Some love stories involve stolen glances, secret letters, or moonlit promises. This one involved an express train, a coupling pin, and a very bad decision.
In 1911, Bennett Clark of Lawrenceburg, Indiana, was a young farmer with one thing on his mind: reaching Cullum’s Station to see his sweetheart. Unfortunately for him, the train he had boarded was a through train, meaning it was not scheduled to stop where he wanted to get off.
Most passengers might have waited for the next stop and found a way back. Bennett chose a far more dramatic option.
As the train neared Cullum’s Station, he reportedly drew the coupling pin between the coaches, disconnecting part of the train and bringing the express to a sudden halt. The stunt may have gotten him closer to romance, but it also landed him under arrest and held on a staggering $5,000 bond.
The brief report below, published in 1911, turns a reckless act into a strange little snapshot of old-fashioned determination, railroad danger, and the kind of love story that probably sounded much better in Bennett Clark’s head than it did in court.
Love Halts Express Train
When Bennett Clark, a young farmer of Lawrenceburg, Indiana, found that he was on a through train which would not stop at Cullum’s Station, Indiana, on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, he decided to use desperate means to get off there because he was determined to see his sweetheart, because of whom, he said, he made the trip.
When near his destination he drew the coupling pin between the coaches, which brought the train to a sudden stop, the airbrakes having been disconnected. Bennett was arrested and is being held under $5,000 bond.
Source: The Waxahachie Daily Light. Waxahachie, Tex. October 11, 1911.
