The railroad track hides in the armpit of Nashville, beneath the bustling traffic and behind the office towers and strip malls.
The used-but-forgotten tracks parallel West End behind Centennial Park, cross Murphy Road and take a sudden turn south by McCabe Park.
That curve, Dutchman's Curve, still evokes memories of a horrible day in Nashville history.
A bit farther south behind Belle Meade Plaza at White Bridge Road and Harding is an old, crumbling bridge where Frank Fletcher of Nashville stood that day 80 years ago, looking down on the bloody tracks.
Descend the wooden and weedy embankment and the smell of oil on railroad ties and an eerie quiet and heat suffocate you. Colorful graffiti on a bridge support says: Welcome to the Line Yard.
In the distance you can hear a train chugging, coming down the tracks with force and speed and purpose.
And you imagine a mighty collision.
"Every time I drive over White Bridge Road I think of it," says the 94-year old Fletcher. "The scene has occurred to me time after time... The horror of it."
Read Full Article »