The Hammond Circus Train Wreck | A Short Documentary | Fascinating Horror 

I was expecting this story to begin another way, with that train stopping willy nilly. But the flare guy sprinting towards the troop train and yeeting a flare at it really did everything he could.

One tragic detail that separates the Hammond Wreck from other catastrophes that result partially from human error is that you rarely have someone like Oscar Timm doing everything exactly right in a bid to avert disaster. You can really feel his desperation.

the fact that other shows lent their performers so that the circus could continue warms my heart. it’s like regardless of who you’re performing for, showmen are family. and showmen’s rest sounds like a lovely place for passed performers to be at peace 💖

I can't imagine the terror that Oscar Tim experienced watching the other train plow full speed into the circus train. Just the thought of all of your fellow circus performers getting decimated by a speeding locomotive is a horrifying thought

Growing up in Chicago, my dad told us about the circus and took us to Showman's Rest. Most of the graves have no name because a lot of the workers weren't documented or travelers. It's incredibly sad.

I’ve been on Showmen’s rest. A lot of the headstones don’t have their real names because no one knew them. I remember seeing “unknown male” or “horse driver.”

The final section about showmen's rest was touching. I'm continually impressed by your tact and well written script. Keep it up!

That survivor's account was chilling. You could just sense the fear they must have felt.

That's the reason why Britain's worst rail disaster at Quintinshill had such a high death toll; wooden carriages and lighting, which in Quintinshill's case was gas. Thanks for a very interesting and shocking story that I had not heard of before.

My mom always told me about showman's rest because we live right by it and pass it frequently, but incorrectly told me that it was a grave for the elephants who died and they couldn't move them. Glad to know the actual story and how it honors the performers.

I remember subscribing to you when you just started. I'm not surprised you are so big now. You are informative, sensitive, tactful and entertaining. That is an incredibly hard balancing act. My favourite disaster channel

"The Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus would suffer one of the worst tragedies it would ever endure." I'm sorry, *one of?*

All these "Short Documentaries" are Informative, with sensitive and knowledgeable commentary, solid research, not overly dramatised, AND a very fine narrator. Thank you for the whole series.

It's horrifying to see how stupid little human mistakes can cause so much pain and devastation **as many decided to point out that falling asleep isn't a mistake, I should clarify. I didn't ment that this specific story, there's plenty of stories on this channel, that could have been avoided but happe because of neglect or simple ignorance **

“Then everything was quiet.”

I started to see a pattern with these train disasters; a lot of death by impact and fire caused by ignorance, and the guy who's responsible for this always escape unharmed and were never punished.

There’s folklore in Jalisco Mexico of a derailed circus train that freed tigers that still live to this day

The camaraderie of show folk has always astounded me, but no more than in this story. It's truly the skill of a showman to grieve so terribly and still go on to preform again. Wonderful job FH

Yeah during the Victorian and Edwardian time periods. Train collisions and derailments as well as steamboat fires and explosions where the airline disasters of those time periods.

Me, thinking, "how did the train not even slow down?? Was the engineer asleep?" *Watches further* "..oh."

What an amazing coincidence to catch this video! I have a family connection to this event, and always wanted more details. My grandfather, whom I never met, was a "first responder" from the local police department when this accident happened. The gruesomeness of the events he experienced that night, as related by my mother -- then only nine years old -- still linger in my mind. I've always wanted to know the back-story of the "Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus" train wreck, and I still have a silver dollar keepsake he recovered from the wreckage 114 years ago. Ironically, he would be killed years later in night-time grade crossing accident caused by sleeping train engineer, traveling without a headlight.

An overheated wheel bearing was called a "hotbox" and was a fairly common ocurrence before the advent of roller bearings for railroad bogeys. I've seen quite a few back in the 1950s and early 60s - one nighttime hotbox was glowing fiery red and smoke streamed backwards for 100s of yards. There was a trough full of oil which lubricated the oil-soaked felt pads wrapped around the bearing, and the oil often caught fire and burned wooden baxcars to the ground or caused derailments. The railroad worker's signal to those in the caboose was to stand holding their nose while pointing at the train going by so the train caould be stopped before disaster ensued. Roller bearings, trackside hotbox and dragging equipment detectors obviated the need for men on the ass end, and those jobs and the caboose went the way of the disnosaur.

I knew there was a decent reason to stay up until 4 am on a Monday night and here it is.

Every time with these disasters it seems those clearly to blame escape any punishment. It's baffling.

Speaking of rail disasters, maybe you'd be interested in doing a video on the Granville Rail Disaster. In Granville, Sydney in 1977, a morning commuter train derailed, crashing into the supports of a bridge, which then collapsed, killing 84 and injuring another 213 people. It remains as Australia's worst railway disaster, and was apparently caused by poor fastening of the tracks.

Wow the bit about showmen's rest is incredibly heart warming. The elephant's trunks lowered in respect and the idea they could have all been friends in another life brought a tear to my eye

This was so respectfully told, what a beautiful show of support they were given, what a sad tragedy so easily avoided :(

For those (germans) who are wondering: Yes, it's the same Hagenbeck as in Hagenbecks-Tierpark.

