Great Kipton Train Wreck

On April 19, 1891, a head-on collision between two Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway trains occurred at the Kipton depot, killing eight people and heavily damaging the depot. The crash happened when an eastbound fast mail train near Kipton collided with a westbound passenger train from Elyria. The passenger train was supposed to allow the mail train to pass, but its conductor did not realize that his watch had stopped for four minutes and then restarted, causing the train to reach the stopping point late. In response, the railway company enlisted Cleveland jeweler Webb C. Ball to investigate time and watch conditions across its lines. Ball established the railroad industry's timekeeping program, specifying which watches trainmen could use, and his emphasis on accuracy and promptness led to the saying, "Get on the Ball."

Kipton, Ohio · United States