The Garrison train crash occurred on October 24, 1897, in

Garrison, New York Garrison is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet in Putnam County, New York, Putnam County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is part of the town of Philipstown, New York, Philipstown, on the east side of the Hudson River, across from the U ...

, at approximately 5:47 am, when train No. 46 of the

New York Central & Hudson River Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midwe ...

derailed near King's Dock of the Hudson River division, about one and three-quarters miles south of Garrison. All but one of the 19 fatalities drowned when the embankment gave way, plunging the train into the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

. Witnesses described feeling between one and three "thuds" before three of the five sleeper cars fell into the river. Several witnesses described seeing a "hole" in the trackbed after the accident, however, the cause of this was not determined. Early speculation blamed a large explosion of dynamite as the cause of the train's derailment. Two weeks previously, the same train had almost derailed near the same spot when a two-ton boulder was found on the tracks, with some believing it had been deliberately placed. The final report on the cause of the accident was inconclusive, with investigators concluding that either the train derailed and then destroyed the embankment, or that the embankment gave way leading to the derailment. The commission noted that track walkers, employed to walk along the tracks to inspect them, and the embankment, for damage, were not employed during the summer except in periods of heavy storms. It recommended that the number of track walkers be immediately increased.

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Garrison train wreck
at

Eastman House The George Eastman Museum, also referred to as George Eastman House and the International Museum of Photography and Film, is a photography museum in Rochester, New York. Opened to the public in 1949, is the oldest museum dedicated to photography ...

1897 news accounts of the train wreck
Railway accidents and incidents in New York (state) Railway accidents in 1897 Derailments in the United States Accidents and incidents involving New York Central Railroad 1897 in New York (state) Putnam County, New York 1897 disasters in the United States