Train Crash at Crush, Texas: America's Deadliest Publicity Stunt

On September 15, 1896, Crush boasted the highest population in Texas. Built near Waco, the town provided the staging ground for a publicity stunt ramming two trains together at top speed. Showrunner and Katy Railroad official William Crush thought he had planned for every contingency. But when elephant-sized chunks of steam locomotive began raining down into the packed stands, the extravaganza quickly unraveled into one of the Lone Star State's most confounding tragedies. The soon-to-be famous Scott Joplin commemorated the debacle in "The Great Crush Collision March," and entrepreneurs like "Head-On Joe" Connolly of Iowa continued the tradition of the staged locomotive duel for decades. But the stupefying incident still slipped into the back pages of Texas lore. In the first-ever book on the subject, writer-historian Mike Cox finally tells the full story of the Crash at Crush.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: History Press Library Editions
Published: 08/26/2019
ISBN: 9781540240286
Pages: 226
Weight: 1.04lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.56d