By: HISTORY.com Editors

1832

The first railroad accident

Published: July 20, 2010Last Updated: May 27, 2025

What is believed to be the first recorded railroad accident in U.S. history occurs when four people are thrown off a vacant car on the Granite Railway near Quincy, Massachusetts. The victims had been invited to view the process of transporting large and weighty loads of stone when a cable on a vacant car snapped on the return trip, throwing them off the train and over a 34-foot cliff. One man was killed and the others were seriously injured.

The acceptance of railroads came quickly in the 1830s, and by 1840 the nation had almost 3,000 miles of railway, greater than the combined European total of only 1,800 miles. The railroad network expanded quickly in the years before the Civil War, and by 1860 the American railroad system had become a national network of some 30,000 miles. Nine years later, transcontinental railroad service became possible for the first time.

Transcontinental Railroad

Find out how the transcontinental railroad transformed America into one nation.

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Citation Information

Article title
The first railroad accident
Website Name
History
Date Accessed
September 08, 2025
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
May 27, 2025
Original Published Date
July 20, 2010

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