In 1876 there was the Ashtabula, Ohio train disaster. A bridge collapses killing 92. There was a legend that it was and elaborate heist and the collapse was caused because it was hauling gold but seems more likely that it was caused because Amasa Stone, the President of the Railroad Co. used an untested bridge design was supposedly cheap and didn't want to change the trusses when told they were too small. This was a huge story and biggest or if not one of the biggest train disasters of the 19th Century and I could see where it would been "adapted" and used in other stories.

On a similar note: are there any recorded deaths where the victim was tied to train tracks?