Manitowoc to Two Rivers Runaway Train
This photo shows Chicago and Northwestern Switch Engine 1083 after it was recovered from the bottom of the Two Rivers Harbor. The front trucks (wheels) are missing because the engine was stuck in 12 feet of mud and when the lift was made to remove the engine the trucks snapped off. MCHS 2004.44.1176
March 7, 2022, will mark 64 years when a freight train mysteriously disappeared from the Chicago and Northwestern railyard in Manitowoc and was found later that morning in the water of the Two Rivers Harbor.
On Friday morning March 7, 1958 at 0210 hrs. at the Calumet Rail Yards, a Chicago and Northwestern Railroad train crew, with their train parked and running, disembarked to take a breakfast break. The engine and nine cars were gone when they returned. The train traveled l0 miles and went through 20 crossings before the engine and two box cars smashed through a dead end obstruction, traveled 60 feet and plunged into 18 feet of water in the Two Rivers Harbor.
But the train did not go unseen. One witness observed the train make the crossing at Revere Dr. and also noticed that the train did not sound its horn as it made the crossing and no railroad personnel were out at the crossing with a lantern or flare which was the usual procedure. The witness described the train traveling at a slow rate of speed, with the headlight being very dim but the train picked up speed after passing the crossing.
Manitowoc Police Officers Roland Dueno and Frank Wensing observed the train pass the Mirro Dr. crossing heading towards Two Rivers traveling about 5 to 8 miles an hour. The train did not sound a warning before making the crossing and at the time they were not aware that a train was missing. It was not until 0400 did they learn that a train was missing from the Calumet yards.
People in Two Rivers who witnessed the passing train were surprised that a train was in the Two Rivers area at that time of night and described its speed of at least 50 miles an hour. A witness seeing the train plunge into the water at first had a difficult time convincing Two Rivers Police as to what he saw. Only after Two Rivers Police checked out the witness’s story and saw the train engine’s headlight underwater did they contact the Manitowoc Police Department.
Force of the crash carried the engine 20 feet out from the edge of the dock. A trailing box car loaded with Mirro Aluminum leap frogged over the engine, losing its trucks (wheels) but remained floating and was eventually towed back to the opposite dock by nearby Coastguards men.
As salvage operations began, a diver twice searched the sunken engine as salvage operations began but because of poor visibility was unable to determine if anyone was in the cab.
In order to recover the train an additional 60 ft. of track had to be laid to bring heavy lifting equipment to the river’s edge. In addition, two barges with heavy lift cranes from Mc Mullin and Pitz Construction from Manitowoc were brought in to lift the engine and cars out of the water.
The engine was raised from the harbor on Wednesday March 12,1958. Due to the fact that the engine was stuck in12 feet of mud, the trucks (wheels) were snapped off as the engine was lifted from the river bottom. A separate salvage operation was made to recover the trucks.
Three cranes held the engine as it was removed from the water while hoses sprayed it to remove the mud.
Further investigation by Police found that someone had boarded the engine and advanced the throttle. The train was traveling at an estimated 50 to 60 mph before it took the plunge into the harbor. The runaway train was investigated by the Manitowoc Police Dept., Two Rivers Police Dept., Chicago and Northwestern Railroad Police, and the FBI. This story with numerous photos including a map showing the trains route, intersections and landmarks it passed dominated newspaper coverage the week of March 9 through March 15, 1958. No one was ever found responsible for starting the train on its journey.
According to Richard Hanke, Historian for The Chicago and Northwestern Railroad Historical Society, Switch Engine 1083 was repaired and placed back in service.
The area where the train plunged into the Two Rivers harbor is now the area of the Seagull Marina and McDonalds.
The Two Rivers spur line no longer exists, but some of the track and track bed is still visible. Some of this track was removed in the summer of 2018 on Menasha Ave. The track crossing on Mirro Dr. still exists. Some of the track can still be seen next to the Holy Family Clinic in Two Rivers and a section of the track was removed to construct the driveway leading from the clinic to Memorial Drive.