From the Archives #39: Train Collision

This photo and the accompanying caption were originally posted to our Facebook page (link to external site) on July 10, 2023.

Aftermath of a head-on collision between two locomotives, the Vermont (left) and the Sorelle, May 20th, 1864. Photographed by T. G. Richardson.
At about 8:30 AM on the day of the accident, the Vermont, an express train, was traveling south from Rouses Point, New York to Burlington. Despite not receiving the all-clear from the switchman, the Sorelle, a freight train loaded with stone, began traveling north on the same track. The two trains collided head-on just west of the crossing at Brigham Rd. The St. Albans Messenger reported that "The engines were almost demolished. The boiler head of one, so terrible was the shock, was thrown sixty-five paces. Pieces of wood were thrown over a hundred paces. The track under the engines was bent down, and nearly cut the ties beneath them in two."
Despite the ferocity with which the two trains collided, only four people were injured in the accident, likely due to the fact that the Vermont was only loaded with a single passenger car at the time. The only casualty was a Mr. Allen, the engineer on the Sorelle.