Considering how people in this day and age way too often disregard lighted crossing signals and attempt to make it across the tracks just before the train approaches, I wonder how common place were vehicular crossing accidents in the years before running crossing signals became common place in the 1940s and earlier decades before WW2, at the time when steam was still dominant? Of course, there were fewer vehicles on the roads prior to the 1940s, but it is still an interesting historical question, what were the earliest known crossing accidents involving trains and automobiles, or any other motorized road vehicle?
Probably the first car to try to cross the tracks.
But seriously I read once that the first two cars registered in Ohio crashed into each other.
I dont know but I think grade crossing accidents are as old as railways. It was on the Leicester and Swannington Railway in England that such an accident occurred in the 1830’s, which resulted in the invention of the steam whistle
The first accidents were with horses and wagons or buggies. Over 150 years of evolution in the gene pool and that defect still remains strong.
And the desire to scam a railroad only enhances the defect. There was a book called “The Situation In Flushing” which talked about a young boy who witnesses a truck driven on purpose into the path of a passenger train circa 1920’s or 30’s.
Those folks in the truck prolly would have won their case if they had only claimed they were trying to attempt suicide.
Erik
I think I read somewhere that the first grade crossing accident was with a def man that was walking and couldn’t hear the whistle.
…but I’ll bet he saw the light.
CC
The first railway accident fatality was on October 15, 1830, when minister of Parliament William Huskisson was killed by Stephenson’s Rocket.
But that wasn’t a grade crossing accident, I thought he got killed by dissableing the overpressure release on the boiler and it exploded. (or do I have my facts wrong)
I thought it was when he was hurrying across the tracks and doubted that the train could go that fast.
Trainboy
Yeah, sorry, the boiler explosion was on an early American locomotive, not British. Huskisson got hit by the train.
Did a quick search in the DOT "Investigations of Railroad Accidents 1911 - 1993, and the first train/automobile collision mentioned there is from 1911. I am sure there were some before this but since the ICC only started these reports in 1911 I haven’t been able to find any earlier ones yet.
http://dotlibrary1.specialcollection.net/scripts/ws.dll?file&fn=6&name=R%3A\A-M\DOT\Railroad\WEBSEARCH\NO004.PDF
When was the first car? Bet the first accident was within 6 months.
One of the worst crossings in KS was 13th st at the SF trks in Wichita. For many many yrs several deadly accidents took place at what was titled the most dangerous crossing in KS. The city had asked the rr about installing gates at the crossing in 1916. Gates were finally installed in 1970. The only known accident in the 35 yrs since was a minor bump up when a switching movement backed into a car driving around the gates. At the current time the 13th st crossing plus thre others in Wichita are to be replaced with overpasses which is a project expected to take about three yrs.
I think the first idiot to try and beat a train to the crossing was the first crossing accident.
It was the first time a farmer thought he could get his horse and wagon across the tracks before the train got there[D)].
I HATE that crossing. Sometimes, when a BNSF crosses, a UP comes the other way and you are trapped in there… But, i think the people who thought of the overpass thing a a bunch of screw ups, because they can install tire spikes at all the crossings for around 1/8 of the price…
What about trains colliding with houses on the tracks? The earliest one I was able to find occurred in the 1880’s where the house mover didn’t get clearance and was rammed by an unscheduled special.