a 45-degree angle, with a fearful crash. The passengers were thrown together at the end of the car onto the overturned stove. The stove from the other end of the car fell upon them and released hot coals. The carriage immediately caught fire, the fuel from the kerosene lamps fueling the flames. Only two people escaped alive from the carriage; some may have suffocated, but the majority were burned alive. Witnesses spoke of hearing the screams of those trapped inside lasting for five minutes. Reporting The accident, dubbed the "Angola Horror", gripped the imagination of the nation. Accounts of the tragedy, accompanied by grisly illustrations, filled the pages of newspapers for weeks and showed the tragedy of those trying to identify their loved ones among the charred remains that were pulled from the wreckage. Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper carried five sketches of the scene and concluded, "This railroad disaster is accompanied by more horrible circumstances than ever before known in this country, and its results are truly sickening to contemplate". Aftermath The accident and the public outcry that arose from it influenced many railroad reforms that soon followed, including the replacement of loosely secured stoves with safer forms of heating, more effective braking systems and the standardization of track gauges. Memorial In 2008, the villagers of Angola reserved a parcel of land along Commercial Street and erected a sign to mark the site of the accident, dedicated to its victims. A second memorial to at least 17 unidentified victims buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo was planned and later erected in 2015. See also Lists of rail accidents Notes References Further reading External links Find a Grave memorial for 10 Angola Horror victiums Angola, NY Terrible Train Wreck, Dec 1867 GenDisasters.com Railway accidents in 1867 Railway accidents and incidents in New York (state) Derailments in the United States Train and rapid transit fires Erie County, New York Bridge disasters in the United States Bridge disasters caused by maintenance error Accidents and incidents involving Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway 1867 fires in the United States 1867 in New York (state) Chimney effect fires December 1867 events