The Gasconade Bridge Disaster

By 1855, the Pacific Railroad had gained a poor reputation as construction cost more time and money than expected, prompting a legislative investigation that blamed incompetence and corruption among the road's directors. To bolster support, Chief Engineer O'Sullivan pressed for a firm completion date to Jefferson City, 125 miles west of St. Louis, first set for September 1, 1855, then delayed to November 1, and planned an opening excursion carrying 600 passengers, including several prominent St. Louisans. To meet the deadline, workers finished a temporary bridge over the Gasconade River while a permanent one was still underway, but during the excursion, seven miles west of Hermann, the bridge collapsed. A published eyewitness account told of ten cars lying in ruins, one hanging on the abutment, and the groans of the wounded and dying rising from the chasm as wind and rain swept the scene. Although the bridge had been tested with a gravel train, an investigative committee concluded that the unevenly distributed weight of the excursion train and its speed of twelve miles per hour caused the collapse. Thirty-one people died and hundreds were injured, including Chief Engineer Thomas O'Sullivan, Henri Chouteau, and Thomas O'Flaherty. The railroad finally opened to Jefferson City in March 1856. It nearly lost state aid when Governor Sterling Price vetoed additional construction funding, though his veto was overridden, and the road continued to struggle. Over the years, the 1855 Gasconade Bridge was replaced and moved along the river several times, was completely destroyed during the Civil War and rebuilt soon after, suffered a second collapse in the late 19th century, and was eventually succeeded by the current Union Pacific Railroad bridge in the town of Gasconade near the confluence of the Gasconade and Missouri rivers.

Missouri · United States