Kate Shelley

The railway accident of Honey Creek at Moingona (Iowa) in the United States on July 6, 1881, primarily by famous that the then 17 - year-old Kate Shelley ( Catherine Shelley ) ( 1865-1912 ) prevented an impending second major railway accident.

The accident

During a strong summer thunderstorm in the afternoon of July 6, 1881, there was a strong swelling of the Des Moines River, which also made ​​him crossing over railway bridge washed away 1.5 km east of the operating station Moingona. The location of the crossing was known as Honey Creek. A steam locomotive westward should check for damage of Boone from the track of the Chicago and North Western Railway in the direction Moingona. When the locomotive crossed the bridge over the Des Moines River, this broke around 23 clock together with her ​​and the locomotive crashed about 8 feet deep in the river. Of the four railway workers on board two died.

The accident prevented

The close living at the accident site 17- year-old Kate Shelley, which led there with her mother a farm, heard the accident and ran to the accident scene. She knew that about an hour later reached from the direction of an express Moingona the accident scene and would fall without warning also in the river. To prevent this, they had to operate station Moingona run, which was located about 1.5 km from the accident site, but cross over into the ongoing storm also the remains of the bridge over the Des Moines River. The lamp, which she had taken, went out and she had to cope with the ruins of the bridge in the dark. She succeeded Moingona achieve. From there, the train in the station of Ogden could be stopped in time - there were about 200 passengers on board.

Kate Shelley led the rescuers to the accident site and showed them where the locomotive had crashed. The two survivors of the locomotive crew had been able to save on standing trees in the river.

Aftermath

Kate Shelley was famous for its bailout nation's history and the part of the national folklore. Many songs and poems were written about the rescue operation. The travelers of the rescued overnight train organized a collection of money for them by public authorities, including the State of Iowa, she received awards, the Association of Railway guard handed her a golden clock on a chain and the Chicago and North Western Railway handed her next material benefits a lifelong valid free ticket.

The old wooden bridge was replaced in 1900 by a steel truss bridge, which received the name of Kate Shelley. Kate Shelley was the first woman after the United States, a bridge was named, and also the only one until 1976., The Kate Shelley Bridge was replaced by a modern building in 2009, retained its name and is now one of the largest double-track railway bridges in the United States.

Kate Shelley was also one of the few women to a train, the Kate Shelley 400, gave his name. The train reversed from 1955 to 1971 and contributed to 1963 her name.

The Boone County Historical Society operates in the former Betriebsbahnhof Moingona now the Kate Shelley Railroad Museum.