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Train wrecks were once fairly common in Northwest Arkansas, especially in the early 1910s. This was due in part to poor track maintenance. Fortunately, there weren’t many fatalities, probably owing to the slow speed of the trains running over the twisting and hilly terrain of the Ozarks. When new forms of transportation came on the scene, such as automobiles and airplanes, new kinds of crashes occurred. For a long while the curvy stretch of Highway 71 south of Fayetteville featured a sign telling motorists about past deaths along the road and warning, “Don’t you be next.” “The Democrat reporter talked with the fireman [of one train that was about to collide into another] and asked him what his sensations were. He said he didn’t have time for any... A glance ahead showed the men jumping from the caboose, so he stepped to the gangway and jumped into space without the faintest idea of where he was going.” 1907 Brightwater train wreck |
