On January 21, 1893, at Wann Junction on the Big Four Railroad near the intersection of Shamrock and Main Streets in present-day East Alton, an open switch allowed an approaching passenger train to collide with oil-tanker cars, causing an explosion that ignited and sent 7,000 gallons of oil into the air. The resulting rain of fire killed more than 35 and seriously injured dozens of passengers, railroad workers, and spectators in Madison County’s most horrific railroad tragedy, the single incident with the greatest loss of life and personal injury in the county.
