.  Drs. Smethers and Beasley amputated the foot, leaving only the heel.  Up to this writing he is doing as well as possible under the circumstances.

same paper May 8, 1908
Obituary
William Henry Harrison Lamb was born in Machias, Cattaurangus county, N. Y. June 4, 1837, where he grew to manhood.  In 1857 he went to Iowa where two years later he was married to Miss Margaret Wickersham at Burr Oak.  He then moved to Hesper, Ia. and lived there until he moved to Carthage, Missouri, in 1866 where his wife died two years later.  In 1871 he was married to Olive Delancy Sutlieff in Texas.  To them were born four children:  H. N. and C. E. of Moline, Carrie M Rice, who died two months after her marriage, and Cora L. Burdick of Independence.  Beside these he leaves two brothers and one sister, M. B. Lamb of Machias, N. Y. and Silas A. Lamb and Mrs. A. Meader of Denver Colo.

Mr. Lamb died May 2, at the home of his son H. N. in this city as the result of an accident described in this paper last week.  The funeral was held Sunday at 2 p.m. conducted by Rev J. R. Hankins in the M. E. church.  Many friends join the family in mourning his sad death.   

[frawin]

Aw the plot thickens. An older sister says she also remembers the signs signifying someone was killed at a RR crossing a few miles south of Howard. She thinks the signs were there in the 50's and looked kinda old then. She also thinks Joe Brown was hit and killed by a train and she thinks it was south of  the rock quarry. Now a new enrelated mystery. My sis & me both remember someone sitting fire to their mattress in Howard jail and dieing from smoke inhalation sometime in the late 50's---possibly. I think it was a citizen of Elk Falls. Who was it ?? Or is my whole family crazy as a pet coon and just dream up this nonsense ??

JARHEAD, one person that might be able to shed some light on any car/train accidents, South of Howard,  in the early 60s would be John Layton. John took over as Depot agent in the early 60s, before that was John Aldrich/Aldrige and he has been gone for years.

[redcliffsw]

Lamb's name does not appear on the cemetery listing for Moline.
Wonder where he's buried?

[jarhead]

Frank, the Moline depot agent that I remember was "Scottie", but his real name is lost in the clutter of my feeble brain. Scottie was there in early 70's and I think until the depot closed. I'm pretty sure he lived in Independence.Is John Layton a local ?