I am researching a railroad collision in Riverside, Ala., on January 18, 1890. A westbound Georgia-Pacific passenger train rearended a Georgia-Pacific freight train that had stopped on the tracks, apparently to pick up coal. A flagman had been sent out to warn an eastbound passenger train (No. 53), but no flagman had been sent to warn the westbound train (No. 52). The passenger train's engineer, William W. Berry, was killed.

I've examined contemporanious newspaper accounts and located Berry's probate records. Additionally, I have checked (with little result)various federal, state and local courthouses in the area, the library at Virgina Tech, various historical societies etc. And I have requests in to the archives of Norfolk Southern and the Brotherhood of Railway Conductors.

Can anyone recommend other places to search for information? So far, I haven't turned up a good account of the aftermath of what happened. Newspaper reports say the freight train's conductor, a Mr. Dobbs, fled the scene. What happened to him?

Many thanks.

-- Joe Treen (JTREEN@AOL.COM), August 18, 2002