The Crash at Crush

What would someone have to arrange in 1896 to gather 40,000 people to a remote Texas location? That inquiry was answered by William George Crush, who also had a part in the historical incident that became known as the Crash at Crush. For one day only, Crush, Texas—the location of an incredible show that Crush the man planned to put on—became one of the biggest cities in Texas. He caused two locomotives to race toward one another on the same track, resembling a crude demolition contest.

The ruse was intended to promote train travel and increase ticket sales. The 40,000 onlookers were set up close to the expected crash site and were playing games and drinking lemonade. Six boxcars were towed by each train, which traveled at a top speed of 50 miles per hour. The collision would have had a force of between one and two million pounds. Each locomotive's boiler blew up, sending shrapnel flying into the throng. A dozen additional people suffered critical injuries, leaving three people dead. Crush made the business money despite the mayhem, so he was dismissed, then rehired the next day.