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The Mount Washington transit tunnel disaster
Title
The Mount Washington transit tunnel disaster / Mary Jane Kuffner Hirt.
ISBN
9781467142717
1467142719
Publication
Charleston, SC : The History Press, 2021.
Physical Description
189 pages : illustrations, facsimiles, maps ; 23 cm.
Summary
"On Christmas Eve 1917, an overcrowded, out-of-control streetcar exited the Mount Washington tunnel, crashing into pedestrians. Twenty-three were killed and more than eighty injured in the worst transit incident in Pittsburgh history. The crash scene on Carson Street was chaotic as physicians turned the railway offices into a makeshift hospital and bystanders frantically sought to remove the injured and strewn bodies from the wreckage. Most of the victims, many women and children, were from the close-knit neighborhoods of Knoxville, Beltzhoover and Mount Oliver. In the aftermath, public outrage over the tragedy led to criminal prosecution, civil suits and the bankruptcy of the Pittsburgh Railways Company, which operated the service. Author Mary Jane Kuffner Hirt explores the tragic history of the Mount Washington transit tunnel disaster"--Back cover.
Variant and related titles
Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel disaster.
Format
Books
Language
English
Added to Catalog
February 10, 2022
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 175-189).
Contents
part I. The accident. 3:18 p.m., December 24, 1917 ; The whole city grieved ; Neighborhood indignation ; Family ties
part II. The back story. Building the Mount Washington Tunnel ; The St. Louis Car Co. Series 4200 car
part III. The aftermath. Accident investigation and coroner's inquest ; Criminal prosecution of motorman and dispatcher ; Civil claims arising from December 24, 1917 tunnel accident ; The Pittsburgh Railways Co. bankruptcy, 1918 ; Afterword ; Victims, rescuers and caregivers.
Subjects
Genre/Form
Illustrated works.
Bookmark As
Citation
