1853 Mount Union rail disaster

1853 train collision in Pennsylvania Mount Union rail disaster Mount Union wreck.jpg Wood engraving of the accident 1853 03 4 Mount Union, Pennsylvania Main Line (Pennsylvania Railroad) Pennsylvania Railroad Rear-end collision Neglect by brakeman 2 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.Reed Robert 1968 Train Wrecks: A Pictorial History of Accidents on the Main Line Seattle Superior Pub. Co. 18 0-517-328976 https://archive.org/details/trainwreckspicto00reed/page/18 Background The main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad was first opened in 1849; by 1850 the line was expanded to include Mount Union.A General Chronology of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company Its Predecessors and Successors and Its Historical Context, 1850 https://digital.hagley.org/MSS_2915_00_02_PRRChronology_1850 https://web.archive.org/web/20260602035938/https://digital.hagley.org/MSS_2915_00_02_PRRChronology_1850 2026-06-02 2026-06-02 digital.hagley.org 26 and 42 en live 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.Staufer Alvin F. Edson William D. Harley E. Thomas 1993 Pennsy power III https://search.worldcat.org/title/31825736 2026-06-02 search.worldcat.org A. F. Staufer en Medina, Ohio Worldcat 31825736 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. Some newspapers recorded that the collision was between two passenger trains.1853-03-18 Railroad Accident https://www.newspapers.com/article/monongahela-valley-republican-railroad-a/198759041/ 2026-06-02 Monongahela Valley Republican 2 The cause of the accident was revealed to be the gross negligence of the passenger train's conductor. He had been sent back down the tracks to the flagman's shanty to put out a signal to warn approaching trains of the danger, but had fallen asleep instead. Nine people would die as a result of the crash, making it the deadliest US rail accident at that time.1853-03-10 Another Fatal Accident https://www.newspapers.com/article/franklin-repository-and-chambersburg-whi/198759265/ 2026-06-02 Franklin Repository and Chambersburg Whig 2 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),Sibray David B&O Railroad completed to Wheeling on Jan. 1, 1853 https://wvexplorer.com/2018/01/01/bo-railroad-completed-wheeling-jan-1-1853/ West Virginia Explorer January 2018 August 5, 2024 then the Greater Grand Crossing rail collision (which would occur the next month)Hmurovic John "POP" WHITING AND ONE OF THE WORST RAILROAD ACCIDENTS IN EARLY U.S. HISTORY https://www.wrhistoricalsociety.com/pop-whiting-railroad-accident Whiting-Robertsdale Historical Society February 5, 2024 as well as the Norwalk rail accident which occur on May 8th.https://books.google.com/books?id=S7t8DW4iYDMC&q=norwalk+1853+wreck&pg=PA34 Railroad Wrecks Edgar A. Haine 1994 34 The first of many railroad bridge disasters: South Norwalk, Conn–May 1853–56 dead Associated University Presses 9780845348444 Google Books References 40.3887 -77.9092 Category:Railway accidents in 1853 Category:Railway accidents and incidents in Pennsylvania Category:March 1853