Barrycdog
Major
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2013
- Location
- Buford, Georgia
Railroad Accidents Kill Soldiers During Civil War
Railroad accidents were more common in the 1860’s than today. Many of these accidents were caused by poor equipment and a total lack of safety procedures. Many railroads were shoddily constructed and bridges were inadequate for the weight of trains. Trains were often on the same tracks without adequate safety warning or sidings and collisions were common. Maximum speed for trains was often 35 miles per hour or less due to ...poorly built lines.
One of the worst wrecks occurred at Shohola, Pennsylvania, on July 15, 1864 on the Erie Railroad in which at least 60 people were killed. Engine 171 an ‘extra’ was taking 833 Confederate prisoners and 128 guards from Point Lookout, Maryland to Elmira, New York. The extra was supposed to have the right-of-way but was running four hours late when it left Port Jervis, New York along a single line track with blind curves. The dispatcher at Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania, mistakenly allowed a coal train to head east along the same line. The two trains collided at King and Fuller’s Cut, where forward visibility was only fifty feet. Frank Evans, a Union guard described the scene: "The two locomotives were raised high in the air, face-to-face against each other, like giants grappling...The front (car) of our train was jammed into a space less than six feet. The two cars behind it were almost as badly wrecked. There were bodies impaled on iron rods and splintered beams. Headless trunks were mangled between the telescoped cars.” The dead guards and prisoners were buried in unmarked grave next to the track until they were moved to Woodlawn National Cemetery in Elmira, New York in 1911.
Trains also derailed on curves in spite of lower speeds than trains today. Near Fort Valley Georgia a train carrying Confederate wounded derailed on a curve, killing six and wounding 37. They were buried in unmarked graves with other Confederate soldiers at Oak Lawn Cemetery in Fort Valley, where a memorial reads "Confederate dead here rest, known to God, more than 20."
Today there are numerous safety procedures and equipment that make the accidents so common in the 1860’s much rarer. The Federal Railroad Administration today attempts to maintain safety in our railroad system, but with increased speeds accidents may still occur on our rail lines.
#Civilwar #Shiloh #Findyourpark
Railroad accidents were more common in the 1860’s than today. Many of these accidents were caused by poor equipment and a total lack of safety procedures. Many railroads were shoddily constructed and bridges were inadequate for the weight of trains. Trains were often on the same tracks without adequate safety warning or sidings and collisions were common. Maximum speed for trains was often 35 miles per hour or less due to ...poorly built lines.
One of the worst wrecks occurred at Shohola, Pennsylvania, on July 15, 1864 on the Erie Railroad in which at least 60 people were killed. Engine 171 an ‘extra’ was taking 833 Confederate prisoners and 128 guards from Point Lookout, Maryland to Elmira, New York. The extra was supposed to have the right-of-way but was running four hours late when it left Port Jervis, New York along a single line track with blind curves. The dispatcher at Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania, mistakenly allowed a coal train to head east along the same line. The two trains collided at King and Fuller’s Cut, where forward visibility was only fifty feet. Frank Evans, a Union guard described the scene: "The two locomotives were raised high in the air, face-to-face against each other, like giants grappling...The front (car) of our train was jammed into a space less than six feet. The two cars behind it were almost as badly wrecked. There were bodies impaled on iron rods and splintered beams. Headless trunks were mangled between the telescoped cars.” The dead guards and prisoners were buried in unmarked grave next to the track until they were moved to Woodlawn National Cemetery in Elmira, New York in 1911.
Trains also derailed on curves in spite of lower speeds than trains today. Near Fort Valley Georgia a train carrying Confederate wounded derailed on a curve, killing six and wounding 37. They were buried in unmarked graves with other Confederate soldiers at Oak Lawn Cemetery in Fort Valley, where a memorial reads "Confederate dead here rest, known to God, more than 20."
Today there are numerous safety procedures and equipment that make the accidents so common in the 1860’s much rarer. The Federal Railroad Administration today attempts to maintain safety in our railroad system, but with increased speeds accidents may still occur on our rail lines.
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Illustration of train wreck near Shohola, Pennsylvanian, where a train carrying Confederate POW's collided with a coal train on July 15, 1864.
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Memorial stone at Woodlawn National Cemetery in Elmira, New York for soldiers killed in railroad accident at Shohola, Pennsylvania
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Historic marker in Oak Lawn Cemetery, Fort Valley, Georgia where Confederate victims of railroad accident are buried.
