Posted in Vermont Explore, History March 27, 2018 by

One Of The Deadliest Accidents In U.S. History Happened Right Here In Vermont

West Hartford is the most rural of Hartford’s five villages. Half of the village was destroyed in the Great Flood of 1927, but there was an even greater disaster which occurred 40 years earlier. The deadly Hartford Railroad Disaster in VT took place in 1887 and claimed the lives of 37 people while injuring 50 others. This incident was indeed a tragedy and many believe that the ghosts of some of the passengers still haunt the site.

It was a cold, cold night on February 5, 1887.
Flickr/Jay Parker
At 2:10am the Boston-Montreal "Night Express" left White River Junction an hour and twenty minutes behind schedule.
wikipedia.org
The train was under strict orders to meet the southbound Montreal train at Randolph "as usual."
wikipedia.org
Despite the need to make up time, the engineer reportedly slowed the train in accordance with standard practice. He made the crossing at about 12 MPH.
Flickr/Lacy
However the train started to sway and the back carriage swung off the bridge.
Flickr/John H Gray
On top of the wooden trusses on the bridge was a layer of sheet iron to act as an apron to deflect any sparks from the train. Ironically, it was designed to protect the bridge from fire, but it contributed to its ultimate demise.
Flickr/Martin Ibert
As the train fell off the tracks and tumbled down below, it caught fire and brought the bridge down with itself.
wikimedia.org
In all, 37 people perished in the crash, another 50 were injured and 28 people survived unharmed totaling 115 passengers.
Flickr/Ron Zanoni
This makes the Hartford Railroad Disaster of 1887 Vermont's worst train wreck in history.
Flickr/Greg Simonoff

The Hartford Railroad Disaster in VT was a sad and tragic event. No place is without heart rendering occurrences, and here are the 10 most horrifying disasters that have ever happened in Vermont.

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