Wreck At The Fat Nancy - Orange VA
N 38° 14.357 W 078° 08.971
17S E 749473 N 4236206
One of Virginia's worst train wrecks occurred at the Fat Nancy trestle.
Waymark Code: WMF5PZ
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 08/27/2012
Views: 13
In the early morning on July 12, 1888, Train 52 of the Virginia Midland & Great Southern Railroad was crossing a wooden trestle two miles out of Orange, Virginia when the bridge collapsed. Eight men and one woman were killed and 26 passengers were injured.
 Photo taken the day after the wreck |
The railroad ran along the north side of Rt. 20. The trestle, 487' long and 44' high, crossed a small stream called Laurel Run. It was named for Fat Mary, a laundress with ample girth, who lived nearby and waved to passing trains.
Cornelius Cox, a civil engineer, had designed a culvert with fill dirt to replace the rickety trestle because the railroad knew it was in bad shape. Ironically, he was one of the passengers killed when he was headed home for a brief respite.
Two Confederate veterans returning from a Gettysburg reunion were also killed. One of them was reported to have had a wooden leg stuffed with cash, possibly won at poker while at the reunion. Also returning from Gettysburg was former Confederate Gen. James Longstreet who was in the last car and survived the deadly crash.
After the disaster, the railroad company completed Cox's stone culvert and embankment. Today, the culvert still stands, but the railroad has been moved further south. The top stones of the culvert are inscribed:
J.M.MOORE.
&.CO.CONT.S
IN.MEMORY.OF.
CORNELIUS.COX.
BORN.OCT.7TH.1846.
DIED.JULY.12TH.1888.
1888
In 2007, a historical marker
was placed on the westbound side of SR 20/Constitution Hwy. near the culvert and disaster site, located at the posted coordinates. The culvert is situated east at:
- N 38° 14.383' W 078° 08.896'
The wreck at the Fat Nancy trestle has been immortalized in
song
by Phil Audibert.
References: