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Description

On this day, 109 years ago, a horrific train wreck happened on the Roseburg & Western that will forever live on in infamy. On the evening of that day, Wendall, a boastful Baldwin 4-6-0 who had a reputation for never being late(and constantly bragging about it), was tasked with taking a guaranteed connection from Proxdale to Roseburg. He was delayed by a late narrow gauge arrival and couldn't get away fast enough when he was allowed to leave. Desperate to make up for lost time and preserve his reputation, he tore down the line at such a reckless speed. All was going well, until he came to the Demonic Swamp, which was covered in a thick fog, the thickest in years. Did that slow Wendall? Nope. He kept on tearing down the tracks at his careless rate. With the poor visibility, combined with the old wooden bridge over the swamp not being able to withstand the stresses of high speeds, what happened next was inevitable. Halfway across the bridge, it gave way beneath Wendall's weight, sending the engine shooting through the water like a torpedo and crashing into a massive cypress tree, the impact killing him instantly. All his coaches bunched up against him like an accordion. Every single one of Wendall's passengers and crew were killed that night, but only half of them were killed in the initial crash, it's said the other half that survived either drowned in the swamp, were eaten by alligators or bitten by venomous snakes. Some of the local Indians claimed that they could hear from a mile away the sounds of screaming, wailing, crying from the passengers and the snapping jaws and splashing from the gators ripping their victims to pieces. A few days later, once the bridge was repaired enough, the wrecker crew recovered Wendall's body, but he was beyond repair and scrapped. Wendall had not even served a full year on the R&W when this all happened.

And what's next? Well, it's said that every year, on the anniversary of the disaster, Wendall's ghost reappears and haunts the line, hoping desperately to reach his destination, so that he and the tormented souls of his passengers can finally rest in peace.

Description

On this day, 109 years ago, a horrific train wreck happened on the Roseburg & Western that will forever live on in infamy. On the evening of that day, Wendall, a boastful Baldwin 4-6-0 who had a reputation for never being late(and constantly bragging about it), was tasked with taking a guaranteed connection from Proxdale to Roseburg. He was delayed by a late narrow gauge arrival and couldn't get away fast enough when he was allowed to leave. Desperate to make up for lost time and preserve his reputation, he tore down the line at such a reckless speed. All was going well, until he came to the Demonic Swamp, which was covered in a thick fog, the thickest in years. Did that slow Wendall? Nope. He kept on tearing down the tracks at his careless rate. With the poor visibility, combined with the old wooden bridge over the swamp not being able to withstand the stresses of high speeds, what happened next was inevitable. Halfway across the bridge, it gave way beneath Wendall's weight, sending the engine shooting through the water like a torpedo and crashing into a massive cypress tree, the impact killing him instantly. All his coaches bunched up against him like an accordion. Every single one of Wendall's passengers and crew were killed that night, but only half of them were killed in the initial crash, it's said the other half that survived either drowned in the swamp, were eaten by alligators or bitten by venomous snakes. Some of the local Indians claimed that they could hear from a mile away the sounds of screaming, wailing, crying from the passengers and the snapping jaws and splashing from the gators ripping their victims to pieces. A few days later, once the bridge was repaired enough, the wrecker crew recovered Wendall's body, but he was beyond repair and scrapped. Wendall had not even served a full year on the R&W when this all happened.

And what's next? Well, it's said that every year, on the anniversary of the disaster, Wendall's ghost reappears and haunts the line, hoping desperately to reach his destination, so that he and the tormented souls of his passengers can finally rest in peace.