Gasconade Bridge train disaster

Gasconade Bridge train disaster
The locomotive O'Sullivan
Details
Date1 November 1855
LocationGasconade, Missouri
CountryUnited States
LinePacific Railroad
CauseDisputed,
Excessive speed. (official)
Bridge design flaw. (New York Times)
Statistics
Trains1
Passengersat least 600
Deaths30+
InjuredHundreds

The Gasconade Bridge train disaster was a rail accident in Gasconade, Missouri, on November 1, 1855. The Gasconade bridge collapsed under the locomotive O'Sullivan while crossing. More than thirty were killed in the first major deadly bridge collapse in American history.[1][2][3][4]

  1. ^ Scharf, J. Thomas (1883). History of Saint Louis City and County from earliest periods to present day. Vol. 2. Philadelphia: Louis H. Everts & Co. pp. 1159–60 Google Books. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  2. ^ St. Louis Globe Democrat, Nov 1, 1885, p.23
  3. ^ Rolla Weekly Herald (Rolla, MO), Nov 12, 1885 http://digital.shsmo.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/RollaHerald/id/1747/rec/1. Retrieved June 30, 2018
  4. ^ Miner, H. Craig (1972). The St. Louis-San Francisco Transcontinental Railroad: The Thirty-fifth Parallel Project, 1853-1890. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas. p. 25. ISBN 978-0700600816.