Doodlebug Bridge by David Whited

Doodlebug Bridge

David Whited

Doodlebug Bridge

Watercolor

7 x 10 in

Inv: WC-1206

The Doodlebug disaster was a railway accident that occurred on July 31, 1940, in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, in the United States. A Pennsylvania Railroad, gasoline-powered "doodlebug" passenger rail car collided head-on with a freight train; the impact and resulting fire caused the deaths of all but three of the 46 onboard. In 2005, a memorial monument was built at the disaster site on its 65th anniversary. The memorial was the result of a school project by three 13-year-olds at Sill Middle School, which led a fundraising campaign to establish a permanent memorial to those killed in the disaster. This bridge on the railroad line crosses the Cuyahoga River adjacent to the accident—watercolor on 140lb paper.