Two trains, one tragedy: Remembering the deadly wreck that shook Naperville 75 years ago

The school day ended earlier than usual for Ron Keller when his father drove over to pick him up from Miss McDermond’s class on April 25, 1946.

Dad didn’t want the young boy anywhere near the railroad tracks at Loomis Street, which he’d typically cross on his walk home from Ellsworth School.

In the car, the elder Keller told his son about a horrific wreck in Naperville, explaining how one train ran into the back end of another.

“As a first-grader, I ...