Hightstown rail accident
Encyclopedia
The Hightstown rail accident occurred on the Camden and Amboy Railroad between Hightstown, New Jersey
and Spotswood
on 8 November 1833, just two months after horses were replaced by steam locomotives on the line. It is the earliest recorded train accident involving the death of passengers.
The train had been travelling from South Amboy to Bordentown at a speed 35 mph, when despite having stopped 'to oil the wheels' and slowing to 20 mph, a journal box overheated (a condition known as hot box
) and caught fire, causing an axle to break on one of the carriages, derailing and overturning it. All but one of the 24 passengers it carried were injured; one was killed outright and another died later from his injuries. Amongst the injured was Cornelius Vanderbilt
who broke a leg and vowed never to travel by train again, although he later broke his vow and eventually became a railway magnate, owning the New York Central Railroad
among others. Another passenger was congressman and former US president John Quincy Adams
, who escaped injury but described the accident in his diary as "the most dreadful catastrophe that ever my eyes beheld". Irish actor Tyrone Power was also aboard the train and recorded the accident in his two-volume journal Impressions of America
.
Hightstown, New Jersey
Hightstown is a Borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 5,494.Hightstown was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 5, 1853, within portions of East Windsor Township. The borough became...
and Spotswood
Spotswood, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2008, there were 7,880 people, 3,099 households, and 2,163 families residing in the borough. The population density was 3,389.8 people per square mile . There were 3,158 housing units at an average density of 1,358.5 per square mile...
on 8 November 1833, just two months after horses were replaced by steam locomotives on the line. It is the earliest recorded train accident involving the death of passengers.
The train had been travelling from South Amboy to Bordentown at a speed 35 mph, when despite having stopped 'to oil the wheels' and slowing to 20 mph, a journal box overheated (a condition known as hot box
Hot box
A hot box is the term used when an axle bearing overheats on a piece of railway rolling stock. The term is derived from the journal-bearing trucks used before the mid 20th century. The axle bearings were housed in a box that used oil-soaked rags or cotton to reduce the friction of the axle...
) and caught fire, causing an axle to break on one of the carriages, derailing and overturning it. All but one of the 24 passengers it carried were injured; one was killed outright and another died later from his injuries. Amongst the injured was Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt , also known by the sobriquet Commodore, was an American entrepreneur who built his wealth in shipping and railroads. He was also the patriarch of the Vanderbilt family and one of the richest Americans in history...
who broke a leg and vowed never to travel by train again, although he later broke his vow and eventually became a railway magnate, owning the New York Central Railroad
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
among others. Another passenger was congressman and former US president John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States . He served as an American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former...
, who escaped injury but described the accident in his diary as "the most dreadful catastrophe that ever my eyes beheld". Irish actor Tyrone Power was also aboard the train and recorded the accident in his two-volume journal Impressions of America
Similar accidents
Over one hundred years later in 1943 a broken axle caused by an overheated journal box caused a far greater loss of life when the Congressional Limited crashed in PhiladelphiaFrankford Junction train wreck
The Frankford Junction train wreck occurred on September 6, 1943 when Pennsylvania Railroad's premier train, the Congressional Limited crashed at Frankford Junction in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States, killing 79 people and injuring 117...
.