LwS S1, E7: Trains, Thunderstorms, & Murder
Thunderstorms and trains together create a fantastic audio experience. When the "train" is pulled by a steam engine, the experience is even more thrilling. In this episode, we'll travel with John Prophet to Big Moose, a small town in the Adirondack Region of New York State. It's here, during a strong thunderstorm, that John captured two New York Central trains on the Central's Adirondack Division which ran between Utica, New York, and Montreal, Canada. Big Moose was also the scene for a well-known murder that put the small Upstate New York town on the popular-culture map. Thunderstorms, trains, and murder... all in this episode of Living With Steam.
Below is the New York Central K-11 Pacific-class locomotive that John Prophet recorded at Big Moose, NY.
Please check out this excellent article from F. Ray McKnight for additional picture and more in-depth historical information about the Central's K-11 fleet.
https://nycshs.files.wordpress.com/.../pages-from...
The first photograph shows NYC Train #2 pulled by engine #4507 as it leaves Saranac Inn on the Adirondack Division in 1940. It's train number 2 that features into the Big Moose story.
With the help of Google Earth, we can see what the town of Big Moose, NY looks like. As I mention in the narrative for Episode 7, it's hard to imagine such a small and quiet vacation spot to have such an infamous claim to fame.
Below are some images of Big Moose Station on the New York Central's Adirondack Division. The station is still standing today and is now home to the Big Moose Station Restaurant.
When John Prophet visited the Adirondack Region in August of 1948, he stayed with a friend and his family in Thendara, NY. The Thendara Station still stands and is part of the Adirondack Scenic Railroad route. I have no doubt that John visited the station in Thendara. Unfortunately, he made no recordings of trains at the station.
Episode 7 tells the story of the murder of Grace Brown in 1906; the murder that put Big Moose, NY on the map. Below are images related to the story. If you do a search for "Grace Brown", "Chester Gillette", or "Murder at Big Moose", countless articles will be presented for your review. Keep in mind that Big Moose Lake remains to this day a source of paranormal activity (depending on your take on the subject).
I decided to weave the story of the murder into the episode because, without it, perhaps John Prophet never would have visited Big Moose in the first place. He spent over a week in the Adirondack region in 1948, yet he only recorded at Big Moose. Perhaps he felt, even back then, the story of the murder would be something people would find interesting well into the future. Other towns on the NYC's Adirondack Division were equally picturesque and had the potential for great recordings. Big Moose had "the story."
An illustrated article about the murder of Grace Brown at Big Moose lake can be found by reading “Murder of Grace Brown: Relive infamous crime at Big Moose Lake in Adirondacks”
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