In the early hours of April 1915, a Pere Marquette passenger train bound from Palms, Michigan, nearly met disaster on the Rock Falls Bridge, just two miles south of Harbor Beach. As the train approached the towering trestle, spreading rails—a result of failing track infrastructure—caused the rear freight and passenger cars to derail. With twenty-six souls aboard, the train lurched dangerously, its wheels grinding against the twisted tracks. Miraculously, despite being off-course, the train remained upright and traversed the entire bridge, narrowly avoiding what could have been one of the worst rail disasters in Michigan’s Thumb region. Witnesses described the harrowing scene as the train dragged its dislodged cars across the trestle, tearing up rails and ties for nearly ten rods beyond the bridge before coming to a halt.
Against all odds, no passengers were injured, a rare stroke of luck in an era when rail disasters often ended in tragedy. Investigators credited the sturdiness of the bridge’s guard rails, which held firm under the immense pressure, preventing the train from plunging into the ravine below. The passengers, including several women, remained remarkably calm throughout the ordeal. A wrecking train from Saginaw arrived promptly to clear the damaged tracks, and by Tuesday afternoon, the line was running once more. The Rock Falls Bridge wreck became a legendary tale of survival, a near-tragedy that underscored both the dangers and the resilience of early 20th-century railroad travel. Source: https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-train-wreck-at-the-rock-falls/166872813/
