It was a quiet Wednesday afternoon in Western Springs. But, all of that changed at 2:06 p.m. when the crack Empire Builder passenger train roared through town.

Great Northern “Empire Builder” – circa 1966

January 19, 1966, was just another dreary winter day in Western Springs. But, when two local women began driving across the train tracks at Lawn Avenue, things got a lot more exciting. That’s because their 1965 auto stalled on the tracks just as an eastbound express train, the Empire Builder from Seattle, was fast approaching.

Fortunately, the occupants of the car saw the train coming, scrambled out, and were standing a safe distance away when the whistling train hit their car.

On impact, the car’s motor separated from the rest of the automobile and landed in front of the Town & Country Beauty Shop, now part of the Village True Value hardware store.

Automobile engine (foreground)

The car’s gasoline tank also separated from the vehicle and was carried east on the front of the locomotive, flaming and exploding as it went.

The bulk of the car hurtled through the air, on fire, and landed next to and against a parked car. Inside the other car was a 4-year-old girl, whose panicked mother witnessed the incident from a nearby store. The girl was uninjured. Asked if she was scared, she said, “No Mommy, but that train sure did a lot of tooting”.

Other pieces of the car, including gasoline, oil, and antifreeze, sailed through the air and landed on at least a dozen other parked cars. A bumper and other car parts were found at Wolf road, a full block away. As one witness put it, “Car parts fell like rain.”

Miraculously, the only injury occurred when some flying parts hit a car that was backing out of a parking space. The driver lost control, struck another vehicle, and was slightly injured.

Remnants of car following collision

According to Police Chief George Graves, “We were really lucky that day.  It would have been terrible if such a thing had occurred during rush hour when there are dozens and dozens of commuters along the track area and cars all around.”

Aftermath of the train-car collision

Surprisingly, the car that was hit by the train was not a total loss. Police found the spare tire, still in good condition, alongside the railroad tracks.