Wann Railroad Disaster
CITY:
East Alton
COUNTY:
Madison
DEDICATED BY:
Philip Walkington and the Illinois State Historical Society.
DEDICATION DATE:
June 15, 2019 at 5:00:00 AM
Marker is located in front of the Fred H. Bright Vital Services Building at 209 North Shamrock Street in East Alton.
The Wann Disaster of January 21, 1893, is Madison County’s most horrific railroad tragedy. It caused the greatest loss of life and cases of personal injury in a single incident. The accident occurred at the Wann Junction on the Big Four Railroad, near the intersection of Shamrock and Main Streets in present-day East Alton. An open switch allowed an approaching passenger train to collide with oil-tanker cars causing an explosion that ignited and sent 7,000 gallons of oil into the air. The resulting “rain of fire” killed more than 35 and seriously injured dozens of passengers, railroad workers, and spectators.