The Guyandotte River train wreck occurred on the morning of January 1, 1913, when the

Chesapeake and Ohio Railway The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond t ...

's (C&O) train No. 99, scheduled to run from

Hinton, West Virginia Hinton is a city in Summers County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,266 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Summers County. Hinton was established in 1873 and chartered in 1897. Hinton was named after John "Jack" Hin ...

, to Russell, Kentucky, and headed by Mikado locomotive 820, fell through a bridge over the Guyandotte River near

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Cabell County, and the largest city in the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area, sometimes referred to as the Tri-State Area. A h ...

while attempting to cross it. The accident killed seven people. At approximately 11:00 AM, No. 99 approached the bridge and was stopped by a flagman protecting a bridgework crew that was unloading materials for repairs on it. In the meantime, Engineer E.B. "Shorty" Webber carried out maintenance on the locomotive while the fireman and front brakeman walked out on to the bridge to inspect the repairs and continued on to the opposite side. After the flagman gave the all clear, Webber slowly started across the bridge with the intention on picking up the brakeman and fireman on the far side. Despite the ongoing repairs, the bridge had stayed open for several previous days under traffic with no problems. As 820 reached the middle of the bridge, the center span collapsed, plunging it into the river along with Webber and 13 bridge workers. Webber and six of the bridge workers were killed. Rescuers saved the seven other bridge workers from the river. Thousands of people lined the river as rescue efforts went on. Eventually the bodies of Webber and bridge workers J.W. Crawford, Charles Maddy (found 50 miles downstream near Portsmouth, Ohio), and Emmett Wood were recovered. Remains of Bridge Workers Henry White; Charles Coyner and J.G Wheeler were lost. It was not until June 1913 that C&O was able to salvage the locomotive from the river. based on

References

1913 disasters in the United States 1913 in West Virginia Bridge disasters in the United States Cabell County, West Virginia Guyandotte River Railway accidents in 1913 Railway accidents and incidents in West Virginia Transportation disasters in West Virginia Accidents and incidents involving Chesapeake and Ohio Railway January 1913 events in the United States {{Rail-accident-stub