On February 16th 1857, the New York Central Railroad's Albany to Rochester train, the steam locomotive Daniel Webster, crashed four miles west of Canandaigua after hitting seven iron bars placed maliciously across the track. At the throttle was 37 year old engineer John Snell. He kept the wildcat on the tracks long enough for the passengers and crew to escape virtually unhurt, but the train soon jumped track and crashed down a gulley. Snell died at the scene a few minutes after the derailment. The Daniel Webster was his pride and joy and his last words were to his fireman, to take care of his engine. A local man with a young family, John Snell was hailed a hero; extra cars had to be added to incoming trains to accomodate funeral attendees, and almost all of the public and hotel carriages in Rochester were pressed into service for the procession.
His gravestone notes that "he generously sacrificed his own life for the preservation of those under his charge" and that it was "erected by his fellow engineers...not only as a monument of their respect for his magnanimity as a man but also as a tribute of their esteem for him as a companion and friend". The stone also features a likeness of Snell's beloved "Daniel Webster".
According to burial records, he was interred in Section O, Lot 371, but his stone is with the Snell family in Range 3.
His gravestone notes that "he generously sacrificed his own life for the preservation of those under his charge" and that it was "erected by his fellow engineers...not only as a monument of their respect for his magnanimity as a man but also as a tribute of their esteem for him as a companion and friend". The stone also features a likeness of Snell's beloved "Daniel Webster".
According to burial records, he was interred in Section O, Lot 371, but his stone is with the Snell family in Range 3.
On February 16th 1857, the New York Central Railroad's Albany to Rochester train, the steam locomotive Daniel Webster, crashed four miles west of Canandaigua after hitting seven iron bars placed maliciously across the track. At the throttle was 37 year old engineer John Snell. He kept the wildcat on the tracks long enough for the passengers and crew to escape virtually unhurt, but the train soon jumped track and crashed down a gulley. Snell died at the scene a few minutes after the derailment. The Daniel Webster was his pride and joy and his last words were to his fireman, to take care of his engine. A local man with a young family, John Snell was hailed a hero; extra cars had to be added to incoming trains to accomodate funeral attendees, and almost all of the public and hotel carriages in Rochester were pressed into service for the procession.
His gravestone notes that "he generously sacrificed his own life for the preservation of those under his charge" and that it was "erected by his fellow engineers...not only as a monument of their respect for his magnanimity as a man but also as a tribute of their esteem for him as a companion and friend". The stone also features a likeness of Snell's beloved "Daniel Webster".
According to burial records, he was interred in Section O, Lot 371, but his stone is with the Snell family in Range 3.
His gravestone notes that "he generously sacrificed his own life for the preservation of those under his charge" and that it was "erected by his fellow engineers...not only as a monument of their respect for his magnanimity as a man but also as a tribute of their esteem for him as a companion and friend". The stone also features a likeness of Snell's beloved "Daniel Webster".
According to burial records, he was interred in Section O, Lot 371, but his stone is with the Snell family in Range 3.
