On September 22nd, 1882, in the comic strip A Sporting Connoisseur, Charles Jay Taylor depicted for the (New York) Daily Graphic, the events of a relatively light-hearted carriage horse team race between William H. Vanderbilt and one of his rivals.

The following day, September 23rd, the mood changed dramatically, as the New York Times reported on the deadly collision of two passenger trains on Vanderbilt’s railroad (see A Collision in the Dark — Terrible Accident in a Hudson River Railroad Tunnel).

This tragic event was translated into cartoon form, on October 4th, 1882, by artist F. Graetz’s Discrimination — The Selfish Millionaire — How He is Taken Care of, and How He Takes Care of His Patrons appearing in Puck magazine, and, on October 5th by Edward Kemble’s The Recent Disaster in the Fourth Avenue Tunnel, in the (New York) Daily Graphic. Both cartoons took Vanderbilt to task for his hiring of children (to save money), rather than adults, for the important job of signalling to trains when there was a hazard ahead of them (such as another train on the same track).

On October 7th, 1882, on the rear cover of Judge magazine, cartoonist Thomas Worth combined the two events — Vanderbilt’s horse racing hobby which were headlines in the press one day, and, the injuries and deaths of passengers on his lines, the next day. In W.H. Vanderbilt Testing His Patent Block System in the Tunnel, Worth suggests that to help slow down trains, Vanderbilt should place himself and his horse team in front of them…

Click on the below picture, to open a larger version.

The below prose piece appeared in the same issue of Judge, mocking the details of Vanderbilt’s horse race, suggesting he attempt to race one of his trains - in the same tunnel as the collision. Plus, implying that Vanderbilt’s attention to racing horses had diverted him from properly running his railroad.

Next weekend, William Vanderbilt digs his public perception down further…

Doug Wheeler

financial reform JudgeMag TrainHorror Frederick Graetz