1900: Railway disaster shakes Offenbach
Dense fog, human error, a fault in the safety system or a chain of unfortunate circumstances? The rail disaster that shook Offenbach 100 years ago and claimed ten lives probably had all of these causes. On November 8, 1900, shortly before 10.30 p.m., the D train with the number 42 raced through Mühlheim at high speed. Near today's Offenbach goods station, the entry signal, which at that time cleared the way to Offenbach's main station, was set to "red".
Due to the dense fog, the train driver saw the warning signal at the last moment and was only able to slow down his express train a few hundred meters further on.
The block attendant Hohmann, who was in charge of the Mühlheim - Offenbach section of the line, probably saw that the express train had overrun its stop signal, but at the same time received a message from Offenbach main station that the line was passable in his section. He signaled this message to Mühlheim. Passenger train 238, which was waiting in the neighboring community of Offenbach, was given "free passage" and headed towards Offenbach at increasing speed.
In the meantime, the driver of the Berlin Express decided to use the locomotive to push the wagons back to the signal. The block attendant, who noticed that both trains were approaching on the same track, tried to prevent the catastrophe at the last moment. In vain. As the Offenbacher Zeitung reported on November 9, 1900, the collision occurred at "full speed and with tremendous force". The last carriage of the express train was compressed by four meters, pushed under the locomotive and was completely smashed to pieces, as was the carriage in front. The conductor and three passengers in this carriage were injured. Ten people died in the last carriage. The gas tanks, which supplied the lighting and heating in the compartments, ruptured. The escaping gas ignited immediately. The carriages were in flames. According to reports from contemporary witnesses, "harrowing scenes" took place. A man pulled a passenger by his feet through the open window. At that moment, the flames engulfed the unfortunate man's upper body. The heat forced the helper to let go of his legs and the passenger fell back into the carriage and "burned miserably". The hair of a woman, who was already sitting on the edge of the window and "screaming for help", "was caught by the flames and she fell into the burning embers".
Ten bodies, including that of the train's waiting woman, were recovered by the fire department and the 2nd Battalion, some of them burned beyond recognition. Four gold rings were also found in the rubble, one with the inscription "Willy 28.1.92" and another with "Else 28.1.92", leading to speculation in the gazettes the next day that a young couple had fallen victim to the disaster. During the night, many prominent people came to the scene of the accident: Colonel Wundsch, District Councillor von Homberg, District Doctor Dr. Pfannmüller, District Assistant Doctor Dr. Grein, Lord Mayor Brink and Police Commissioner Bräuning. The railroad president Thome arrived later. In the morning, the line between Mühlheim and Offenbach could once again be used as a single track. The clean-up work was completed by 12.00 noon. However, it probably took much longer to repair the damage at the scene of the accident, as the sleepers and telegraph poles were burnt up and the rails were bent by the intense heat.
The victims, including two Russians, were not buried until November 16. A memorial at the Old Cemetery still commemorates the night of the disaster. The Offenbacher Zeitung wrote about the cause of the accident "...and thus the complaint about the inadequacy of our Offenbach railroad station conditions would also receive terrible confirmation". And one day after the collision, an advertisement appeared in the paper from an insurance company which, with reference to the accident, advised people to take out a lifetime rail accident insurance policy, valid worldwide and with a one-off low premium payment.