The Angola Horror
Subtitle: the 1867 train wreck that shocked the nation and transformed American railroads
By: Charity Vogel
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Published: 2013
Place of publication: Ithaca
Language: eng
Number of pages: 296
ISBN-13: 9780801449086
Subjects: Railroad accidents
Description: "On December 18, 1867, the Buffalo and Erie Railroad's eastbound New York Express derailed as it approached the high truss bridge over Big Sister Creek, just east of the small settlement of Angola, New York, on the shores of Lake Erie. The last two cars of the express train were pitched completely off the tracks and plummeted into the creek bed below. When they struck bottom, one of the wrecked cars was immediately engulfed in flames as the heating stoves in the coach spilled out coals and ignited its wooden timbers. The other car was badly smashed. About fifty people died at the bottom of the gorge or shortly thereafter, and dozens more were injured. In a dramatic historical narrative, Charity Vogel tells the gripping, true-to-life story of the wreck and the characters involved in the tragic accident. Her tale weaves together the stories of the people-- some unknown; others soon to be famous-- caught up in the disaster, the facts of the New York Express's fateful run, the fiery scenes in the creek ravine, and the subsequent legal, legislative, and journalistic search for answers to the question: what had happened at Angola, and why?" -- excerpted from publisher's web site.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [273]-282) and index.
Table of contents: title: Troubled sleep; title: Angola at dawn; title: Getting underway; title: En route; title: Delays; title: Approach; title: Breaking; title: Falling; title: Horror; title: Rescue; title: Recognitions; title: Reports; title: Mourning; title: Judging; title: Debates; title: Changes.