Between Wasco and Kirklin, Clinton County, north-central Indiana, USA, United States
The Monon Railroad Encounter (1958)
In the small hours of Friday 3 October 1958, Monon Railroad freight train No. 91 was running southbound from Monon to Indianapolis, a string of 56 cars stretching…
Why This Case Matters
A strong Tier 2 candidate combining multiple crew testimony and moving-platform observation with a focused, reviewable evidential question.
Chronology
- 3 October 1958: reported event
- immediate or contemporary reporting where documented
- official/specialist review
- present source and provenance audit
The Witnesses
Monon Railroad freight-train crew
Evidence
The following evidence types are documented for this case:
Evidencemultiple crew testimony
Evidencemoving-platform observation
Evidencelater interviews
Conventional explanations: aircraft, stars or reflections; shared viewing geometry and delayed documentation reduce certainty
What Remains Unresolved
- Exact timing and geometry
- independence of witnesses
- original-record completeness
- chain of custody for any media or physical trace.
Key Takeaways
- The event has enough documented structure for a concise evidence-led page, but conclusions must remain proportional to the surviving primary record.
Sources
Primary and secondary sources for this case file: