by econandon
Does anybody know the exact location of the so-called Hightstown rail accident of 1833?
Any sources I have found online note that it occurred somewhere between Hightstown & Spotswood. That still leaves a 10-mile stretch where the event took place.
The incident was famous in its day, because it was the first that included passenger deaths. The Hagley/Baer PRR chronology notes:
Any sources I have found online note that it occurred somewhere between Hightstown & Spotswood. That still leaves a 10-mile stretch where the event took place.
The incident was famous in its day, because it was the first that included passenger deaths. The Hagley/Baer PRR chronology notes:
Nov. 8, 1833 First serious accident on Camden & Amboy between Spotswood and Hightstown; axle on passenger train breaks; train had been operating at 35 MPH but then slowed to 20 MPH; 2 killed; ex-Pres. John Quincy Adams on board but uninjured; steamboat owner and future NYC President Cornelius Vanderbilt nearly killed; first major U.S. passenger train wreck.Cornelius Vanderbilt is the famous "Commodore" of American shipping/railroad history.
