List of rail accidents (1890–1899)

This is a list of rail accidents from 1890 to 1899.

1890 March 4 – United Kingdom – A London and North Western Railway express train from London to Scotland ran away on the downgrade from Shap to Carlisle on the Caledonian Railway and crashed into a stationary locomotive, killing four people. The train had automatic vacuum brakes, but the locomotive was also equipped for simple vacuum brake working, and the driver had become confused and selected the wrong mode. March 21 – United Kingdom – An accident involving a South Eastern Railway train at , London killed three people. August 19 – United States – 1890 Quincy train wreck, Quincy, Massachusetts: A jack used to level rails was left on the tracks. A passenger train then collided with it causing a derailment. Twenty-four people were killed due to the impact of the collision and through scalding. September 19 – United States – Shoemakersville, Berks County, Pennsylvania: Two coal trains on the Reading Railroad collided leaving debris on the adjacent passenger track. An approaching express passenger train derailed (engine, tender, baggage car, mail car, and three of the five passenger cars) into the Schuylkill River killing 22 people and injuring 30. October 23 – United States – near Hinton, West Virginia, on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, the eastbound Fast Flying Virginian struck a rockslide on the tracks, resulting in the death of the engineer. This accident was immortalized by the ballad Engine One-Forty-Three. November 11 – United Kingdom – Norton Fitzwarren rail crash, England: A passenger train collided with a freight train that had been shunted onto the main line when the signalman forgot the line was obstructed. Ten people were killed and 11 seriously injured. November 28 – United Kingdom – On the North British Railway two trains, both headed by NBR D class 0-6-0 locomotives, crashed head-on on the Todd's Mill Viaduct; one locomotive plunged off the bridge.Railways Archive accident record. December 17 -Canada - Lévis, Quebec. A passenger train derailed when a bridge failed. Several passengers and crew members on the train were killed.

1891 March 8 – United Kingdom – A Great Western Railway passenger train was derailed by a snowdrift at Camborne, Cornwall. April 19 – United States – Kipton, Ohio, United States: A passenger train and a freight train collided just east of the Kipton depot killing eight. The accident was attributed to one of the engineers' watches having stopped and being four minutes behind."North Coast Inland Trail: The Great Kipton Train Wreck ". Lorain County Metroparks website. Webster Clay Ball, watch dealer and inspector of Cleveland, Ohio was later appointed as Watch Inspector for the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad. May 1 – United Kingdom – Norwood Junction rail accident: A London Brighton and South Coast Railway passenger train derailed near , London when a cast iron bridge collapsed. A few minor injuries resulted. May 17 – United States – Greenvale, New York, United States: A horse's hoof caught in the switching apparatus at Greenvale (LIRR station) resulted in both the death of the horse and two crew members, as well as the destruction of the station house.Long Island Rail Road Wrecks (TrainsAreFun.com) June 14 – Switzerland – Münchenstein rail disaster - Münchenstein, Basel: An iron-girder bridge collapsed as a crowded passenger train passed, killing 71 and injuring 171. July 3 - United States – Ravenna, Ohio: On the Erie road a freight train ran into a stationary passenger train from behind. Three cars were telescoped and fire claimed 19 victims, 23 injured. August 27 – United States – Statesville, North Carolina: A passenger train of the Western North Carolina Railroad derailed upon reaching a bridge, plunging to the creek below, killing 22 and injuring 26. August 31 – United Kingdom – A London, Chatham and Dover Railway empty stock train overran the buffers at station, Kent killing one. September 9 – United States – Oyster Bay, New York: A boiler explosion of a locomotive at Oyster Bay (LIRR station) resulted in the deaths of three crewmembers. The Long Island Railroad locomotive had replaced the one that was involved in the wreck in Greenvale in May 1891. October 17 – United Kingdom – A Great Eastern Railway passenger train derailed at Lavenham, Suffolk. October 22 - Canada - Two Canadian Pacific Railway freight trains collided at a siding between Kemnay and Brandon, Manitoba. One train had extra cabooses containing passengers, several of whom were either killed or badly injured.The Globe October 22, 1891 P.1 December 4 – United States – Great East Thompson Train Wreck; East Thompson, Connecticut: Four trains collided on the New York and New England Railroad. Two freight trains collided due to sloppy dispatching, jackknifing several cars. The Long Island & Eastern States Express passenger train then hit the wreckage, killing the engineer and fireman. Shortly thereafter, despite an attempt to flag it down, the Norwich Steamboat Express ran into the rear of the Eastern States Express, setting the last sleeper on fire as well as the locomotive cab. In all, only two passengers were killed; the body of one was never found. United States – Delta, California: An elephant traveling on a Southern Pacific train removed a coupling pin from a car. The forward portion of the train traveled before the locomotive crew discovered the split.George B. Abdill (1959), Pacific Slope Railroads, p. 126. Seattle: Superior Publishing.

