Torpedo acquired its name during the winter of 1882–1883, when a horse-drawn wagon loaded with 880 pounds (400 kg) of nitroglycerin torpedoes bound for Clarendon got stuck on a nearby set of railroad tracks for the Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley and Pittsburgh Railroad.

The driver, knowing a passenger train was due, attempted unsuccessfully to free the fallen horse.

Failing to free it, he unhitched the other horse and moved it to a safe distance.

The driver had started to unload the torpedoes from the wagon, when the train came around the bend.

[3] Even after applying the brakes, the train still struck the fallen horse at nearly full speed, severing two of its legs.