Weird Inventions that Saved Lives: Railway Fog Torpedo

Blogger: Amber Lemus

Welcome back to our series on Weird Inventions That Saved Lives. Today, we explore a lesser-known device used on the railroad.

The railroads spread rapidly throughout the world, offering a modern and fast way to travel. However, the railways brought massive risks to both passengers and railroad employees. One major danger was collisions caused by track hazards, such as damaged lines, washed-out bridges, repair crews, or stalled trains.

Edward Alfred Cowper
Inventor of the Railway Torpedo

If an engineer failed to see a hazard in time, the results were deadly. Heavy fog, blinding snowstorms, or simple distraction could cause a driver to miss a vital visual signal. This recurring problem caused countless tragic deaths during the early days of steam travel.

Many inventors tried to solve this deadly issue using complex sound signals triggered by moving trains. Most proved too expensive, inflexible, or unreliable. Then, in 1841, a mechanical engineer named Edward Alfred Cowper came up with a simple, brilliant idea.

He put a small amount of gunpowder inside a small metal capsule, which was fastened to the rails with lead straps. When the heavy wheels of the train passed over it, the capsule detonated with a loud "bang." This sound instantly alerted the engineer to stop, even in zero visibility or if he was distracted by the train's mechanical needs.

Here's a video demonstration, if you're interested. 

While it is a little weird to think that an explosion is saving lives rather than taking them, this incredibly simple device was cost-effective, reliable, and DID save thousands of lives. In the United States, it became known as a "railroad torpedo." While Edward Alfred Cowper designed many things, this humble fog detonator was his most impactful and life-saving legacy.

A Railway Torpedo
Photo By Ralph Mayer - Flickr

The most famous historical testament to its effectiveness occurred on the foggy, rainy night of April 30, 1900, during the legendary final ride of engineer Casey Jones. As Jones hurtled his Illinois Central passenger train through Mississippi to make up for lost time, a stalled freight train blocked the tracks ahead. A flagman had walked back into the darkness and placed warning torpedoes on the rails. When Jones's locomotive crushed the tiny devices, the sudden, deafening explosions instantly alerted him to the danger. Though he could not stop completely before the collision, the torpedoes gave him just enough time to slam on the emergency brakes. Jones tragically died at the controls, but his split-second reaction—triggered solely by the blast of the torpedoes—slowed the train enough to save every single passenger on board.

Today, modern railway technology has made the torpedo mostly obsolete, but we can look back with gratitude for how this simple invention protected so many people.

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Two-time winner of the Christian Indie Award for historical fiction, Amber Lemus inspires hearts through enthralling tales She has a passion for travel, history, books and her Savior. This combination results in what her readers call "historical fiction at its finest".  

She lives at the foot of the Rocky Mountains with her prince charming and two boys. Between enjoying life as a boy mom, and spinning stories out of soap bubbles, Amber loves to connect with readers and hang out on Goodreads with other bookish peoples.

Amber is a proud member of the American Christian Fiction Writers Association. Visit her online at http://www.amberlemus.com/  and download a FREE story by subscribing to her Newsletter!