Accidents and Tragedies of the CA&E Railway - Batavia Spur

[@wmealer61]

Yet another informative and interesting video. Thanx for doing the research and making these.

[@BeHistoric]

Very glad that you are enjoying these videos! Thanks for taking the time to watch and to comment!

[@GOMF-eq4qc]

That was certainly a spooky story about the Geneva Training School for Girls. Though it closed for good in 1978, in the few years prior to it closing, overflow of male juvenile “students” (of crime) were housed there. Since I worked at the maximum security male facility in Joliet at that time, we had several inmates who were transferred to us after discovering that the mortar between the bricks was so deteriorated that they could burrow their way through the walls using only plastic toothbrushes as makeshift chisels in their mass breakout. That site has got to be haunted if any is.

[@BeHistoric]

Thanks for the insightful comments and for watching our video! Yes, the story of the three young women was especially poignant. Contemporary reports indicate that they were considered "good girls", ie, not at Geneva Training School for violence or serious crimes. It was relatively easy for them to escape, as they were confined in a cottage - not in the usual dormitories. Very sad chain of events.

[@WesternOhioInterurbanHistory]

It was very clever to use footage of the Fox River Trolley Museum right of way, as it's VERY similar to the right of way used by the CA&E along the river, as the CA&E used overhead wire along the river in later years. Awesome work!

[@BeHistoric]

Thanks for noticing that. We didn't intend to use that footage for this purpose - but then realized that it was a similar line right along the Fox River. All we needed to do was to reverse the image to get the Fox River on the right, rather than the left. Thanks for the comment!

[@johndonlon1611]

In many cases it appears from the age of many of these accidents people of that era (1900-1920s) had little if any knowledge or experience with electricity and just how dangerous it still is. Thought-provoking and well-researched episode. Thanks for sharing.

[@BeHistoric]

Yes, that was part of it - a new technology which took one or two generations for people to fully understand and respect. And it took quite a while for appropriate codes and regulations to appear and be implemented as well. Thank you for watching and for commenting!

[@bethritchason986]

Great job on the vids I’ve watched many of them.

[@BeHistoric]

Thank you for the comment and kind words! And thanks too for watching many of our videos - that means a great deal to us! Glad that you are enjoying them.

[@iulianafratila3924]

Amazing video about all the deaths and tradgedys on the batavia branch. But I have one question: Why did the women from the Training School for Girls go on the C,A&E tracks. Can you also make a video about the Joliet Iron Works please. Have an amazing. day.

[@BeHistoric]

Hi, thank you for watching our video and glad that you found it informative! That's a good question regarding the tendency to follow the railroad. The contemporary teports indicate that the young women were smart enough to know that the railroad would lead them to Chicago, where if might be easier to find their way home, or they could disappear in the crowds. If they walked along a road, chances are they would have been found and picked up by authorities. Hope this helps. We will look into the Joliet Iron Works. Thanks very much for the suggestion!

[@WesternOhioInterurbanHistory]

Was excited for this one very much!

[@BeHistoric]

Hope that you enjoyed it! Thanks for the continued support of our channel!

[@brianberthold3118]

love your vids .. best channel on youtube ... im not sure if i have said this wile i have never been on the path i have done enough research to think all those "power polls" alone the path that look like the metal towers are all CA&E towers

[@BeHistoric]

Thanks for the ongoing support and the kind words! Very considerate of you. Regarding the utility poles and metal poles - we will need to study that further. The easement certainly owes its presence to the former railway, as you know. Will have to study some of the old photographs. Thanks again for the comment and observations!

[@WesternOhioInterurbanHistory]

You are probably right, as atleast until 2016 there were metal power poles from the CA&E still standing in Glen Ellyn.

[@nikolt2000]

thank you for this video and series. It is invaluable stuff.

[@BeHistoric]

Very glad that you found it informative. We try to limit ourselves to only one of these sorts of videos per year, as the sad stories take a toll on us while making them. Thanks again!

[@carold6542]

This is an awesome video. I felt like I was living through every scenario. You both have a great deal of knowledge on how to make a dramatic video. The naration was great too. Please let me know when your theatrical debut is coming up so I can get a seat now. Great job.

[@BeHistoric]

Thanks very much for the kind words - and very glad that you found it interesting! Thanks too for noticing the composition of the stories. We attempt to give viewers a real sense of how these accidents occurred - putting them there. It's too easy to simply read the story of an accident and dismiss it - but harder to do when you see it from the perspective of some of the actors in the tragedy. Thanks again!

[@davewolfy.5932]

Great video

[@BeHistoric]

Thanks very much for the kind words and for watching the video!

[@rocco.mbb.zoccoli]

Wow… the AI generated pics really added depth to these old stories.

[@BeHistoric]

Thanks for the feedback! Yes, the AI pics can add a great deal to re-imagine some of these events. As we've mentioned to others, it takes quite a few iterations to get something that is reasonably close to what you are hoping to show. And often the images need to be modified. For example, the AI tools really don't know what to make of the "the third rail". The term would usually be ignored by the tools, or shown with a rail down the middle of the running rails. These are great tools and we are glad that they are available - but they still have quite a ways to go. Thanks again for the comment!

[@WaltANelsonPHD]

Very depressing. People still race trains to the crossing.

[@BeHistoric]

Thanks for watching and for the comment! Yes, sadly, people still do race to get across crossings - not only endangering themselves but everyone standing nearby or on the train. We witnessed this exact scenario just a few weeks back while waiting for a light to change at an intersection, while we were out biking along the IPP. When the crossing signals started and the gates started coming down, a black SUV gunned its engine, whipped out of the waiting line of cars into the opposing lane of traffic, and floored it across the crossing, just barely missing the closing gates. It was a remarkably reckless action.

[@WaltANelsonPHD]

@@BeHistoric It has also become common for drivers to drive thru red lights taking away seconds from green lights of opposite traffic.

[@cesar0.079]

could you do any of west chicago

[@BeHistoric]

Thanks for watching and commenting! Yes, we did cover the CA&E run through West Chicago in our Accident and Tragedies series regarding the Geneva Spur. Here is the link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sKSzq4aXqcaGbtksi=nz59fAEvsUE-JNfX

[@slapandtick1e]

👍

[@BeHistoric]

Thanks for watching and commenting!