Who Was Kate Shelley?
Fifteen-year-old Kate was part of a central Iowa farm family when on the night of July 6th 1881 heavy rains caused flash flooding of the nearby Honey Creek. A wooden railroad bridge crossed Honey Creek, and a pusher locomotive had been sent out to check track conditions. The bridge had been washed out, and the train went into Honey Creek. OCCI cast 592 pre-stressed concrete deck panels which are installed on top of the span trusses. Kate heard the crash, grabbed a lantern, and went to the creek. She shouted to the two survivors of the four-man crew that she would get help. But a more pressing crisis also motivated Kate to get help. Within about an hour, a passenger train was scheduled to cross the now non-existent Honey Creek bridge. The passengers on that train might die if it wasn’t stopped. Kate started across a bridge over the Des Moines River toward a nearby train station to give her warning. The going was difficult because the bridge was not fully planked, and then her lantern fa
