Tonti is an unincorporated community in Tonti Township, Marion County, Illinois, United States. The community of Tonti is now little more than a bend in the road and a sign, near where the Illinois Central Railroad tracks cross Interstate 57.

History

The community of Tonti was named in honor of Henri de Tonti, an early Italian/French explorer of Illinois. On June 10, 1971, Tonti was the site of the

1971 Salem, Illinois, derailment The 1971 Salem, Illinois derailment occurred on June 10, 1971, when Amtrak’s ''City of New Orleans'' passenger train derailed near Salem, Illinois. It is sometimes referred to as the Tonti derailment, after the unincorporated community of Ton ...

which was a derailment of Amtrak's '' City of New Orleans''

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self pr ...

. It is sometimes referred to as the Tonti derailment. An investigation by the

National Transportation Safety Board The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incid ...

(NTSB) found that the derailment was caused by a false flange on a flat wheel caused by a seized axle bearing. The crash killed 11 people and injured 163. It was Amtrak's first train crash.GenDisasters.com.-Salem Il Passenger Trail Derails, June 1971
/ref> 1971 Salem, Illinois derailment aerial

References

Unincorporated communities in Illinois Unincorporated communities in Marion County, Illinois {{MarionCountyIL-geo-stub ru:Тонтитаун (Арканзас)