It would not be possible to look at the history of the rails without talking about crashes and other accidents. Between 1890 and 1970 478,000 people were killed in railroad accidents, this included railroad personnel. Train crashes were highly visible. Photos taken after the fact still depicted the full impact of the crash. It also helped to create folk heroes like Casey Jones, shown in this photo, who is said to have told his fireman to jump as he stayed at the control to help slow down the train. Rail accidents were an issue of such interest that head on collision were often staged to thrill crowds at state fairs and other gatherings.

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