HOME | DD
uglygosling — Blizzard of 1888 Train Wreck
Published: 2015-03-14 14:09:23 +0000 UTC; Views: 1662; Favourites: 21; Downloads: 5
Redirect to original
Description
On March 12, 1888 five locomotives and a caboose of the DL&W were running light westbound near Hackettstown, NJ during the 'Blizzard of '88' when they derailed. No. 113 is at left, No. 54 is overturned at right, No. 112 is lying partly on 54, No. 53 is behind 54, No. 71 is behind 53, with the caboose at the rear. One engineer died and several other trainmen were injured. No other accident on the DL&W involved as many locomotives as this one.More information on this wreck can be found in 'The Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad in the Nineteenth Century' by Thomas T Tabor.
Photographer is not identified.
Related content
Comments: 7
Bet the Road Foreman of Engines was real happy that day.
How did they get in that big a mess? Were they just tooling along at that kind of speed in a blizzard or were they all running under power and the rear engines just pushed the pushed the middle out of the way as they derailed?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Earlier that day it had been necessary to move 19 cars of livestock from Washington to Port Morris, which is east of Netcong, NJ. Due to the severe weather 3 locomotives were coupled to what was normally a light train. While returning light to Washington (NJ) the locos got stuck in a snowdrift, so 2 more locos with the caboose were sent to help. When they were able to resume their return to Washington the 5 loco/1 caboose train proceeded cautiously, but near Hackettstown the lead engine (54) derailed, triggering the wreck. 113 was actually 2nd in line but somehow did not overturn as 54 did.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Great salvage. And then the weather got worse. I mean, REALLY REALLY worse.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
All 5 locomotives presumably ran again. 2 were scrapped in the early 1900s and the other 3 were sold to other operators as the DL&W modernized its locomotive roster.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Recycling--Edwardian Age style!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0