The Morelos railway accident occurred on 23 June 1881Different sources give different dates: The 26 June and 28 June ''NY Times'' articles say 24 June. ''Railroad Wrecks'' says 22 June. ''The Mail'' says 23 June. near

Cuautla, Morelos Cuautla (, meaning "where the eagles roam"), officially La heroica e histórica Cuautla, Morelos (''The Heroic and Historic Cuautla, Morelos'') or H. H. Cuautla, Morelos, is a city and municipality in the Mexican state of Morelos, about 104 kilome ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

when an entire train plunged into the

San Antonio river The San Antonio River is a major waterway that originates in central Texas in a cluster of springs in midtown San Antonio, about 4 miles north of downtown, and follows a roughly southeastern path through the state. It eventually feeds into the ...

, killing over 200 people. On 18 June 1881, the

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

Morelos Railroad from

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

to Cuautla first opened to the public. To honor the occasion, the President of Mexico and other high government officials visited Cuautla, accompanied by about 300 soldiers. Approximately 100 of the soldiers returned to Mexico City on 20 June, with the remainder set to leave on 23 June. The 23 June train consisted of: * Two locomotives (one forward, one rear) * A

passenger car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as ...

for the Army officers * Five wooden

boxcar A boxcar is the North American ( AAR) term for a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is considered one of the most versatile since it can carry most ...

s for the soldiers and their wives * Two wooden boxcars carrying freight, including 80-100 barrels of brandy (reports differ on the number) There had been heavy rains in the area, and in the dark, the engineer was unable to see that the bridge was now unsupported. When the train started over the bridge it immediately dropped into the ravine. On the way down, burning coals from the rear locomotive set the barrels of alcohol aflame. Between the fall and the fire, few survived. An investigation was begun, and on 30 June, it was declared that "the actual and sole cause of the disaster was the very bad construction of the bridge." However, a report published on 14 July 1881 by ''

The Toronto Mail ''The Toronto Mail'' was a newspaper in Toronto, Ontario which through corporate mergers became first ''The Mail and Empire'', and then ''The Globe and Mail''. The ''Mail'' was founded in 1872 by Thomas Charles Patterson (b. 1836 in Patney, Wi ...

'' set the blame squarely on the battalion's commanding officer, stating that he had forced the engineer at gunpoint to cross the bridge.

References

Notes

Derailments in Mexico Railway accidents in 1881 Morelos 1881 in Mexico History of Morelos {{Mexico-rail-transport-stub

See also

References

Notes