The Great Train Wreck of 1918 remains the worst railroad accident in the history of the United States. Two trains belonging to the Nashville, Chattanooga and Saint Louis Railroad were travelling on the same track in opposite directions when the head on collision occurred. One of the trains was coming into downtown Nashville as the other was leaving when the accident happened and 101 people were killed. Human error was blamed for the collision as the Interstate Commerce Commission determined that the railroad company was at fault. The ICC also blamed the high casualty total on the wooden construction of the passenger cars involved, after that crash the cars were constructed of steel.
All of the other worst railroad accidents in terms of death toll occurred outside of the United States. More than 1700 people died in the worst rail disaster of all in Sri Lanka in 2004. A crowded commuter train travelling a coastal route the day after Christmas was washed away by a tsunami. There was a similar railroad accident with a huge loss of life in India. In 1981, a passenger train plunged off a bridge over the BagmatiRiver ending up in the water below. The official death toll was placed at 268 with another 300 missing but some accounts say the death toll topped 800. The death toll was also around 800 in the Modane train disaster in France in 1917. In that case, soldiers returning from World War I were killed when their overloaded troop train derailed going down a hill.
One of the most famous railroad accidents of all time involved a circus train in 1918 in Indiana. The Hagenbeck-Wallace circus train was stopped on tracks in Ivanhoe, Indiana when it was hit by a troop train. The operator of the troop train which was headed for Chicago had fallen asleep at the controls and never saw the circus train. The troop train was empty but the circus train was carrying 300 passengers and 86 of them were killed in the collision and fire that followed the crash. Newspaper accounts of the tragedy say crowds had gathered to welcome the circus to town and they quickly went to the crash scene to try and help the circus workers injured in the crash.
If you or your loved one are a victim of a railroad accident, contact an attorney who specializes in personal injury to discuss your claim.