Peck's Mill 1899 Trolley Tragedy (3) Cabinet and 50 similar items

(3) Three Antique Cabinet Card Photographs from the 1899 Peck's Mill Trolley Tragedy in Connecticut. This was one of the greatest catastrophes recorded in Connecticut, occuring on Sunday, August 6, 1899, shortly before 4 oclock in the afternoon on the Stratford extension of the Shelton Street Railway. A loaded car went off the trestle over Pecks Mill Pond and sank in the flats forty feet below. The images depict wreckage at the bottom of the bridge including the "Milford Street RY Company" name on the back of one of the cars, and two scenes of the crowds assembled to witness the devastation with the bridge in view. These photos come from a private family collection and so we believe they have remained unpublished and unseen by the greater public until now. Each photo measures approximately 6.25 x 5.25 including mount. Condition: These are original photographs, not a copy or reproduction. They are in excellent condition. Comments: The packed trolley was making its way toward Shelton when the disaster struck. The trolley derailed and plunged from a bridge over the muddy Pecks Mill Pond, located at Oronoque which is a neighborhood of Stratford, approximately six miles north of Bridgeport. The scene was nothing short of tragic: the trolley car sank into the flats below, claiming the lives of thirty-six passengers and leaving several others injured. Only two individuals miraculously escaped unharmed. The trestle itself spanned a considerable 440 feet, constructed of iron with stone foundations, but it lacked any protective guard rails. As the trolley hurtled down an incline, its trucks left the rails, careening along the ties for about seventy-five feet before catapulting off the trestle. The impact was devastating--the motor, weighing a hefty four tons, and the heavy trucks crushed into the car, instantly claiming many lives. George Willis, the Superintendent of the R. N. Bassett Company in Shelton, witnessed the horrifying moment from just a hundred feet away. He described hearing one unearthly shriek as the trolley plummeted into the pond, followed by an eerie silence. The passengers were reportedly singing moments before the tragedy unfolded. The accident was attributed to a combination of factors. Many believed that the motorman, George Hamilton, was operating the trolley too fast on a downward slope. Additionally, there were concerns about the shoddy construction of the trolley line. Ultimately, both George Hamilton and the trolley company were found to be criminally negligent.