Great East Thompson Train Wreck
| Date | December 4, 1891 |
|---|---|
| Time | 6:40 am |
| Location | Thompson, Connecticut |
| Country | United States |
| Operator | New York and New England Railroad |
| Type of incident | Collision |
| Cause | Crew error |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 4 |
| Deaths | 2 |
Coordinates: 42°00′32″N 71°48′33″W / 42.0089°N 71.8092°W
The Great East Thompson Train Wreck was a large rail disaster which occurred in East Thompson, Connecticut, on December 4, 1891. It was one of the most extensive train wrecks in American history, and the only one to involve four trains. It happened on the New York and New England Railroad, which provided a shortcut from New York City to Boston by making a diagonal across Connecticut. The railroad is now abandoned, and most of its tracks removed.
On the morning of December 4, 1891, four trains were scheduled to pass through East Thompson, in the town of Thompson in the northeastern corner of Connecticut: the hotshot Long Island & Eastern States Express from New York to Boston via a ferry across Long Island Sound; the Norwich Steamboat Express traveling to Boston from the quays of New London, Connecticut; the Southbridge Local freight to the town of that name just over the Massachusetts border; and freight train No. 212. To keep the slower No. 212 from impeding the approaching Eastern States Express, the local dispatcher allowed 212 to run on the left-hand track ahead of the express. Unfortunately both the dispatcher and 212's crew had forgotten about the oncoming Southbridge Local freight. At 6:40 am, just before the East Thompson station, the two freight trains collided head-on violently, jackknifing several cars and tossing one across both eastbound and westbound tracks.
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