Train disasters were significant events in the 19th through the early 20th centuries. Before the widespread development of automobiles, trucks, and aircraft, trains were the dominant way of moving both passengers and freight long distances within the U.S.

One of our evergreen stories, which we republish periodically, is about a train disaster in Powder Springs.

Here’s the text of an article about another disaster, this one occurring in Mableton. It was reported in the December 24, 1885, issue of the News and Farmer, published in Louisville, GA, in Jefferson County, and retrieved from Georgia Historic Newspapers.

A Frightful Collision

Thirteen Persons Killed and a Large Number Wounded

The fast Tennessee night passenger train telescopes that of the Georgia Pacific.

A fearful collision occurred on the Georgia Pacific Railroad at the water tank between Austell and Mableton, about twenty miles from Atlanta, just after midnight Tuesday morning. The circumstances of the collision are about as follows:

The Georgia Pacific and the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia roads occupy the same track from Atlanta to Austell, sixteen miles distant. From Austell, the tracks separate — one line going north and the other continuing on to Alabama. Mableton is two miles from Austell, and between the two towns is a water tank of the Georgia Pacific.

The Georgia Pacific leaves Atlanta from the Union Passenger Depot, while the East Tennessee, which has its own depot on Mitchell Street, joins the track of the former within the city limits. From there, the two roads occupy the same track to Austell.

The Georgia Pacific fast passenger leaves for Birmingham at 10 o’clock at night when on time, and the East Tennessee train leaves for Chattanooga at 10:45. When the Air-Line is behind schedule, the Georgia Pacific usually holds a while to make this connection.

Monday night, the Georgia Pacific left the city somewhat behind time and made very quick time until it reached the tank between Mableton and Austell, where it stopped for water. It left the city just far enough behind schedule to be running on the time of the East Tennessee fast night passenger, which soon followed it out of the city — though the crew of the East Tennessee train did not know they were following so closely, as the Georgia Pacific’s schedule time was three-quarters of an hour ahead.

As the Georgia Pacific passenger stood by the tank taking on water, the East Tennessee train thundered along behind. Suddenly rounding the curve, it plunged headlong into the train standing motionless before it.

The engine of the East Tennessee train plowed its way into the rear car ahead, and a scene of wildest confusion followed. Men, women, and children were hurled from the car, and their screams shattered the quiet night. Several cars telescoped, and their occupants had no time to react before the reality of a serious collision was upon them.

Thirteen people were killed, and several others were so seriously wounded that recovery in some cases is considered impossible.

As soon as the report reached Atlanta, a special train was at once dispatched by authorities of the Georgia Pacific to the scene of the accident.

About Georgia Historic Newspapers

Georgia Historic Newspapers is a part of the GALILEO project and is housed at the University of Georgia. It’s an amazing resource for anyone with an interest in the history of Georgia and its regions.

According to the “About” page on its website:

The Georgia Historic Newspapers Archive is a project of the Digital Library of Georgia (DLG), a part of Georgia’s Virtual Library GALILEO and is based at the University of Georgia Libraries. Since 2007, the DLG has partnered with universities, archives, public libraries, historical societies, museums, and other cultural heritage institutions to digitize historical newspapers from around the state. The archive is free and open for public use and includes over two million Georgia newspaper pages between 1763 and 2021.

Newspaper titles are regularly digitized and added to the archive. If you are interested in including a particular title, you can visit our participation page. A majority of the newspapers on this site were digitized from the microfilm produced by the Georgia Newspaper Project (GNP). For more information about the microfilm available through the GNP, please visit their website.