THE HAMMONTONIAN | JULY 2022 | P . 21
The Owl train wreck occurred on July 2 , 1922
OWL , from P . 20 computers then , and it was very primitive compared to today . The accident was human error . It was just a series of mistakes by numerous people ,” Macrie said .
After the accident , John DeWalt was falsely accused of causing the disaster , Macrie said . However , Macrie added that it was later determined that he was not at fault , and his name was exonerated from all charges and blame .
The train was 90 seconds away ( at 90 miles an hour ) from the Reading Company ’ s station in Hammonton ( formerly situated on 12th Street at the current location of Pool House ), although it would not have made a stop there , as it was an express . Ninety seconds from Winslow Junction to Hammonton exemplifies how fast the train was moving when it derailed , Macrie said .
One hundred years after the accident , at 11:28 p . m . on July 2 , Macrie and his two employees marked the grim anniversary at Winslow Junction .
“ I went to Winslow that night with two of my employees . As a tribute to John DeWalt and those killed in the accident , we stood at the site where the derailment occurred , trying to imagine the
MONDAY , JULY 3 , 1922 : THE DAY AFTER THE WRECK . chaos of 100 years ago . With the glow of the town of Hammonton in the distance , we stood there for about 10 minutes . The surreal experience took us back in time , if only for a few minutes . It was more historical than anything . It was a derailment . It is history and you can ’ t erase it . Standing there , you just had that feeling of placing yourself back in that moment in time . The track where The Owl derailed and landed in a gully is still in service and is used on a daily basis by Conrail , the Seashore Lines and the Southern Railroad Company of New Jersey ,” Macrie said .
THE TRANSMISSION SPECIALISTS
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40 YEARS IN THE SAME LOCATION !
THIS PHOTO SHOWS THE DERAILED LOCOMOTIVE ( NOTE LOCOMOTIVE DRIVING
WHEELS AT RIGHT CENTER OF PHOTO ), WITH A PASSENGER CAR SITTING ON TOP OF THE LOCOMOTIVE .
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