Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1857-03-18
The Horrible Accident the Great Weplci
Railroad
Observation-Disclosures.

An Extra from the Hamilton. c. w. Specta-
tor off e. Of Friday, has account of the terri
BILE calamity on the Great Western Railroad. 1t
says:
The train from Toronto due in this city at
quarter hefore6 p. NJ. yesterday evening had
come trom Toronto a usual. and pro-
ceeding at moderate rate of speed to pass the
swing bridge across the De,iardu's canal.
Those residing at distance may not know that
u cutting has been made As outlet to this ca
nal thr"uh the Burlington Heights. and thnt the
railway crosses it by swing bridge sixty teet at
least above the level of the canal. AZ this time.
of course. the watrc below is covered with leo
about two feet thick.
Just before the train reached the bridges the
engine off the truck, owing. it is supposed. to
some defect in the uxr. This, however, is
mere surnse, founded the observation If
some marks on the rnad for some distance On
the other side OF the spot where the accident
Cured. The immense weight of the en- CINE, cut
ting through the timber of the the bridge, pc"da
ccd the effect naturally to he expected The
whole structure gave wav, and with frightful
crash. the engine. tender, baggage car and first
class passenger ears broke through the seveced
frame werk, and leaped headlong. into the yawn.
Ing abyss below. The engine aud tender crush
ed at once through the ice. The baggage car
striking the the corner of the tender in the ac.
OF falling. was thrown to one side, aud tell some
ten yards from the engine, The first passengers
rushed after. aud turning as it descended.
teIi on its roof, breaking partly through the ice
and was crushed to atoms. While the last car fell
end ways Oh the ice, aud strange Ia shy,
manned ia that position
The loss Il life was nf course frightful. There
were ninety passengers on the train. and the list
of thn>e wan have escaped only numbers about
twenty. A. tar hs We can yet learn, every one
in the first was killed. those who were not
shed iriu " Irarnal hv W. tar which nearly
Tiled ia" car. About thirty we're in the last car.
eff whom ten were taken out dead. and most Of
th- others were ieartuily mutilutrd. The conduc
tor, Mr.. Barrett, the deputy superintendent of
the line, Mr. Muir. and Mr. Jpssop. one of the
auditors. who were on the hind platform, jumped
off and escaped. The express messenger, Mr.
-. Mr. Richardson, conductor on the road
and the mail conductor, were with the baggage
master. The latter jumped over the baggage he
had piled up ready for delivery and escaped with
but slight injury, while the three others went
down, but mi'acuIou<ly enough, were not hurt,
The engineer and fireman went under the leo
with the locomotive, and their bodies have not yet
| been recovered.
The excitement in the city, directly tie news
! spread, was intense Hundreds swarmed to-
wards the Great Western depot and strcamed
/ along the limo to the fatal spot. There the scene
| presented was such a. TO battle description Large
locomotive lamps were speedily brought. Fires
| were kindled and lurd glare was thrown over
the shattered remains Special trains were dis
patched 1.-THE bridge to bring home the wounded
1t WAS no easy task to descend the steep slope i
the canal. Ropes were lowered and ladders at
| t.ched to them, on which the dead and wounded
! from the car which stood endways were first
| drawn up. Then the bottom of the car which
| had partly sunk through the ice, was hewn away
with axes and the unfortunate passengers, some
sadly INITIATED and even cut in pieces, and all
saturated with water, were taken out.
| As soon as the dead drawn up the slope they
either pat in the for conveyance to iain-
ton or ere laid in a small house near the bridge 1t
is said that one family in the cars consisting OF
father, mother and four children. Only one OF the
! children escaped.
One of these little ones girl about four years OF
| age, brought to the house alluded to when we
| were there. The poor little creature was smiling
prettilv as ifshe had been sleeping and dreaming OF
! sweet things when the accident occurred, and had
been launched into the long sleep Of death before the
| dream had vanished from her mind.
At the railway depot, when the sufferers were
| brought in crowds assembled anxious to hear VINO
| were dead and to know fanny OF Their Trends were
! there.
The corpses were taken Into Of the large bag
| gage rooms where Coroners Bull and Rosebrugh po-
ceeled to have them examined, and when possible,
| identified
As soon as the intelligence of the catastrophe
reached the city, Maj. Booker and Capt Macdonald
| companies of volunteers marched to the scene ana
| every credit is due to them for their conduct The
pressure of the crowd had all but forced in the strong
| doors of the depot, when the artillery company ar
| rived They formed Gordon around the room,
| which WIS respected, The rifles marched on to the
| brdg'