02/08/2026
STORMS AND WRECKS ON CENTRAL VERMONT.
WILLIMANTIC TRAFFIC IS SERIOUSLY DELAYED.
This historic derailment occurred at 2 AM on February 4, 1910, in relatively the same vicinity as the February 5, 2026, New England Central Railroad derailment south of Mansfield Depot, which is currently being cleared. In both instances, the trains were headed in the same direction and faced similar weather conditions.
The following is a transcription of the February 5th, 1910 Hartford Courant article referring to the derailment.
Willimantic, Saturday, February 5th. The Central Vermont Railway had troubles along the line yesterday. Snowstorms “up north,” requiring long waits for connections, delayed southbound trains, and two wrecks in this vicinity kept the line blocked nearly all day and necessitated transferring the passengers, baggage, and mail. The first wreck occurred about 2:00 am yesterday morning, a short distance South of the Mansfield Depot Station. Sixteen cars of Southbound Extra Freight No. 919, all “empties,” jumped the track, and eight of them were so badly smashed as to be of no further use. The wrecked cars were strewn along and beside the track for some distance, and considerable track was torn up. It is said that the cause of the accidents was spreading rails, and a report at Mansfield depot was that the engine had left the track at the same time the cars did, but had jumped back on again after running along the ties a short distance. No one was injured, and the tangle of broken cars and twisted iron was straightened out in time to get the passenger train due in this city at 11:18 AM through, this train arriving here about one hour late. The passenger train started for Norwich and New London after a short stop here, but had gone no further than the Windham Road bridge. In this city, when the Engine #102 was thrown off the track by the rim of one of the wheels of the tender, coming off. Neither the locomotive nor the tender was much damaged, but they were thrown across the main track in such a manner asked to tie up traffic again for several hours. The wrecking train and crew from New London that had been at work at Mansfield came down and it was nearly night before conditions became such as to enable the road to resume running trains through without transfer.
