Secrets of the Dead: Death on the Railroad DVD

Very moving and well done

Death on the Railroad makes a significant contribution to railroad history. All those involved should be applauded for their efforts. The producers did a great job telling the story and getting it right for those unfortunate track laborers who died so long ago.

Im generally a fan of Secrets of the Dead, but this episode killed its credibility for a half-baked fiction. Rather than admit where the evidence has left historical blind spots, the three men leading the project bend and twist every shred of it to fit a story of ma murder and corporate coverup they had prefabricated before the expedition even got underway. Violence was auredly done to what few remains they unearth, but they never properly explain why those corpses were buried in coffins if they were the victims of ma murder by immigrant-hating vigilantes. Likewise, they set out to find a ma grave, which would have provided far better proof of a coverup. All they find is an underground anomaly, suggesting the potential for a ma grave but any number of other poibilies as well. Unable to work on the site, they simply aume theyve discovered the ma grave and claim history has been set aright. Worse of all, they return one the bodies to Ireland under the name John Ruddy simply because they believe its him. Then they cry over the great deed theyve accomplished by re-burying a John Doe overseas. I understand these guys want to make a difference and excavate a lost chapter in American history. But their desire to do just thatand pat themselves on the back in the proce as some kind of historical crime-fighting super teamrequires them to fill in the holes left by history with their own imaginations, burying the proper work of science in the proce. Dont bother with this episode.

This happens to be a fascinating story researched by three very dedicated and intelligent men. Without them this important piece of history would not be told. I would watch this over and over again.

This is a very well researched and filmed episode. Every Irish-American knows that things like this (Duffys Cut) happened, despite on-going negation by some folks. Thanks to the researchers for their tireless efforts to bring this story to light.

I love all these episodes and was looking forward to seeing a story I didnt know anything about. But to be honest, I was disappointed. In a quest to find out what happened to these men at Duffys cut it just seemed like these people were making things up as they went along. No proof of any kind was provided that there WERE part of this crew and not simply someones old cemetery. Lets be honest finding 6 bodies in coffins is by no means considered a mass grave. I wish these guys had done more research and PBS insinuated the same. They lost any credibility whatsoever in trying to prove their case to the world

Exciting story by dedicated scholars. The reenactments were very well done! Opened my eyes to a story I had never heard before.

Liz, As one of the men you speak of I can aure you that we did our research. lol 10 years of research in fact. You say :In a quest to find out what happened to these men at Duffys cut it just seemed like these people were making things up as they went along. No proof of any kind was provided that there WERE part of this crew and not simply someones old cemetery The very fact that you didnt understand the location of the coffins- within 1832 railroad fill- and thus not in a cemetery- leads me to believe that this project is simply over your head. Kevin, You say: But their desire to do just thatEURand pat themselves on the back in the proce as some kind of historical crime-fighting super teamEURrequires them to fill in the holes left by history with their own imaginations, burying the proper work of science in the proce. In all honesty I am the guy crying so I am a little sensitive here. You seem to be a very angry person, especially as you make personal attacks on us as human beings. I wonder what motivates people like you?

This was a really interesting show. Unlike so many other shows on TV where nothing gets found and the viewer is let down, these gentlemen actually found what they were looking for in this show, after 180 years. Anyone into Irish history and genealogy should watch this.

This is an excellent episode. There is actually quite a bit on this story in print already, including a book, pieces by CNN, NPR, Smithsonian, BBC, RTE, NY Times, Wall Street Journal. The hour-long documentary is an abbreviated version of a very complicated story. However, the documentary storyline is well conceived and well executed. To correct some comments below about precisely whose remains were excavated, these scholars (with PhDs--ie, not enthusiatic amatuers) have identified the site of the mass grave based on documentary evidence, as reported in the railroad sources. Their identification of the dig site with the railroad work site described in ninteenth century railroad sources is clearly discussed in the documentary. From what Ive read, there was no other mass grave ever reported at that site. It was owned by the railroad. No one could have been buried in an 1832 railroad fill BEFORE 1832 (ie, before the structure was completed), and no one could have been buried in it AFTER the railroad started running over it in 1834. This chronological fact is apparent in the documentary. It is an excellent episode, of interest to railroaders and those interested in Irish-American history.