Death on the Railroad

In 2003 twin brothers Dr Bill Watson and Rev Dr Frank Watson discovered a secret file amongst their Grandfathers papers which set in motion a chain of events which has had a profound effect on their lives and the lives of many others. The contents of the file recounted how in West Chester, Pennsylvania, in 1832, whilst building one of the earliest American railroads, 57 young men from Ireland met their untimely death in a valley which came to be known as Duffy’s Cut. The suggestion was they mostly died of Cholera. In 2009 the mass grave of some of those who died was found. 

The remains uncovered to date have turned the original story on its head. The bodies were buried in heavily nailed down coffins. Why? All show evidence of murder and most intriguing of all one of the remains is that of a woman!

Using the latest forensic and scientific investigative techniques, DNA, forensic analysis and historical detective work in the USA and Ireland, our modern detectives, the Watson Brothers and the team of experts they have assembled, will unravel this extraordinary story.

Tile Films have been shooting at the Duffy’s Cut site with the Watson Brothers and their colleague Earl Schandelmieir since 2004 and have been chronicling this extraordinary story since then. The events at Duffy’s Cut and the archeological dig and recovery of bodies will form the spine of the story.A 50 minute HD Science/History documentary focused on the events that took place at  Duffy’s Cut will be made for television.