Just before midnight, the night mail train from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh broke an axle about fifteen miles from its destination and derailed near present-day Wall, Pennsylvania. Several carriages ran down a fifteen foot embankment but only five of the eighty sleeping passengers aboard suffered minor injuries. The mail carriage caught fire, however, when a stove overturned and several of the mail pouches burned. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
"Railroad Accident near Pittsburgh," New York Times, April 4, 1861
Record Data
Date Certainty
Exact
Type
Crime/Disasters