I love new projects, and I've got a pretty nifty one right now.

On May 30, 1893, the circus made an unscheduled stop in Tyrone, Pennsylvania.

The research for this project has been a blast so far! I've discovered that there is LOTS more to this story than just a train wreck.

The train carrying the Walter L. Main Circus was on its way from Houtzdale to Lewistown. As it came down the Allegheny Front between Philipsburg and Tyrone, the engineer lost control, and 14 of the 17 cars left the track.

This particular circus was known for its horses and for its large menagerie of wild and exotic animals. Well, as you can imagine, the wreck caused a lot of animal cages to be smashed to smithereens. The animals that weren't killed or injured suddenly found themselves free. Most of them were rounded up pretty quickly, but a few did escape into the surrounding forest. A few more were captured in the next week or so, but a handful were never accounted for.

For years after the crash, every dead chicken or calf was blamed on a starving predator fugitive from the circus. Some of the stories are quite fantastic!

My research is also revealing some real surprises. I think this is going to make an interesting book. Until then (later this summer), I'll provide sneak previews here at StoryTrax, and also at our company website -- America's Stories, Inc.

Some things I'm working on:

Who were the people who were killed? What were THEIR stories?

Where were the 53 horses that died in the accident buried near the crash site? (I'm sharpening my trowel . . .)

Did other wrecks damage the tracks and contribute to this accident?

Is there a Tyrone circus jinx? (Wait 'til you hear what happened to some other circuses and wild west shows that visited, or tried to visit, Tyrone.)

What was it like to have a circus troupe move into your town for a week or two? And who were they?

There's so much more I'm trying to learn -- stay tuned!