February 28, 1957
Hammond Times
5 Monon Passenger Cars Are Derailed
Thayer, Ind.-Five cars were knocked off the
tracks late Wednesday when a Monon railroad passenger train
was derailed near the Kankakee River, just south of the
Lake-Newton County line, less than an hour after leaving the
railroad's Hammond depot.
Between 40 and 50 passengers escaped injury.
The locomotive did not leave the tracks. A long stretch of
track was torn up in the accident and traffic was stymied
for hours.
Cause was not immediately determined. The
railroad, however, was reportedly investigating the
possibility that earth beneath the rails was softened by
heavy rain, causing the rails to spread slightly.
