Danger Rode the Rails: Railroad Accidents in the Late Ottoman Empire

Railroads, which begat capitalism on a new global scale, were introduced in the Ottoman Empire in the 1860s. In the early 20^th century, Ottoman railroad network was linking the major commercial centers of the empire with their hinterlands, Damascus with the holy city of Medina, and the imperial capital with Europe. This network, which had a length of 4,030 miles, carried more than 15 million passengers and 2.6 million tons of cargo per annum.  Railroads were a transformative technology but they were also a dangerous one. As was the case in the US or India, numerous accidents took place on the Ottoman railroads. For instance, many people were maimed or slaughtered, while carelessly walking or lying on the track. Likewise, hundreds of animals got on the track and some rolled under train. Moreover, sometimes trains collided with each other, killing and severely injuring tens of people. To determine the causes of accidents and identify the liable party, Ottoman government officials investigated accident scenes and interrogated railroad employees, and if possible, trespassers and eyewitnesses. Then, they prepared reports of their findings. This paper will use these reports and examine railroad companies and employees, passengers and trespassers’ accounts of the accidents. Drawing on these accounts, it will seek to shed some light on how a new technology, spreading across the globe in an astoundingly short time, affected the lives of ordinary people in the Ottoman Empire. It will also discuss how Ottoman people’s railroad experiences differed from or were similar to their contemporaries in other parts of the world.