What Happened at Silver Dollar City Yesterday?

Guests to Silver Dollar City usually leave with lasting memories of roller coasters, but yesterday several people experienced something else entirely: a train.

Last night, the Frisco Silver Dollar Line Steam Train derailed at a theme park near Branson and left seven injured – one being a Joplin woman who suffered severe bruises and sore wrists.

Video footage of the derailment depicts bright red train cars flipped over and sitting on tracks with their wheels detached. Gary Eldridge, who was with his family when the train went off track, posted the video on Facebook.

According to a statement on Twitter from the park, six guests and an employee were transported by ambulance for medical treatment at local hospitals. Stone County fire officials stated that all of those people had non-life threatening injuries.

The ride had an up-to-date operating permit, and the Missouri Division of Fire Safety said they are cooperating with the investigation. The department tweeted that they have completed their initial investigation and will return to the scene later with an engineering firm.

UPDATE 10/27/22: The chief amusement park investigator arrived at silver dollar city early Thursday morning and will remain there until noon today to continue investigating what occurred Wednesday, according to Missouri’s Division of Fire Safety. Additionally, members from Missouri’s Fire Marshals’ Amusement Ride Safety Unit are on site but have yet to determine a cause for the accident.

In July, Silver Dollar City was cited by OSHA for failing to comply with workplace safety regulations related to employees testing the Thunderation roller coaster. OSHA found that Silver Dollar City “exposed employees to struck-by hazards by failing to develop and implement safeguarding measures when removing isolation devices or procedures necessary for testing the equipment.” The citation carries a penalty of $14,502. It remains unknown why the man died at Silver Dollar City; however he had worked there since 2017. His identity has remained anonymous.