It was one of those disasters that nobody expects. July 31, 1940 6:00PM at Front Street and Hudson Drive. Gasoline-Electrical shuttle train met head on with a freight train and in one instant 350 gallons of fuel exploded all over everything. There were 43 lives lost and many more were affected forever.

The gasoline-powered shuttle car, that operated on the Pennsylvania Railroad, was making its daily trek from Hudson to Akron. Many of the 46 passengers on the "Doodlebug" were commuters from jobs in Cleveland. Most of the passengers of the train were young. Some were students, some were prominent leaders in the community.

Traveling at 40 mph, the "Doodlebug" entered Cuyahoga Falls about a half an hour after it had left Hudson. Somehow the signals were mixed or ignored, and the shuttle car continued its journey at a steady clip. Just a few yards beyond the Front St. crossing, there was a 73 car freight train. The single car crashed, head-on, into the freight.

The crash caused the 350 gallon gasoline tank to explode enabling the burning gasoline to escape and cover the tracks, cars and people. The impact of the collision threw the passengers and seats into the front of the car. People and debris were piled on top of one another, making it impossible for anyone to attempt an escape from the inferno.

There were three men who did survive the fatal crash, the engineer, conductor, and brakeman. Todd Wonn, of Akron, is the only one of the three that is still living. Wonn, sitting in the baggage compartment because the coach was full, noticed the conductor ran from the one end of the train to the other. He was a shouting something about a crash. Following his first instinct to jump, Wonn escaped from the crash, suffering only a cut on the head and torn ligaments in his ankle.

Popular memory of this incident would have likely been forgotten had it not been (in 2005) for three 13-year olds at Sill Middle School. For them, what started as a school project turned into a fundraising activity for a permanent memorial in Cuyahoga Falls. On Sunday, July 31, 2005, the monument at the Doodlebug Memorial was dedicated - featuring speeches from the three kids, the mayor, and acknowledgements of relatives of the dead and the sole survivor of the accident. And it is with a little bit of pride that I say -- I was there that day.

Doodlebug Memorial Garden

 

Episode 031 recording studio

 

Cuyahoga River

 

Near the site of the crash