| Crush, Texas |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT CRUSH, TEXAS | |
| history of texas | |
| 1890s in rail transport | |
| 1896 in the united states | |
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Crush, Texas was a temporary "city" established as a one-day Publicity Stunt in 1896. In 1896 William G. Crush, general passenger agent of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad known as the Katy Railroad , conceived the idea to demonstrate a Train Wreck as a Spectacle . No admission was charged, and train fares to the crash site were at the reduced rate of US$ 2 from any location in Texas. As a result about 40,000 people showed up on September 15 , 1896 making the new town of Crush, Texas the second largest city in the state. PREPARATIONS Two wells were drilled at the site, 3 miles south of the town of 2007 . The Katy Railroad offered spectators from anywhere in the state of Texas train rides to the site for $2. CRASH At 5:00 pm on September 15 , 1896 the two trains rolled back to opposite ends of a four mile track. The engineers and crew opened the steam to a prearranged setting, rode for exactly 4 turns of the drive wheels, and jumped from the trains. The trains each reached a speed of about 45 mph by the time they met very near the anticipated spot. The impact caused both engine 2007 . AFTERMATH Mr. Crush was immediately fired from the Katy railroad. However, in light of a lack of negative publicity, he was rehired the next day.Masterson, Vincent V. '' The Katy Railroad and the Last Frontier '', (Google Books), University of Missouri Press, 1988, p. 272, (ISBN 0826206689). Retrieved 26 May 2007 . Ragtime composer Scott Joplin wrote a piano piece ''The Great Crush Collision'' to commemorate the event. REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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