| Wheeling rail disaster | |
|---|---|
 Illustration of the bridge where the accident occurred | |
| Details | |
| Date | March 27, 1853 3 p.m. |
| Location | Wheeling, West Virginia |
| Line | Baltimore and Ohio Railroad |
| Incident type | Derailment |
| Cause | Poor rail quality |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 1 |
| Passengers | 50 |
| Deaths | 8-17 |
| Injured | 25-40 |
| List of rail accidents (before 1880) | |
The Wheeling rail disaster refers to a train derailment that occurred near Wheeling, West Virginia in March 1853.
In January 1853, Wheeling, West Virginia was officially connected by rail by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which was the first time that the ports of the Atlantic Ocean were connected by rail to the Ohio River valley. The Appalachian Mountain range proved to be difficult in term of forming a railway connection, however, when completed, rail travel across the mountainous area began immediately. [1]
The completed railway included a rail bridge that crossed over the Cheat River; the bridge had a curved 116-foot grade, but the construction of the bridge included crossties being held in place by loosened nails. [2]
On March 27, 1853, around 3 o'clock, P.M., [3] a two-engine train carrying four cars (three of which were full of passengers) departed from Wheeling was crossing the bridge over the Cheat River. As the train passed over the already-loose crossties, the nails holding the beams in place detached. The train derailed as a result and sent the cars down the hundred-foot embankment. [2]
As the passenger carriages tumbled down the embankment, furnaces in the passenger cars broke loose and spilled burning-hot coals onto the floor. The passenger coaches, which were made of wood at the time, proved to be weaker and would shatter and splinter in severe accidents; this combined with the spilled coals started a fire, further trapping passengers already caught in the disaster. [2]
The initial death toll is stated as 8, but is believed to be as high as 17. [2] This was the first time in the history of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad that passengers perished as the result of an accident. [4]
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States. It operated as B&O from 1830 until 1987, when it was merged into the Chessie System; its lines are today controlled by CSX Transportation.
The Western Maryland Railway was an American Class I railroad (1852–1983) that operated in Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. It was primarily a coal hauling and freight railroad, with a small passenger train operation.
The Spanish River derailment was a rail transport accident that occurred on 21 January 1910, on the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) Webbwood Subdivision, where the railway crosses the Spanish River near the settlement of Nairn near Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. A westbound passenger express train derailed and crashed into the Spanish River bridge, killing at least 43 passengers, though the death count varies. The cause was never established, but was believed to be poor track condition and/or speeding and braking on a curve.
The Central Ohio Railroad was the third railroad to enter Columbus, Ohio, and the first to connect Columbus with the east coast. It eventually became a part of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
The railways of New South Wales, Australia have had many incidents and accidents since their formation in 1831. There are close to 1000 names associated with rail-related deaths in NSW on the walls of the Australian Railway Monument in Werris Creek. Those killed were all employees of various NSW railways. The details below include deaths of employees and the general public.
The Angola Horror train wreck occurred on December 18, 1867, just after 3 p.m. when the last coach of the Buffalo-bound New York Express of the Lake Shore Railway derailed at a bridge in Angola, New York, United States, slid down into a gorge, and caught fire, killing some 49 people. At the time, it was one of the deadliest train wrecks in American history.
The North Western Virginia Railroad was chartered by the Virginia General Assembly as the Northwestern Virginia Railroad on February 14, 1851, in order to build track from Grafton, West Virginia to Parkersburg, West Virginia. Future statehood advocate and U.S. Senator Peter G. Van Winkle of Parkersburg began as the Northwestern Railroad's secretary in 1852 and served as its president through the American Civil War.