Preservation of Latter-day Saint emigrants in a railroad wreck near Lynchburg

In 1880, a train carrying 160 Latter-day Saint emigrants on the Norfolk and Western Railroad fell into a chasm after a bridge washed away. Despite two cars plunging into the creek, one of which was completely overturned and another standing on its end, no lives were lost, and no one was seriously injured, which was described as miraculous by observers.

In a later report, Elder W. P. Payne provided an extended account detailing that the train was en route from Norfolk, Virginia. After the engine and baggage car cleared the small bridge, the structure collapsed under the weight of the passenger cars due to the severe rainstorm. Elder Payne described the scene as the cars plunged into the swollen creek, with the first coach landing upright and the second turning completely over in the water. He noted that despite the wreckage, the passengers, including the group of Latter-day Saint emigrants, were assisted in their escape, and the event was viewed by the travelers as a providential preservation.