"The Morning News"
Dublin Core
Title
"The Morning News"
Subject
The Staplehurst Railway Accident
Description
This "Morning News" article from the June 21, 1865 publishing of The Belfast Morning News details the horrific train accident which occurred on June 9th as a result of construction near the village of Staplehurst. The accident, in which a section of track was missing from a bridge due to construction, resulted in multiple train cars being flung from the bridge and into the cliff, ultimately killing 10 people and injuring more than 50 others. The Staplehurst Railway Accident, as it became known, has been cited as an influence for Dickens' short story "The Signalman," as Dickens was a passenger in the sole first-class coach of train to not fall into the ravine. As one of the few uninjured train passengers, Dickens remained behind to assist the railway workers in attending to the injured and went on to later describe the scene as "unimaginable."
The influence of Dickens' personal experience in railway tragedies can be seen in the anxieties and concerns expressed by the fictional signalman when he believes he has encountered a specter which precipitates railway tragedy. The premonition of death, and the potential horrors of technology gone wrong, loom over this story in an ominous sense, in a similar manner to the potentially damaging weight one may assume followed Dickens in the wake of the train's accident. Though the accident faced by Dickens in reality, as well as the incidents depicted in the Signalman, exemplify the extremes of the dangers posed by advancements in railway technology, both the fictional and nonfictional traumas faced by Dickens in relation to railway transportation provide an understandable basis for the exercise of caution.
The influence of Dickens' personal experience in railway tragedies can be seen in the anxieties and concerns expressed by the fictional signalman when he believes he has encountered a specter which precipitates railway tragedy. The premonition of death, and the potential horrors of technology gone wrong, loom over this story in an ominous sense, in a similar manner to the potentially damaging weight one may assume followed Dickens in the wake of the train's accident. Though the accident faced by Dickens in reality, as well as the incidents depicted in the Signalman, exemplify the extremes of the dangers posed by advancements in railway technology, both the fictional and nonfictional traumas faced by Dickens in relation to railway transportation provide an understandable basis for the exercise of caution.
This "Morning News" article from the June 21, 1865 publishing of The Belfast Morning News details the horrific train accident which occurred on June 9th as a result of construction near the village of Staplehurst. The accident, in which a section of track was missing from a bridge due to construction, resulted in multiple train cars being flung from the bridge and into the cliff, ultimately killing 10 people and injuring more than 50 others. The Staplehurst Railway Accident, as it became known, has been cited as an influence for Dickens' short story "The Signalman," as Dickens was a passenger in the sole first-class coach of train to not fall into the ravine. As one of the few uninjured train passengers, Dickens remained behind to assist the railway workers in attending to the injured and went on to later describe the scene as "unimaginable."
The influence of Dickens' personal experience in railway tragedies can be seen in the anxieties and concerns expressed by the fictional signalman when he believes he has encountered a specter which precipitates railway tragedy. The premonition of death, and the potential horrors of technology gone wrong, loom over this story in an ominous sense, in a similar manner to the potentially damaging weight one may assume followed Dickens in the wake of the train's accident. Though the accident faced by Dickens in reality, as well as the incidents depicted in the Signalman, exemplify the extremes of the dangers posed by advancements in railway technology, both the fictional and nonfictional traumas faced by Dickens in relation to railway transportation provide an understandable basis for the exercise of caution.
The influence of Dickens' personal experience in railway tragedies can be seen in the anxieties and concerns expressed by the fictional signalman when he believes he has encountered a specter which precipitates railway tragedy. The premonition of death, and the potential horrors of technology gone wrong, loom over this story in an ominous sense, in a similar manner to the potentially damaging weight one may assume followed Dickens in the wake of the train's accident. Though the accident faced by Dickens in reality, as well as the incidents depicted in the Signalman, exemplify the extremes of the dangers posed by advancements in railway technology, both the fictional and nonfictional traumas faced by Dickens in relation to railway transportation provide an understandable basis for the exercise of caution.
Creator
Unknown
Unknown
Source
British Library Newspapers, Part IV: 1732-1950
British Library Newspapers, Part IV: 1732-1950
Publisher
The Belfast Morning News, pg. 3, Issue 1642
The Belfast Morning News, pg. 3, Issue 1642
Date
Wednesday, June 21, 1865
Wednesday, June 21, 1865
Rights
British Library
British Library
Format
Newspaper
Newspaper
Language
English
English
Type
News
News
Files
Citation
Unknown and Unknown, “"The Morning News" ,” Manhattan College Omeka , accessed November 9, 2024, https://omeka-pilot.manhattan.edu/items/show/385.