Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1853-05-14
THE CATASTROPHE AT NoRwALK.

was the train for Boston, on the New Haven
road 1t left the Canal station, in New York, at
eight o'clock on Friday morning, and consisted Of two
baggage and five passenger The number Of passen
gers about hundred. The train arrived at Nor
walk at hafpasttsn ocl0ck A6ost tslf mile beyond
the Norwa station the road is carried the creek or
river By a BRIDGE in which there is draw about sixty
feet wide the steamboat Pacific plying between Norwak
and New York and other vessels having right Of way
1t was at this bridge that the fghtfu catastrophe oc
Cured.
The mode of signalling the engineer that the draw is
open and that he stop his ra is the lowering Of
large red ball. which, when the bridge is closed and the
track free from mpediments is again raised to the top Of
staff Of some altitude OF the engineer is bound
SO to regulate his speed he approaches the bridge that
he can "brake up" without difficulty he dis
covers the warning signal In this instance the engineer
neither to have so abated his speed to have
looked out for the signal The bali had been lowered,
the rawbrdge having just been opened for the passage
of the steamboat Pacific The train according to the
testimony given at the coroners inquest going at its
fall speed So that this fearful loss Of life only be
charged upon criminal recklessness the part OF the
engineer which is almost without parallel.
So terrific indeed was the speed Of the train that al
though the gap opening in the bridge was sixty feet
WIDE the engine literally overleaped it and struck the
abutments the other side very little below the level OF
the ne before it fell into the water The tender follow
ed the engine and fell upon it. The first baggage fell
partly across the tender and the second in which was
smoking ROOM fell close It, Two of the passenger cars
were precpated upon this mass and all submerged,
the engine and baggage wagons being deeply imbedded
in the mud II was high tide in the river and the water
was about twelve feet deep The bottom Of the third
broke in two and the fragments hung suspended the
edge Of the stationary part Of the bridge Some Of the
passengers we're thrown into the distance Of
about fifteen feet.
No pen can describe the that followed We copy
however the narratives Of who eye-winesses
Of this fearful disaster
STATEMENT OF EYEwITNEssEs.
Mr.. JAxEs A. REsAuD, engineer Of the steamboat
Pacific makes the following statement, which is also
signed by Captain s. g. BYxBER, Of that boat
I witnessed the terrible accident the New York and
New Haven railroad which occurred Mt o'clock this
morning The place where it happened is called South
Norwak Village, where there is drawbridge across the
Norwak river The drawbrdge had been raised to permit
the passage of the steamboat Pacific am the engineer
Of that boat and board her the time the acc
dent occurred We had got about thirty forty yards
from the draw when we heard the coming mme-
dtey walked art and stood on The guard where could
see every thing that happened The then
ing 1T full speed The draw wide open and the ball
Was down. This bali il used for signal When it is up
IL signifies that all is right
The locomotive was under such headvav whom II ran
on that before II reached the water struck The aJfment
ne cppoats side-a distance Of about sirty FEET The
TENDER baggage car, and two mail next Two
passenger went into the opening On the ton Of what
had preceded them the third broke in the middle and
half Of IL down. In this third car two were killed
instantly and many more were hurt. How many in all
were killed do not know. but before left at twelve
o'clock noon between thirty and forty been taken
dead. They we're horribly bruised and mangled One
beautiful young girl about sixteen years old had the
back of her head Knocked in There child about
four months old and many other children killed The
engineer and kremen Of the train when they the ball
down, jumped Of before the cars reached the bridge
When the cars ran OF those in the screamed
terri6cally We put right back and rendered what
sistance could People went 70 cutting the cars with
axes and taking out the dead Not one that was taken