1853 Providence and Worcester head-on collision
On August 12, 1853, two Providence and Worcester Railroad passenger trains collided head-on in Valley Falls, Rhode Island. The accident resulted in 14 fatalities and a further 17 injuries. The cause of the accident was the engineer of the northbound train misjudging the railroad timetable. At the time, trains operated based on a fixed timetable, without any railroad signaling system in place. The collision was one of the first to be photographed.
| 1853 Providence and Worcester head-on collision | |
|---|---|
Photograph of the wreck | |
| Details | |
| Date | August 12, 1853 |
| Location | Valley Falls, Rhode Island |
| Coordinates | 41°54′35″N 71°23′38″W |
| Country | United States |
| Operator | Providence and Worcester Railroad |
| Incident type | Collision |
| Cause | Human error |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 2 |
| Deaths | 14 |
| Injured | 17 |
| List of rail accidents (before 1880) | |
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