By J. Mark Powell

InsideSources.com

Back before streaming films on Netflix, before TV or radio or records or movies — in fact, before any electronic entertainment — folks took pleasure in the simple things in life. Like watching two steam locomotives crash in a head-on collision.

No, really, they did. Staged crashes were a thing. This is the story of one that went spectacularly bad.

In 1896, railroads had a problem. Their old 30-ton steam locomotives (some of which had been in service since the Civil War 30 years earlier) were being replaced with powerful new 60-ton models. That left them stuck with lots of worthless clunkers.

William Crush had an idea for getting rid of two of them.

That May, a railroad in Maryland had held one of the first staged train collisions. And it was a grea

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