The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1856-07-24
From ihs Philadelphia Bulletin Of July III
APPALLING DISASTER ! !
Collision on. the North Pennsyl-
vania Railroad.
N Excursion Train wrecked.
SEVERAL CARS BURNED.
NEARLY FIFTY LIVES LOST!


morning, with a large party Of school chill
dren with their teachers, &c.
The particulars SO farss we have been
able to CLEAN them from reliable sources,
are as follows:
At five o'clock this morning special train
cars leh the Master street Depot, with the
schools OF st. Michasl's Roman Catholic
Church in Kensington. The excursion par
ty consisted Of between five and six hundred
persons, the great majority of whom were
children. They intended proceeding to
Fort Washington, fourteen and half miles
from the city, where they were to enjoy a.
pic mic.
Owing to the number OF cars, and the
weight Of the train, there was some delay;
and the conductor, Mr.. Alfred +. Hoppel,
pushed forward with great rupidity when to-
wards the end Of his trip.
The regular passenger train for the city
left Gyned at 6 o'clock, and reached
Camp Hill at o'clock and lS minutes
Finding the excursion had not yet arrived,
Mr.. VIM. Vanstavoren, the conductor, de-
termined not to wait for it; and his train
was moving along when the expected train
came laundering on around curve, at the
rate OF 35 miles an hour. A collision Of
course ensued, with the most appalling con-
sequences.
The down train escaped without serious
damage; but the scene presented by the ex-
cursion train was fearful The three for
ward cars Of the train were crushed COM
p!etely to pie ces, and the wreck, minging
with that OF the locomotive, took fire, and
the flames communicated to the other cars
Of the train. The two next ours after the
three that were wrecked outright, took fire
and were entirely consumed.
The inmates of the three forward cars
were completely mixed up with the wreck,
and large number of them were killed
outright. There were probably fifty per-
sons in each Of the three cars, and the low
est estimate we heard fixed the number OF
killed at fifty, while it WINS feared the dreaC
aggregate would reach one hundred.
When our informant left the spot, every
effort was being made to rescue the wound
ed and the bodies of the dead from the wreck
Everything was in the wildcat confusion
and 1t was of course impossible, under the
circumstances, to arrive with any certainty
at the number Of the victims, or to pretent
to obtain any particulars as to their names
FURTHER PARTICULARS.
One Of our reporters has just returned
from the &C enc Of the disaster, and furnishes
the appalling particulars ss follows
Eleven bodies Of men and apomen and tw
children ,oere turned to death in one car
The names are unkno,on. They pere caugh
under the side Of one Of ths cars and roaste
alive. When ,Oe SaW the remains they pre-
scented horrible spectacle.
The mutilated remains Of four men an
uom.n and child acre dug from beneath III
sngins end tender.
The remains Of a small child were foun
: under the ruins of the engine, in the ash
pan.
7 The remains Of six other bodies were rH
: ked out of the ashes, and placed on the grss
} opposite to where the accident happened.
! The killed. as given in the list, amount [
no less than THlRTY.NINE persons an
the wounded to SIXTY NINE. Thes
numbers will probably be increased,as soul
i: of the wounded will probably die and thel
are some whose injuries are not known.
: ACCOUNT BY ANOTHER NEPoRTER.
=. The up train consisted of twelve passer
:. ger cars, baggage car. locomotive ar
tender. 1t is estimated that there were owe
f eleven hundred persons on this train,
o which over one half were children.
i The crash Of the two trains wus distinct
n heard at the hotel at Fort Washington, al
:, for distance of over mile out at Dewy
.t Lane.
% All the physicians in the neghborin
. towns were summoned to the place and ust
!. their best efforts to relieve the wounded.
h The most horrible sight of al was that
ID the burning car-for in few minutes afts
RI the collision, the fire spread rapidly throue
ID the broken remnants, burning and roastiI
ri to death nineteen men, women and childre
ID The groans and shouts of the wounded, ar
70 those held by the legs and arms to the bur
ing wreck were of a character to appal Il
i. bravest heart.
=. A row of men was at once formed al
r. buckets used to extingush the flames. b
70 they were unsuccessful. A large numb
of of persons wero taken from the wrec
in slightly bruised, who made hair breadth e
capes from being burned to death.
The farmers in the vicinity rendered eve
assistance in their power, except one ma
who demanded $40 for wagon to 60 mi
!. for physician.
l. The scene, upon. the arrival at Mast
street, beggars descrip ption--the fathers a
ks mothers and relatives of the excursionis
he having assembled there to the number
1t 1000, to learn the result Of the dreadful c
ok tastrophe.
OF Mr.. John H. Ainsworth, the Supernte
- dent of the baggage department, was on t
til down train, but escaped uninjured.
lis made an almost superhuman effort to resc
to those in the burning cars, and was partie
nd larly attentive to the wounded.
n. Mr. Stephen A. Winslow, one Of the mt
nd efficient reporters OF the Philadelphia pre-,
y was passenger in the down train, but
tie capped without injury.
l.. STATEMENT OF MR.. WIN. SWAIN.
w. Mr.. VIM. Swsin was at Chestnut Hi
nd about three miles distant, when the dis,
'le ter occurred he Immediately hastened to {
t. spot, and he furnishes US with the followi
ST particulars Of the catastrophe which car
under his own observation:
The scene was the most awful ever W
,u messed. OF FIVE cars nothing was left star
s ing but the wheels, every bit OF wood wo
h. was totally destroyed. A number of Il
70 70 dead were lying in heap so dreadtully bur
m ed that you could not tell whether they we
in men or women. Among these was, it
ba believed, the Rev. Mr.. Sheridan, priest
IL St. Michael's Church. He was with t
no excursion party, and his body was not four
h q Under the ruins the bodies of some fifte
N or eighteen persons could be seen. |
.iu portion of them could be reached but tn,
. limbs-here leg protruded d, and there
al arm or a head could be discovered T