Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1857-03-25
From the Baltimore Sun.
THE TERRIBLE ACCIDENT ON THE GREAT
WESTERN RAILROAD.

We have received by telegraph, from toronto,
some additional particulars Of the terrible acci
dent ON the Great Western railroad. The report
that Thomas C. Street, the millionaire OF Mag
ara Fulls, was among the killed. is erroneous
He was however, somewhat injured. MIR. oain'
uel Zimmerman, who is reported rs among the
killed. is a wealthy Canadian banker anu con-
tractor, who owns the large tract OF land on 1ne
British side of the Niagara river at the FAILS re-
ported to be worth several millions. Within the
mast year or two he has commenced laying 1t our
in parks and for building purposes his I'M
movements there are prominent feature IN the
view from Goat Island, and will be readily re-
membered BY every recent visitor to the faiis;
Mr.. G. was native Of Dauphin county, "a, ana
formerly held subordinate position III the con.
struction of the Pennsylvania canal. by sreat
industry and good management, he improVeu
his condition. and some years ago went to lana
da and became L contractor Oh some ol lhe great
public works of the province. de gradually en-
iaryed the sphere of his operations, and hnaily
amassed large fortune. For some years ne mas
been identified with all the great enterprises OF
Canada West, and exercised an influence IN
financial andinternal Improvement affairs second
to that of no man i'll Canada.
We sulioin the following dispatches:
ToRoSro, March g.-We learn the following
particulars of the railroad accident near Hamll'
ton from gentleman who left the scene Of dis
aster this morning. The accident occurred on
the Great Western railway, at the bridge over
the Des Jardines Canal, which is elevated some
sixty feet above water. The bridge swings, and
it is supposed that the train, which had passed o
short time before, had sunk the bridge so much
that the locomotive of the train WAS oDStructca
by the abutments to such degree that the pas
srnger cars were raised up and thrown into the
canal. The number of passengers were estima'
ted at from seventv.iive to one hundred, OF which
only fifteen were taken alive from the wreck, and
of these five have since died.
The water in the canal is eighteen feet deep,
and nearly all those not immediately killed were
drowned. The engine and tender, with the engl-
neer and fireman, were pitched headlong into
the canal. and ure buried twenty feet below the
surface. The baggage car and two passenger
cars are completely shattered, and oneot the lat
TER turned bottom side upwards and nearly SUBJ
merged.
When our informant arrived this morning, the
parties were still busy in extricating the bodies
iron, the wreck. In one clubhouse adjoining the
station house at Hamilton about fifty or SIXTY
corpses of men, women and children were lying
ON one floor.
No inquiry into the cause Of the accident has
vet been held. Most OF the passengers were
from Hamilton, Toronto and the adjoining towns.
1t is intended to have public funeral OF the
unfortunate sufferers OH Monday. Committees
have been formed tu wait On the friends of the
deceased. Many of the bodies have already
been removed by the relatives. Fi!iy-scven b.
dies have been recovered up tonight.
1t is agreed that no blame attaches to the
swi,chman or engineer. The front axle Of the
locomotive seems to have broken. The engine
probably was partly Oh the rails unit! half way
over the bridge, when it fell from the rails to the
timber framing, a distance of fully Is inches.
The shock thus caused seems to have snapped
the whole structure. 1t is said that the engineer
(brave fellow j whistled ON brakes. anu, while
endeavorimg to avert the catastrophe, went down
with the engine.
We can positively contradict the report that
the switch was wrong, and that this caused the
accident.
Undoubtedly the axle Of the engine must have
been broken, as the left wheel left the rail, and
marked the seepers, &c, on the track for some
ten yards before reaching the switch. We have
been told by one Of the gentlemen who jumped
off, that the engineer, instead OF attempting to
escape at the first warning, stad until the mo-
ment when the engine was precipitatcd into the
abyss, and was reversing the engine, endeavor,
ing, if possible, to prevent the fatal result. Ii
this be true-and we see no reason to doubt it
too much praise cannot be bestowed on the
brave fellow who thus molly did his duty.