Back before streaming films on Netflix, before TV or radio or records or movies—in fact, before any type of 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 crashed were actually 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 very first staged train collisions. And it was a great success.

Crush w

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