#Civilwar #Shiloh #Findyourpark
Railroad accidents were more common in the 1860’s than today. Many of these accidents were caused by poor equipment and a total lack of safety procedures. Many railroads were shoddily constructed and bridges were inadequate for the weight of trains. Trains were often on the same tracks without adequate safety warning or sidings and collisions were common. Maximum speed for trains was often 35 miles per hour or less due to ...poorly built lines.
One of the worst wrecks occurred at Shohola, Pennsylvania, on July 15, 1864 on the Erie Railroad in which at least 60 people were killed. Engine 171 an ‘extra’ was taking 833 Confederate prisoners and 128 guards from Point Lookout, Maryland to Elmira, New York. The extra was supposed to have the right-of-way but was running four hours late when it left Port Jervis, New York along a single line track with blind curves. The dispatcher at Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania, mistakenly allowed a coal train to head east along the same line. The two trains collided at King and Fuller’s Cut, where forward visibility was only fifty feet. Frank Evans, a Union guard described the scene: "The two locomotives were raised high in the air, face-to-face against each other, like giants grappling...The front (car) of our train was jammed into a space less than six feet. The two cars behind it were almost as badly wrecked. There were bodies impaled on iron rods and splintered beams. Headless trunks were mangled between the telescoped cars.” The dead guards and prisoners were buried in unmarked grave next to the track until they were moved to Woodlawn National Cemetery in Elmira, New York in 1911.
Trains also derailed on curves in spite of lower speeds than trains today. Near Fort Valley Georgia a train carrying Confederate wounded derailed on a curve, killing six and wounding 37. They were buried in unmarked graves with other Confederate soldiers at Oak Lawn Cemetery in Fort Valley, where a memorial reads "Confederate dead here rest, known to God, more than 20."
Today there are numerous safety procedures and equipment that make the accidents so common in the 1860’s much rarer. The Federal Railroad Administration today attempts to maintain safety in our railroad system, but with increased speeds accidents may still occur on our rail lines.
#Civilwar #Shiloh #Findyourpark
Railroad accidents were more common in the 1860’s than today. Many of these accidents were caused by poor equipment and a total lack of safety procedures. Many railroads were shoddily constructed and bridges were inadequate for the weight of trains. Trains were often on the same tracks without adequate safety warning or sidings and collisions were common. Maximum speed for trains was often 35 miles per hour or less due to ...poorly built lines.
One of the worst wrecks occurred at Shohola, Pennsylvania, on July 15, 1864 on the Erie Railroad in which at least 60 people were killed. Engine 171 an ‘extra’ was taking 833 Confederate prisoners and 128 guards from Point Lookout, Maryland to Elmira, New York. The extra was supposed to have the right-of-way but was running four hours late when it left Port Jervis, New York along a single line track with blind curves. The dispatcher at Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania, mistakenly allowed a coal train to head east along the same line. The two trains collided at King and Fuller’s Cut, where forward visibility was only fifty feet. Frank Evans, a Union guard described the scene: "The two locomotives were raised high in the air, face-to-face against each other, like giants grappling...The front (car) of our train was jammed into a space less than six feet. The two cars behind it were almost as badly wrecked. There were bodies impaled on iron rods and splintered beams. Headless trunks were mangled between the telescoped cars.” The dead guards and prisoners were buried in unmarked grave next to the track until they were moved to Woodlawn National Cemetery in Elmira, New York in 1911.
Trains also derailed on curves in spite of lower speeds than trains today. Near Fort Valley Georgia a train carrying Confederate wounded derailed on a curve, killing six and wounding 37. They were buried in unmarked graves with other Confederate soldiers at Oak Lawn Cemetery in Fort Valley, where a memorial reads "Confederate dead here rest, known to God, more than 20."
Today there are numerous safety procedures and equipment that make the accidents so common in the 1860’s much rarer. The Federal Railroad Administration today attempts to maintain safety in our railroad system, but with increased speeds accidents may still occur on our rail lines.
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Illustration of train wreck near Shohola, Pennsylvanian, where a train carrying Confederate POW's collided with a coal train on July 15, 1864.
Expired Image Removed
Memorial stone at Woodlawn National Cemetery in Elmira, New York for soldiers killed in railroad accident at Shohola, Pennsylvania
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Historic marker in Oak Lawn Cemetery, Fort Valley, Georgia where Confederate victims of railroad accident are buried.
#Civilwar #Shiloh #Findyourpark