George, and his parents, Anna and Leonard Baldwin were killed on December 26, 1903 as a result of a head on train collision near East Paris, Michigan.
"It was Saturday evening, December 26, 1903, and it was snowing heavily. Both westbound Number 5 and eastbound Number 6 were running late. Before No. 6 left Grand Rapids it was given a train order directing it to meet No. 5 at Fox siding, two miles east of East Paris, rather than the usual meeting place of Oakdale Park. No. 6 got the order, but No. 5 passed the station at Alto before the dispatcher could finish writing the order. The dispatcher than sent the order to the McCords station. The telegrapher put his signal at "stop" to indicate to No. 5 that he had a train order for it. Running in heavy snow and darkness the engineman on No. 5 never saw the McCords "stop" signal. He went through at a full sixty miles per hour. Not knowing he was to stop in just a few miles for the other train, he barreled on. The two trains met head-on near East Paris. The collision caused the instant death of nineteen and injured about forty more. Two others died later. The McCords operator later stated that the wind had extinguished his signal light; not knowing that he did not go out to try to flag down the train. The engineman of No. 5 survived the wreck, cleared his name in a subsequent trial, but later left his family and disappeared still feeling the guilt."
More details of the East Paris wreck are in Art Million's "Wreck at East Paris" in Pere Marquette Rails no. 14.
Resarch of Marilynn Johnson
"It was Saturday evening, December 26, 1903, and it was snowing heavily. Both westbound Number 5 and eastbound Number 6 were running late. Before No. 6 left Grand Rapids it was given a train order directing it to meet No. 5 at Fox siding, two miles east of East Paris, rather than the usual meeting place of Oakdale Park. No. 6 got the order, but No. 5 passed the station at Alto before the dispatcher could finish writing the order. The dispatcher than sent the order to the McCords station. The telegrapher put his signal at "stop" to indicate to No. 5 that he had a train order for it. Running in heavy snow and darkness the engineman on No. 5 never saw the McCords "stop" signal. He went through at a full sixty miles per hour. Not knowing he was to stop in just a few miles for the other train, he barreled on. The two trains met head-on near East Paris. The collision caused the instant death of nineteen and injured about forty more. Two others died later. The McCords operator later stated that the wind had extinguished his signal light; not knowing that he did not go out to try to flag down the train. The engineman of No. 5 survived the wreck, cleared his name in a subsequent trial, but later left his family and disappeared still feeling the guilt."
More details of the East Paris wreck are in Art Million's "Wreck at East Paris" in Pere Marquette Rails no. 14.
Resarch of Marilynn Johnson
George, and his parents, Anna and Leonard Baldwin were killed on December 26, 1903 as a result of a head on train collision near East Paris, Michigan.
"It was Saturday evening, December 26, 1903, and it was snowing heavily. Both westbound Number 5 and eastbound Number 6 were running late. Before No. 6 left Grand Rapids it was given a train order directing it to meet No. 5 at Fox siding, two miles east of East Paris, rather than the usual meeting place of Oakdale Park. No. 6 got the order, but No. 5 passed the station at Alto before the dispatcher could finish writing the order. The dispatcher than sent the order to the McCords station. The telegrapher put his signal at "stop" to indicate to No. 5 that he had a train order for it. Running in heavy snow and darkness the engineman on No. 5 never saw the McCords "stop" signal. He went through at a full sixty miles per hour. Not knowing he was to stop in just a few miles for the other train, he barreled on. The two trains met head-on near East Paris. The collision caused the instant death of nineteen and injured about forty more. Two others died later. The McCords operator later stated that the wind had extinguished his signal light; not knowing that he did not go out to try to flag down the train. The engineman of No. 5 survived the wreck, cleared his name in a subsequent trial, but later left his family and disappeared still feeling the guilt."
More details of the East Paris wreck are in Art Million's "Wreck at East Paris" in Pere Marquette Rails no. 14.
Resarch of Marilynn Johnson
"It was Saturday evening, December 26, 1903, and it was snowing heavily. Both westbound Number 5 and eastbound Number 6 were running late. Before No. 6 left Grand Rapids it was given a train order directing it to meet No. 5 at Fox siding, two miles east of East Paris, rather than the usual meeting place of Oakdale Park. No. 6 got the order, but No. 5 passed the station at Alto before the dispatcher could finish writing the order. The dispatcher than sent the order to the McCords station. The telegrapher put his signal at "stop" to indicate to No. 5 that he had a train order for it. Running in heavy snow and darkness the engineman on No. 5 never saw the McCords "stop" signal. He went through at a full sixty miles per hour. Not knowing he was to stop in just a few miles for the other train, he barreled on. The two trains met head-on near East Paris. The collision caused the instant death of nineteen and injured about forty more. Two others died later. The McCords operator later stated that the wind had extinguished his signal light; not knowing that he did not go out to try to flag down the train. The engineman of No. 5 survived the wreck, cleared his name in a subsequent trial, but later left his family and disappeared still feeling the guilt."
More details of the East Paris wreck are in Art Million's "Wreck at East Paris" in Pere Marquette Rails no. 14.
Resarch of Marilynn Johnson
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