
Cerhovice Train Crash Memorial
Posted by:
haggaeus
N 49° 51.028 E 013° 49.846
33U E 415946 N 5522661
A memorial to victims of a train crash on November 10th, 1868.
Waymark Code: WMC689
Location: Středočeský kraj, Czechia
Date Posted: 07/31/2011
Views: 98
On Tuesday, November 10th, 1868, a regular passenger train departed from Pilsen at 4AM. In its four last cars there were 235 soldiers of 26th infantery regiment (Slovaks and Hungarians), who were stationed in Pilsen and were leaving for vacation to their homes. There was a large snowfall and the strong winds formed many snowdrifts, which caused the train to be delayed and finally it got stuck in snow between Cerhovice and Ujezd.
At about 5:30, a freight train with coal going in the same direction crashed into the stopped passenger train, the last four cars of the passenger train and twelve freight train cars were derailed, 35 passengers died immediately or later in the Prague Military Hospital and about 80 were injured.
The victims were buried in a common grave at Cerhovice cemetery on November 13th.
Source: Article "Velké neštestí na západní železnici ceské" in Czech magazine Svetozor (see the link for a scanned page in djvu format).
The image is taken from Wikimedia.
The memorial is a pseudogothical structure with a simple marble plaque "To the victims of railway disaster 1868".