 On April 28, 1926, Jane Cassidy, wife of Bert Cassidy, the owner-publisher of the Auburn Journal, narrowly escaped death with the three occupants in her car after it stalled while crossing the railroad tracks in Applegate.
Cassidy approached the crossing with caution, driving only four to five miles per hour while listening intently. But the view up the tracks was obscured with overgrown shrubs and trees and the sound of the car’s engine made it difficult to hear anything else. As she crept up onto the tracks, the sudden blare of the approaching train’s whistle shocked her into rapidly accelerating the engine, which immediately flooded and stalled. She and a Mrs. McCann escaped from the front seat, but Cassidy’s father, Mr. McIver, and her 2-year-old daughter were trapped in the back seat. McCann helped McIver out while Cassidy reached in and pulled her daughter to safety, the train barely grazing them as it smashed and destroyed the car. No one was seriously injured.
The April 29, 1926, Auburn Journal noted: “The crossing is an extremely dangerous one and it is due to the almost criminal negligence of the railroad company that a number of accidents have happened in recent years at that place.”
While active safety measures for railroad crossings became standardized in the 1940s, they aren’t required. Many low-traffic railroad crossings today are guarded by passive safety measures such as stop signs or crossbuck warning signs. As the old but important saying goes: “Stop, look and listen” when crossing any railroad track!
From our collection: Postcard, c. 1912
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Auburn: Spring Fest
Roseville: Spring Craft Fair, Wine Down Wednesday
Rocklin: Quarry Park Amphitheater Presents: Warren Haynes, Rocklin Historical Society Heritage Street Faire
North Lake Tahoe: 33rd Annual Cushing Crossing
...and many Placer County Library and Placer County Museum events.
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