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CT Train Wreck of 1853 

      
       
                               
           
     
              
       

Walter French

Walter French was born on 8-29-1810 in Billerica and was the son of Luther French (#28 in Hazen's book.)  I'll admit that at first when I was browsing through the French family tree in Hazen's book, I didn't first give much thought to Walter until I read when he died.  He died on 5-6-1853 in Norwalk, Connecticut on a train going over a bridge that still had its drawbridge open for ships to pass under.  Something about that date reminded me of a story I'd read not too long ago about a train that had fallen into a Connecticut river because its drawbridge was still open.  So I went to the library to see if this story had matched the date that Walter's death occurred on.  I found the book called "Buried Treasures of New England" by W. C. Jameson in the Burlington library and quickly flipped the pages to find the story.  And yes, the dates matched exactly.  The story in the book had happened on 5-6-1853 in Connecticut exactly the same day and same way that Walter had died.

Here's what happened according to W. C. Jameson.  The New Haven Railroad train had started its trip early in the morning of May 6, 1853 from CT to Massachusetts (It may have actually started in New York).  On board this train was a famous English importer of  fine jewels and precious stones named Thaddeus Birke.  He was on his way to Massachusetts for a formal gathering held by Boston millionaire, Nigel Massey.  On the train, Thaddeus was carrying in the leading car with him, 2 wooden trunks full of precious jewels - diamonds, pearls, gold and silver jewelry that he was hoping to show at the gathering and hopefully be able to do some business.  The total approximate worth of all these jewels was around $250,000.

As the train approached the town of Stamford, CT, around 10:00, the steamship 'Pacific' was nearing the Norwalk River Railroad bridge.  In a control tower adjacent to the drawbridge, the operator saw the steamship coming and began making preparations to open the drawbridge so that the steamship could go through.  This drawbridge was different than most drawbridges. When opened, the middle section of the bridge turned in such a way as to lie parallel with the water below instead of having two ends go up like most drawbridges.  The operator signaled to alert any oncoming trains that the drawbridge was going to be turned and then he activated the mechanism so the 'Pacific' steamship could go through.  After he signaled the ok , the steamship slowly made its way through.  Once the steamship was out of the way, the operator turned to adjust the mechanism back so that the drawbridge could be closed.  Just as he was getting ready to do this, he noticed in horror the New Haven Railroad train coming full steam down its track towards the still open drawbridge.  The occupants in the train obviously did not get the signal about the drawbridge being opened.  As soon as the engineer and crew of the train realized the drawbridge was open, they jumped from the train into the river below.

The uncontrolled train seemed to pick up more speed as it hurled its way closer to the open drawbridge.  It ran off its tracks and two passenger cars fell into the river below with a third passenger car, hanging over the bridge.  Witnesses watched as freight, mail, luggage and dead passengers fell into the river, some of which got caught up in the current and floated out to sea.  46 people were killed in that train wreck, including Thaddeus Birke and our Billerican, Walter French.

As the days passed, volunteers tried to remove the wreckage from the river.  Some of the freight was salvaged but the majority of it had floated out to sea or sunk to the bottom of the river.  Of those that are thought to be at the bottom of the river, possibly, are those two wooden trunks of Birke's full of the jewels he had planned to show at the formal gathering in Boston. 

They may still be there as they were never found.

As for Walter French, there is no mention of whether his body was recovered.

To read more on other buried treasures that may still be out there, read "Buried Treasures of New England" by W. C. Jameson; ISBN 0-87483-485-6; August House Publishers.  Who knows?  Maybe you will find one of those buried treasures yourself!  And remember, it's always nice to share!  Give me a call if you find some treasure!

-Binny          

copyright 2003