1853 Mount Union rail disaster

Mount Union rail disaster
Wood engraving of the accident
Details
Date	March 4, 1853;172 years ago (1853-03-04)
Location	Mount Union, Pennsylvania
Line	Main Line (Pennsylvania Railroad)
Operator	Pennsylvania Railroad
Incident type	Rear-end collision
Cause	Neglect by brakeman
Statistics
Trains	2
Deaths	7
List of rail accidents (before 1880)

The Mount Union rail disaster was a rear-end collision that took place on March 4th, 1853. It was the first major railroad accident (that killed more than five), but would be soon be overshadowed by other railroad tragedies that would occur later that year. ^[1]

Background

The main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad was first opened in 1849; by 1850 the line was expanded to include Mount Union. ^[2] The initial construction was a single line of tracks and it would not be until the end of the 19th century that the line would change into a double line. ^[3]

Accident

On March 4th, 1853 a passenger train carrying emigrants was forced to make an emergency stop while traveling through the Allegheny Mountains. While the crew of the passenger train were repairing mechanical issues, a mail train approached not seeing any red signals or reason to stop. The mail train soon collided the rear of the passenger train, shattering the passenger compartment. The boiler of the mail train then ruptured and additional passengers were also scalded to death as a result. ^[1]

The cause of the accident was revealed to be neglect by the brakeman of the passenger train. He had been sent to the rear of the passenger train, but had fallen asleep before he could set up a warning signal further down the line. ^[1]

Seven people would die as a result of the crash making it the deadliest US rail accident at that time. ^[1] However, by end of the month this accident would then be overshadowed by the Wheeling rail disaster which occurred on March 27th, (killing between 8 and 17), ^[4] then the Greater Grand Crossing rail collision (which would occur the next month) ^[5] as well as the Norwalk rail accident which occur on May 8th. ^{[1] [6]}

References

1. Reed, Robert (1968). Train Wrecks: A Pictorial History of Accidents on the Main Line. Seattle: Superior Pub. Co. p.  18. ISBN   0-517-328976.
2. "PRR Chronology, 1850" (PDF). (49.7  KiB), March 2005 Edition
3. Staufer, Alvin F. (1993). Pennsy Power III : 1847-1968. Medina, OH. ISBN   978-0944513101.
4. Sibray, David (January 2018). "B&O Railroad completed to Wheeling on Jan. 1, 1853". West Virginia Explorer. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
5. Hmurovic, John. ""POP" WHITING AND ONE OF THE WORST RAILROAD ACCIDENTS IN EARLY U.S. HISTORY". Whiting-Robertsdale Historical Society. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
6. Haine, Edgar A. (1994). "The first of many railroad bridge disasters: South Norwalk, Conn–May 1853–56 dead". Railroad Wrecks. Associated University Presses. p. 34. ISBN   9780845348444 – via Google Books.