I was raised in Hammond Indiana, and actually lived 2 blocks from Woodlawn cemetery. I live across the country now, but I'm just blown away that I had never heard of this event before now.

Ah yes, My favorite thing on a Tuesday morning. Have you ever thought about doing the Stardust Nightclub Fire in Dublin, Ireland, I think the total death count was 83, and still affects the vast majority of the Irish population.

The Hither Green Train Wreck on November 5, 1967 almost killed “Bee Gee” singer Robin Gibb. 49 people died and he was a hero rescuing many of the passengers.

The closing lines of this episode are quite poignant, beautiful words.

These stories are so tragic, yet so beautifully executed. You do the victims justice in your heartfelt retellings so their stories may still be heard. I don't know about the vast majority of the events you cover and it means a lot to me to be able to learn about them in such a respectful way. Glad to have been here from the start and see the channel continuing on this path. Thank you.

"We who gave you laughter and cheers now bring you sorrow and tears." I think this is on a Showmen's Rest marker but cannot verify.

You should check out the Ozone Disco fire that took place in the Philippines on 1996. 162 died and most of them had just graduated from college and were celebrating. They found the bodies piled up waist high in front of the door which were stupidly designed to just open inwards.

That is one sick train wreck. And the dedication of the surviving performers to rescue their fellow members is very brave and commendable. The grave site dedicated to those lost looks great.

“Circus train wreck” sums up my life pretty well

Would you consider taking a look at the Coalbrook mining disaster in South Africa? Killed more than 400 miners in the collapse and explosion of a coal mine in South Africa, 1960.

Electric and diesel trains have the "dead man's handle", that stops the train if pressure from an awake / alive human isn't put on it. This dates back to the very early days of such trains, I suppose steam engines didn't have them because there'd be at least two men in the cab (fast expresses had a whole team of firemen who took turns, sometimes there was even a corridor through the coal, and bedrooms in the first carriage for them), so you'd expect one to wake the other!

I cannot imagine what must have been going through Oscar Timms mind when the other train just kept barreling along. I thought perhaps it would be a more complicated reason, something long the lines of Leslie Newson. So much tragedy among heartwarming assistance from other circuses!

It's interesting how things like this are forgotten. I lived in the area my whole life and never heard anything about this.

Remember, Never Sleep on the Job. Because something like THIS will happen.

I’m meant to be studying but it can wait for this video.

This has to be my favorite video so far 🥺 I got goosebumps learning about how the other circuses shared performers and crew. Such triumph of the human spirit.

Makes you think, even if the circus train hadn't stopped, it moving at only 25mph means the troop train would still of caught up to it, and the accident still happening.

"On the 6th July, 2021, sitting in his bedroom innocently watching a RU-vid video on his home computer..."

I wanted to thank you for doing this. My great grandparents worked the rail lines and I grew up with the stories from the circus train wreck!

There's always a dislike on the video, even when it's new. It's hilarious to me that one one turned notifications on just to dislike every video. Now that's some dedication

That crash happened in Forest Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. I grew up right across the street from Woodlawn cemetery. The cemetery does have a section for those who died from this tragedy, and also has statues of elephants and other circus animals throughout! Fun fact: Woodlawn is only one of many cemeteries in Forest Park. Forest Park is literally known for having more dead bodies in it than living residents.

I'm not surprised something called "Hammond" was involved in a wreck

You should make a video about the ICE train crash in Germany in 1998. That was some serious freak carnage.

This is why you never drive alone. No matter the vehicle. Any vehicle is a deadly projectile, simply by nature of kinetic energy and momentum.

The steel troop train sliced through their train/ carriage like a hot knife slicing through butter and split the train in half.....holy shit..

Growing up in Hammond, this was always a story my grandparents would talk about, interesting to hear what really happened.

You know I completely forgot that you upload on Tuesdays so this was a nice surprise

There is a channel called Faces of the Forgotten that wanders around cemeteries, he does a whole episode on this that is very very good!

I've paid my respect at Showmans Rest many times. It's only 15 minutes from me.

I went to Showmen's Rest with a group of people from Richard Crowe's haunted tours around the Chicago area. One of our stops was there. I remember just feeling really sad looking at the headstones. A lot were unmarked but one stood out from the others. I was an unknown female and people would leave flowers for her on Mother's Day. Not sure if they did that with all the female headstones but I just remember hearing the story from a local. I grew up in Hammond and the Circus was always a big thing there at the Civic Center. I remember hearing stories about that awful night that took the lives of people and animals.

I look forward to your covering of the Surfside collapse when we have more answers.

Please never change that intro/background music!

I work for a rail museum. I have heard stories from employees who are not given to imagination yet many of them claim this stretch of track has a different vibe. Sometimes people have heard animals, the voices of people shouting in fright or screaming, and the smell of smoke when nothing is around.

