Tag: Accidents

Cat Links Overlooked Orleans

Express Train Collides with Locomotive in Holley, 1926

Posted on Matthew Ballard

Vol. 5, No. 1 This photograph, taken September 25, 1926, shows the aftermath of a locomotive collision at Holley. Looking south on South Main Street, the Holley Electric building is pictured on the left. A few individuals are in the vicinity, including a young girl standing between the tall white fence and truck along the left side of the road. Upon closer inspection, a bicycle is lying on the curb near the railroad overpass, possibly left there by the girl. At 3:33pm on September 24, 1926, an express train, Engine 3373, pulling 28 cars and two coaches departed the Fancher

Continue readingExpress Train Collides with Locomotive in Holley, 1926

Cat Links Overlooked Orleans

Orleans County Has Deep Connections to Titanic Sinking

Posted on Matthew Ballard

May Howard Vol. 4, No. 16 Although Lillian Bentham remains one of the more detailed accounts from a local survivor of the Titanic sinking, Orleans County has several other connections to the tragic disaster. On May 2, 1885, a baby girl was born to William and Martha Howard at North Walsham in Norfolk, England. May Elizabeth Howard was one of eight children born to the English couple, the father working as an agricultural laborer. At the time the Titanic was set to sail on her maiden voyage, the 27-year-old Howard planned on visiting her brother in Toronto before traveling to

Continue readingOrleans County Has Deep Connections to Titanic Sinking

Cat Links Overlooked Orleans

Holley Woman Survived Titanic Disaster, 106 Years Ago

Posted on Matthew Ballard

Vol. 4, No. 15 April 14th marks the 106th anniversary of the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic and although I share a common surname, I can assure you that Dr. Robert Ballard is no direct relative of mine (that I am aware of). On that fateful day in 1912, the exquisitely decorated vessel struck an iceberg at 11:40pm and was fully submerged within a matter of three hours. Of the 2,224 passengers, over 1,500 perished in the frigid waters of the Atlantic Ocean nearly 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, making it one of the most devastating maritime disasters

Continue readingHolley Woman Survived Titanic Disaster, 106 Years Ago

Cat Links Overlooked Orleans

Main Street Bridge was site of Catastrophic Collapse in 1859

Posted on Matthew Ballard

Volume 3, Issue 31 The long, illustrious history of the Erie Canal is filled with tragedy and catastrophe despite its successes as an economic driving force for New York State. It seems fitting to recall one of the most frequently told stories relating to the Canal in Albion to close out this month. On September 28, 1859, the residents of Orleans County were celebrating the opening day of the fair in Albion with a series of festivities. Conforming to popular fads of the time, a young gentleman was scheduled to walk a tight-rope stretched across the Erie Canal several rods

Continue readingMain Street Bridge was site of Catastrophic Collapse in 1859

Cat Links Overlooked Orleans

Catastrophic Canal Break put Eagle Harbor Under Water

Posted on Matthew Ballard

Volume 3, Issue 30 The success of the Erie Canal was not without trials and tribulations over its 200-year history. These photographs, taken in August of 1927, show the damage sustained during an extensive break in the canal wall near Eagle Harbor. On August 3, 1927, local farmers observed a slight leak in the south wall of the canal near the Otter Creek gully. L. E. Bennett reported seeing a three-foot square hole open up, spilling thousands of gallons of water out of the waterway in a matter of minutes; the initial opening formed approximately 100 feet west of the

Continue readingCatastrophic Canal Break put Eagle Harbor Under Water