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92 died in Ashtabula River train disaster
By REBECCA NIEMINEN SLOAN
On a frigid night in 1876, two locomotives hauling 11 railcars with 159 passengers plunged into the Ashtabula River when the bridge carrying them collapsed.
The wooden cars caught fire, and 92 people died.
It was a scene of horrific carnage and chaos as thieves robbed the deceased, and rescuers struggled to save the injured.
The accident, which occurred due to faulty bridge construction, was the worst bridge collapse of the era.
“It was ‘The Titanic’ of the 19th century,” said Len Brown, a film director who owns Beacon Productions in Canton. “It had a profound effect on the history of engineering and changed how bridges were built.”
Brown is producing a documentary about the tragedy that eventually will air on PBS.
The Kinsman Historical Society has invited Brown to speak about the disaster and the forthcoming documentary at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Kinsman’s Presbyterian Church.
During the event, Brown will share a detailed account of the tragedy and show film clips.
“This story really has so many chilling and fascinating twists,” Brown said.
For example, Amasa Stone, the designer of the bridge and an industrial giant of the time, eventually committed suicide, and the railroad’s engineer, Charles Collins, who deemed the bridge potentially unsafe, was murdered. Famous hymn-writer Philip Bliss and his wife also were killed in the accident.
Brown said the disaster has all the makings of a Hollywood movie, and he wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up being one someday.
For now, though, Brown is happy to see his PBS documentary taking shape.
“We have a fantastic crew,” Brown said. “Cinematographer Dave Ross, who won an Emmy for his work on ‘The Amazing Race,’ and line producer Debbie Marsh Stratis, who worked on the film ‘The Titanic,’ just to name a few.”
The crew also includes cinematic film-music composer Justin Durban, who has composed music for films such as Disney/Pixar’s “Brave” and “How To Train Your Dragon.”
Brown’s wife, Patti, co-owner of Beacon Productions, wrote the script for the documentary based on 10 years of research done by local historians and the late Dr. Thomas Corts.
The documentary will cost about $800,000, which is a small amount, Brown said, in comparison with other two-hour documentaries that cost $1 million or more. Grants have been procured from various sources.
Production likely will begin Aug. 1 after all funding has been secured. Production will continue for 32 weeks with an expected release date in March 2014 and broadcast in May or June 2014.
Filming will take place in Ashtabula, Ohio Village in Columbus, Century Village in Burton and Strasburg Railroad in Pennsylvania.
“All of the actors we’ve hired are from Northeast Ohio,” Brown said. “We are not using people from Hollywood. We wanted to give locals the opportunity.”
Brown said he believes that when the documentary airs, it will help boost tourism in Ashtabula County.
“People will want to come and see for themselves where this tragedy occurred,” he said. “Studies show that tourism can increase 20 percent in a featured area in the months after a documentary airs.”
Visitors to Ashtabula can still find remnants of the infamous accident. Ashtabula General Hospital was built because of the disaster, and many of the dead were buried in Ashtabula’s Chestnut Grove Cemetery. Artifacts from the accident are on display at The Hubbard House Museum in Ashtabula.
The ravine where the disaster took place now has a new bridge across it.
Charlotte Meloni of the Kinsman Historical Society said, “The Historical Society is overjoyed to have Mr. Brown come to Kinsman and speak on the ‘Ashtabula Horror,’ as the tragedy has been called. Phillip P. Bliss, the famous hymn composer for nationally known evanglist D. L. Moody, had lived in Kinsman from 1844-47 and perished in the disaster.”
For more details, contact Donna Carmichael at 330-876-7866 or Meloni at 330-876-9702.
For information,about the documentary, visit www.engineeringtragedy.com