Staged locomotive crash just fizzles

Sept. 10, 1906: Thousands of people gathered at Agricultural Park, now Exposition Park, to see two locomotives collide on a track, The Times reported.

“Gaily dressed ladies, accompanied by their escorts, thronged the grandstand and throughout the big field hundreds of vehicles, from the violet-hued automobile down to the tallyho of subdued elegance, were scattered,” the newspaper said.

But the high drama that promoters had promised failed to materialize, The Times reported.

“There was no deafening crash.... There was a dull, muffled ‘chunk’ when they came together,” The Times said of the moment the two big engines made contact. The engines did not even derail, the paper noted.

“It was interesting because it was not a common sight, but all the thrill and excitement were purely anticipatory,” The Times said. “A fire at night in the city is vastly more exciting. There is more thrill in the rush of a fire engine through the streets.”