256:, those riding further back escaped death though many were injured. A ring of uninjured guards was formed around the wreck but despite this five Confederate prisoners escaped and were never recaptured. Frank Evans, a Union guard described the scene: "The two locomotives were raised high in the air, face-to-face against each other, like giants grappling...The front (car) of our train was jammed into a space less than six feet. The two cars behind it were almost as badly wrecked. There were bodies impaled on iron rods and splintered beams. Headless trunks were mangled between the telescoped cars"
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A mile and a half (2.4 km) from
Shohola the track passes through "King and Fuller's Cut" which had only 50 feet (15 m) of forward visibility as the track negotiated a series of blind bends. The trains collided head-on with a crash so fierce that it was said that locals 'felt it as an
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The prisoners' train, consisting of 18 cars hauled by 30-ton wood-burning Engine 171 was designated as an 'extra', meaning it ran behind a scheduled train which displayed warning flags giving right of way to the following 'extra'. However Engine 171 had been delayed leaving
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at Elmira, and the
Shohola Monument erected with the names of the Union soldiers on one side and the names of the Confederate soldiers on the other. The Shohola Railroad Historical Society houses a museum dedicated to the wreck in a
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branch, bound for Port Jervis, stopped at
Lackawaxen Junction with 50 loaded coal cars the dispatcher mistakenly allowed it through. Soon afterwards he received the message that the 'extra' had passed Shohola; but it was too late.
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was responsible for stopping all eastbound traffic until the 'extra' had passed through. But it had been more than four hours since the scheduled train had passed through that morning and when a coal train from the
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earthquake'. The combined speed was more than 30 mph (48 km/h), and propelled the wood stacked in each engine's tenders forward into the cabs; killing both engineers and firemen. The wooden box cars were
185:. They had begun their journey by steamer, traveling along the Atlantic coast from Maryland to New Jersey. Here they were switched to railroad for the final 273 miles (439 km) to Elmira. Some 833
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into each other. Of the 37 men in the car immediately behind the engine, 36 were killed outright, the only survivor being thrown clear. Most casualties occurred in the first three
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Elmira Prison Camp OnLine
Library - Submitted Information - Chemung County Historical Journal - Shohola Train Wreck: Civil War Disaster by Joseph C. Boyd
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The dead were buried in unmarked graves next to the track, where they remained for 47 years until 1911 when they were moved to the
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prisoners of war collided head-on with a coal train. Some 65 prisoners, guards, and train crew were killed.
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until 6 a.m. while guards located missing prisoners and was further delayed en route so that it arrived at
469:""Is the Track Clear to Shohola?" – Gettysburg Fatalities in Pennsylvania's Second Bloodiest Railroad Cut"
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Welcome to the Home Page of The Great
Shohola Train Wreck of the U.S. Civil War
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through hardwood forest, and has many "blind" curves. It passed through
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Horror of Civil War train wreck still echoes - Times Union - Albany NY
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Home Page of The Great
Shohola Train Wreck of the U.S. Civil War
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The
Shohola Train Wreck of 1864: A Telegrapher’s Negligence
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https://www.angelfire.com/ny5/elmiraprison/boydarticle.html
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A FEARFUL RAILROAD COLLISION. Correspondence of the
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http://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=667
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List of disasters in the United States by death toll
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537:. Port Jervis, N. Y., Saturday, July 17, 1864.
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225:in Pennsylvania at 2.50 p.m. Ahead at
136:occurred on July 15, 1864, during the
16:1864 railroad accident in Pennsylvania
724:Train collisions in the United States
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344:List of rail accidents (before 1880)
173:The prisoners were being taken from
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37:; 160 years ago
169:Background and lead-up
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199:Veteran Reserve Corps
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161:. A train carrying
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138:American Civil War
35:July 15, 1864
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211:Port Jervis
207:Jersey City
187:Confederate
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142:broad gauge
58:Pike County
683:Categories
566:74°57′32″W
563:41°28′30″N
503:2017-12-12
479:2018-08-30
355:References
266:Barryville
250:telescoped
231:dispatcher
227:Lackawaxen
115:Passengers
102:Statistics
42:1864-07-15
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641:(29 June)
260:Aftermath
243:Collision
284:See also
254:box cars
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123:Deaths
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195:Union
126:60–72
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