As they had in good times, the railroads led the way in bad times. They carried the economy over a cliff. The press labeled the Panic of 1873 a railroad depression. Twenty-five railroads defaulted on their debts in the first few months after the crash. Seventy-one followed in 1874 and another twenty-five in 1875. By 1876 roughly half of the railroad companies had gone into receivership.