1892 February 22 – United Kingdom – A London, Brighton and South Coast Railway passenger train ran into a South Eastern Railway locomotive at , East Sussex. The passenger train overran a danger signal damaging both locomotives. June 9 – United Kingdom – Esholt Junction rail crash - A Midland Railway passenger train overran signals and collided with another at Esholt Junction, Yorkshire killing five and injuring thirty. September 22 - United Kingdom - Lindal railway incident - A locomotive shunting was suddenly swallowed up by the ground collapsing beneath into a sinkhole, and remains there today. No injuries reported. November 2 – United Kingdom – Thirsk rail crash, Thirsk, Yorkshire, England: a signalman suffering from distress and lack of sleep due to a family emergency forgot about a freight train standing outside his signal box. Eight people were killed and 39 injured.

1893 January 18 – United States – Lonsdale, Rhode Island. Eight of 23 sleigh ride passengers were killed when a sleigh collided with a Providence & Worcester Railroad freight train. Several horses were killed. Six passengers died at the scene and two died at Rhode Island Hospital. The sleigh ride was coming to Cumberland after an evening excursion from North Attleboro, Massachusetts. The engine's operator told investigators that weather conditions were very cold that night and speculated that the sleigh riders never heard the train whistle. Witnesses said because of a bend of the railroad, the passengers of the sleigh never saw the train that hit them."A Hidden History of Rhode Island," by Glenn Laxton. May 30 - United States - Tyrone, Pennsylvania - Walter L. Main Circus train wreck, a circus train going down a curved embankment lost control and derailed. 5 of the circus workers were killed, plus a number of animal casualties ranging from 50 to 72. Unharmed animals managed to escape the wreck and were reported being seen in the countryside for months after the wreck. July 18 - United States - East Aurora, New York. A derailment involving a twelve-car excursion train returning from a Lime Lake, New York summer picnic, by the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad. Engine #124 landed on Engine #30. August 6 - United States - Lindsey, Ohio. 3 were killed and hundreds injured when the sleeper cars on the Chicago Express of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway derailed and crashed into a freight train waiting on a siding. Among the injured were members of the Chicago Colts baseball team. August 12 – United Kingdom – Llantrisant rail accident, 13 were killed when mechanical failure led to derailment. August 31 – United States – Chester train wreck, a bridge collapse plunged four train cars into the Westfield River, killing 14 people.

1894 August 9 – United States – 1894 Rock Island railroad wreck, Lincoln, Nebraska: Determined to be an act of sabotage. Eleven of 33 passengers died. October 4 – United Kingdom – A North Eastern Railway sleeping car express overran signals and collided with the rear of a freight train at Castle Hills, Yorkshire. One person was killed. The passengers included two Cabinet ministers, Arnold Morley and Lord Tweedmouth. November 12 – United Kingdom – A Great Western Railway boat train was derailed in a flood at , Dorset. December 22 – United Kingdom – Chelford rail accident: During shunting operations, strong winds blew a high-sided wagon into other wagons. It derailed, blocking the main line, and was then struck by an oncoming express train, killing 14 passengers. December 22 – United Kingdom – A light engine collided with a South Eastern Railway passenger train at , Surrey injuring six.

1895 (no date in source) – United Kingdom – One of the Manning Wardle engines on the Wotton Tramway startles a horse near the track; it moves forward and pulls a farm machine over the farm worker, who is killed. He was formerly a track worker on the tramway. February 27 – United States – A freight train and a log train collide on the Houston East and West Texas Railway north of Lufkin, Texas; an unknown person stole a third locomotive and ran it into the two stalled trains and then fled.Railroad Gazette April 5, 1895 p.214 April 13 – United Kingdom – A Great Western Railway passenger train derailed between and . The cause was found to be damaged track caused by excessive speed of the previous train. August 1 – United Kingdom – A London, Chatham and Dover Railway freight train collided with an excursion train at , Kent killing one. October 22 – France – Montparnasse derailment — At Gare Montparnasse, Paris, an express train overran a buffer stop because the driver approached the station too fast and a Westinghouse air brake failure. It crossed about of concourse before plummeting through a window and crushing one person in a shop below. The locomotive remained outside the station for several days and attracted a number of photographers. November 10 – United Kingdom – A Great Northern Railway train derailed at St Neots, killing two people. December 22 – United Kingdom – A London and North Western Railway express passenger train collided with a freight wagon which had run away and fouled the main line. Fourteen people were killed and 79 were injured.

1896 March 7 – United Kingdom – The last carriage of a Great Northern Railway passenger train derailed at Little Bytham, Lincolnshire, causing other carriages to derail. The cause was found to be the premature removal of a speed restriction. Two people were killed. Easter Monday, April 6 – United Kingdom – Llanberis, Wales: On the opening day of the Snowdon Mountain Railway, locomotive No. 1 Ladas ran away plummeted down a steep slope after it derailed. The engine was destroyed, but the driver and fireman were able to jump clear and the carriages were stopped by the guard. One passenger jumped off the moving train and fell beneath the wheels. He later died from his injuries. The line then closed for over a year before re-opening on April 19, 1897.