“They were still made mostly of wood” oh nooooo - I’m not even halfway in and I’ve got chills, another excellent upload as always

Love this channel. The narrator is perfect for these stories. Hi from Australia xxx

Even though circus has been just my hobby, I feel deeply when I hear tradegies about circus. We are family in circus; be it your career or just a hobby.

Since so many are asking and I just gave it a goog... no animals were involved, they went out earlier on a separate train.

If anyone can get to Showmen’s Rest, I recommend it. It’s incredibly powerful. This particular one is located in Forest Park, IL.

I knew I had heard of this story before! It's mentioned in the documentary "Killer Legends" when discussing the fear of clowns and where some of the fear originates from. One of the clowns they discussed was Joe Coyle (one of the performers that survived; I believe he might be the one in white at the 0:26 mark) and how he took on a sadder and darker persona after losing his wife and children in this collision.

The ShowMans rest made me way sadder than I thought it would. It’s such a touching remembrance to those who have passed away

Oh my goodness- I‘ve been HOPING you would cover this, ever since your last circus tragedy video reminded me of this horrible incident!!❤️💔

Wait wait wait, Carl Hagenbeck? Like in Hagenbeck Tierpark in Hamburg, Germany? Please Someone remind me to google that later, if Carl was someone related to the German Hagenbecks. Edit: oh wow, yes he is the one opening the Zoo in Hamburg. Thank you! And thanks to you all for reminding me ❤️

You should look into the Great Wallace Brothers Circus Train Disaster. It occurred on August 6, 1903 in Durand, Mi.

It amazes me that so many lives are in the hands of a single person.

Noticing a trend with this channel.... Horrific events in History in which the blatantly guilty parties get off completely scot-free! Wouldn't mind hearing of an event in which some appropriate punishment was dished out. Either in the courts, or out on the streets.

God, these videos are so good. You’re like a morbid defunctland. Can’t get enough.

Showman's rest is so beautiful. I'm so so glad you covered this. I love when you read first hand accounts and I certainly wouldn't be upset to hear more per video.

I love the pictures of the old circus, especially the big top with the side show tent next to it.

Damn, I can't even begin to imagine what living through something like that could be like. And of course, the engineer that caused it all walked. That's just insane.

Hammond just crashes everything. James and Jeremy are going to have a field day with this.

I am quite heartened by how little known and forgotten tragedies from my little corner of the world are remembered by this channel.

the solidarity by the other circuses is really heartwarming

Wow, your telling of this story was so perfect. So glad I found your channel.

this one especially has this consistent theme of "but wait, it gets worse" all over it :(

I'm from this area and was wondering if you'd ever cover this on your channel. The respect and sensitivity you show when telling these tragic stories is always wonderful to see, thank you. Very well done.

I find your channel fascinating, yes! Here's a topic suggestion: The fire at the Barnum Museum in New York City in 1865.

I literally live at the area where this happened, hearing town names around me feels surreal

I love these videos. I learn so much of historic events i never even knew take place. If i can recommend two events id love to know more about its Estonia and the discotheque fire in Göteborg, Sweden in 1998.

Beautifully written. Thanks for sharing about this tragedy. It’s so sad that those who labored to bring a smile to others’ faces were lost in near anonymity due to tragedy.

That's crazy and awesome that rival circuses sent their own folks over to help keep them afloat. That's incredibly restorative of my faith in humanity.

Is this the tragedy that inspired the train wreck in the movie the greatest show on earth from the 50's? I remember watching it as a kid with my dad and he told me about a real circus wreck but I certainly don't recall all the details. What stood out was how the cars were overturned and trapped people inside and since they all used oil lamps back then they also fell and starting fires with no way for the performers to escape. Truly horrific.

I remember seeing circus wagons with the Hagenbach Wallace name on the side during Milwaukee's Schlitz Circus Parade every summer. Trains would bring the wagons down from Baraboo, where they are housed. I think they used every team of draft horses from the surrounding counties to pull them. Those were the days.

It's not often that I get emotional over stories of circus tragedies. That final memorial at the end was so touching, though. It's so moving I was brought to tears. Such a beautiful tribute to those who died traveling to bring smiles and joy entertainment to people back in the day.

With the recent building failure in Miami, a history of some of the worst building failures would make a fascinating episode.

I look forward to these every week !

What?! I can’t believe the engineer who caused this got to walk away scot-free. Falling asleep behind the wheel nowadays and killing even ONE person will likely give you an involuntary manslaughter charge (unless you’re rich). And not only did he kill and injure a lot of people, I’m sure even the ones without physical injuries had mental scars, and I’m sure some of them even got PTSD.

You always give tribute at the end. It’s so simple, yet beautiful.

Your videos are informative and retain respect while still being interesting. You deserve a tv series.

This was exceptionally well written. You usually do a great job, this is outstanding.

Always love your videos! ❤️

That opening shot of the train out running the plane is great 👍

What a touching documentary! thank you for sharing this historical event with us...