| Article: | Area railroad jobs were dangerous, deadly for workers BLOOMINGTON — On Feb. 25, 1921, “death came fantastic with horror” when a storage tank explosion tossed Harold Downey’s whirling, lifeless body 200 feet into the air. A Chicago & Alton Railroad boilermaker, Downey’s fatal accident reminds us of the untold number of railroad workers who lost their lives toiling in one of the more vital and dangerous industries in U.S. history. |