"The Dreadful accident on the North Pennsylvania Railroad" lithograph
Creation: 1856Abstract
The event known as Great Train Wreck of 1856, occurred on July 17, when two trains were traveling on the same track towards one another and collided at Camp Hill, just below Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. This item is a hand colored print of the railroad accident aftermath.
Dates
- Creation: 1856
Creator
- Magee, John L. (Artist, Person)
Extent
1 item(s)
General Physical Description
1 print : lithograph, hand colored ; 12 x 15.5 in.
Historical Note
The event known as Great Train Wreck of 1856, occurred on July 17, when two trains were traveling on the same track towards one another and collided at Camp Hill, just below Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. The northbound train passengers were mostly children from St. Michael Catholic Church who were headed to a picnic in Montgomery County. The southbound train left from Wissahickon Station. Both train engineers were aware of the other train and that they would be traveling on the single lane track in opposite directions. The intention was for the northbound excursion train to use the siding at Edge Hill to let the southbound regular train pass. The trains crashed at a downhill curve and the boilers exploded upon impact and many of the wrecked train cars caught fire. Fifty-nine people were killed.
Scope and Content
Hand colored print of a railroad accident. Subtitle reads: "About 14 miles above Philadelphia, on Thursday, July 17, 1856, at about 6 A.M., which resulted in the death of over SIXTY, and terribly wounding about ONE HUNDRED persons, excursionists of St. Michael's R. C. Church, Kensington. The Collision took place at Camp Hill Station, destroying both locomotives and burning up several cars, in which a number of people were consumed." A list of the dead and injured is included.
Lithographed from a drawing taken upon the spot, and for sale at 48 Passyunk road, Philadelphia. Entered according to Act of Congress in the Clerk's office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, by JOHN L. MAGEE, No. 48 Passyunk Road, below German street, Philadelphia.
Location
DF Box 3.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Language of Materials
English
Finding Aid & Administrative Information
- Title:
- "The Dreadful accident on the North Pennsylvania Railroad" lithograph
- Date:
- 2014
- Description rules:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description:
- English
- Script of description:
- Latin
Repository Details
Repository Details
Part of the Audiovisual Collections Repository
