January 7, 1966: A Day Of Tragedy In Bainbridge, N.Y. (PHOTOS)

Hell visited tiny Bainbridge, NY on January 7, 1966.

A speeding freight train heading from Binghamton to Albany jumped the tracks at the downtown rail crossing on a freezing cold winter afternoon.  The trains went hurtling through the Bainbridge Fire House ripping it from its foundation and destroying it.  The train then whipsawed over the tracks and hurtled through several trackside structures including houses, destroying them also.  Several people died in their homes.  Others were injured.

The boxcars, loaded with their cargo, toppled onto the cars that were waiting at the crossing in downtown Bainbridge.  Volunteers poured out of the major workplaces of the area, Scintilla, Keith Clark Calendar factory, Borden's and others.  Hundreds raced to the scene to assist in the tragedy.

It is an unforgettable day for those of us who were there that day.  I was 16-years old at the time.  I did not go to Bainbridge like many others did.  I was in the Sidney Hospital with my family awaiting the birth of the newest members of our growing family.  My sisters, Mary and Teri D'Imperio, were born within an hour of the Bainbridge Train Wreck.

So you can see, January 7, 1966 is a day I will never forget.

Many thanks to Chris Dombrowski for these never before seen photographs of the train wreck!