North Carolina has certainly seen its share of disasters over the course of time. And train wrecks and accidents are among the deadliest. In 1891 the deadliest train wreck in North Carolina at the time occurred just two miles outside of Statesville on a stone trestle called Bostian Bridge that still stands and is actively used by our rail systems today.
The five bay stone trestle rises 60 feet above the terrain.
By all accounts, it was an active line and popular among folks traveling by train between Salisbury, North Carolina and Asheville, North Carolina. By the 1890s, the Richmond & Danville operated 3,300 miles of track in nine U.S. states.
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On August 27th of that year, Train No. 9 using steam locomotive No. 166 left the station in Statesville at 2:30 a.m., thirty minutes past its scheduled departure.
The passenger train included five cars which derailed on the Bostian Bridge. A Pullman sleeper car, a first-class and a second-class car, a baggage car, and a private car for the railroad superintendent.
Twenty-three people were killed. Scores of others were injured.
The sleeper car was hurled 153 feet from where it left the Bostian Bridge. Believe it or not, some people sustained injuries so slight they reportedly walked back to Statesville to alert authorities of the accident.
At the time, this was the single-most deadly train accident in North Carolina history. An investigation determined the derailment occurred because some nails had been purposely removed from the rails. Eight years later, two men already incarcerated for other crimes confessed to the crime.
The Bostian Bridge, still an active railway, is among the most sought-after experiences for bridge hunters and paranormal investigators alike. Some say that on the anniversary of the event ghost trains roll over the bridge and screech as they fling off the structure to the ground below.
It was on the anniversary of the accident, 119 years later in the year 2010, that a ghost hunting team decided to investigate the bridge for paranormal activity.
Of the 12 people on the ghost hunt, 10 of them were on the bridge just before 3:00 a.m. when a real train approached.
The team began to literally run for their lives, but only eight of them made it to safety on the other side. One of the runners ended up jumping at the last minute and sustained serious injuries. The final ghost hunter wasn't so lucky. He was hit by the train and killed.
View recent footage and see images from the tragic train wreck of 1891 in the following video from YouTube user steve billings:
Here we are, 130 years since this tragic incident that killed 23 people in this train wreck in North Carolina, and we look back upon the incident(s) that have occurred here with a solemn view. Had you heard of this horrible train wreck from 1891 or the subsequent incident where a ghost hunter was killed on the same bridge?
Note: It’s illegal to trespass on railroad property. Please don’t attempt to walk on or across the Bostian Bridge. It’s not worth it to risk your life and breaking the law is always a bad idea.
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