The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1867-11-23

Terrible Railroad Calamity FOur
Women and a 1Ian Burned to
Death.
The really terrible calamity of which
we have to write occurred yesterday
morning on the railroad commonly
known as the Cincinnati, Hamilton and
Dayton, but which is used, in common,
by several roads, short distance above
Lockland, at abouta quarter OF o'clock.
The darkness of early morning was, at
that time and place, made impenetrable
by dense fog that had held its place
the night through. 1t happened that an
extra, freight train of thirty-six cars,
drawn by the engine Beckett"
was obliged to halt on, and north
and south of, the bridge above the Lock
land station, owing to the breaking of
tho engines pilot. The engineer inn
mediately sent back q man to tiag the
express train that he knew was follow
ing him-a combined Eastern and
Northern express, made up of passen-
ger coaches Of the Atlantic and Great
Western railroad, through from New
York, and of the Dayton and Michigan
road, from Detroit. connected at Day
ton. This train left Hamilton at twen
ty-seven minutes after >, and took
about twenty minutes to reach this
bridge. The fiagman's light for this
train were discovered in good time, and
it was promptly halted.
PRECAUTIONS THAT FAILED.
As soon as this train halted, its con-
ductor, William III. Sitter, gave orders
to his fagman, Theodore Cross, to start
back with light-"go as fast as he
could and as far as he could" and stop
the Hamilton Accommodation and
freight mixed, that was. following rap
idly, and would soon lSap with them.
Cross was seen to start Back at rapid
pace, bearing a red light and white
light. While he vent on his errand the
conductor walked down along the
freight train its entire length, of nearly
twelve hundred feet, to see what damage
the Beckett had sustained. He started
back, and had walked only third of the
distance in return, when he realized
that something was wrong. Three
quarters of q mile away, in the dark
ness and through the fog, was coming n
train of sixteen cars-two passenger
and the balance freight-whizzing along
with the speed of much steam and a
steep down grade. He heard the whls-
tie of brakes on, once, and knew that
the flaSman's signal had been noticed.
He heard the whistle again, and won
dered that it should have been repeated.
He heard it third time, saw the dim
glitter of a swiftly approaching head
light, and knew, although he could not
comprehend why, that death and de-
struction were at hand.
THE CRASH.
Whistling the brakes down, turning
it's wheels with reversed motion, doing
all that it could to avoid its fate, the
Franklin, an unwilling agent of death,
slid along the wet rails, propelled by
the momentum of its train, and plunged
half its length into the rear sleeper"
The crash was terrible. Instantly near
ly all the passenger cars were jammed
into each other, and the Steedman was
driven into the caboose of the freight
train. In two of the cars people were
writhing under the tOrtures of torn
limbs and bodies; but in that last car
death was reveling. Mr.. Allison escaped;
but there were four women and man
| imprisoned between timbers and panels,
bleeding, gasping, and dying, one with
her entrails torn out, and another with
her head cut off.
SCENES OF HORROR.
If this was terrible, that which en-
sued was horrible. While the bcwil-
dered and frightened passengers in the
other cars were being released, the
steam, scaldins hot, was parboiling
these mangled victims, the smoke even
choking them, and soon there was a
whirl of fire through their car, from the
engines headlight or the car stove
the only fire of the train that had not
been extinguish0d as soon as pOssi-
BILE after the accident. The flames
erept all over this fatal wreck, wreathed
themselves around five human beings,
ate up clothing, skin, flesh and bones,
while the victims shrieked and scream
ed for mercy, for pity, for aid-and one,
for water. One of the ladies got her
head out of a window, and all effort
was made to rescue her; but it was
made in vain. Only her head and neck
could have been saved from fire, for her
body was locked between timbers and
could not be drawn out.
The conductor and engineer procured
axes and attempted to cut into the car,
but failed in this. Rapidly the fire
swallowed this car, and strobe through
and ever every stranger coach of the
train. Its progress was unimpeded and
its triumph complete, save that it could
find no more lives to destroy.
When the fire had exhausted itself, the
wreck was cleared away from the track
and search for the dead was made. A
headless trunk and trunk without
limbs were found, and three Others were
found, less mutilated. While the dress
inc of the wounded was in progress,
these CHASTITY remnants of humanity
were picked out, all charred and black
ened, and still smoking with heat, and
carefully laid aside. So far as was pos
sible, the parts were placed together.
There were remnants of two bodies,
however, that amounted to nothing
more than several unrecognizable
I..,,aos of hroi1aJ f1eah and broken hones