Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1867-11-29
TIE OHIO RALERoAD DISASrEFs-
FULL RABTTCU1-AI2S or THE CT.

THE OHIO RATLhtOAD DLSASTER-
FULL RARTICUIssARS or THE Cd
LAHTTK-A TERR LIE SCENE.
The Cincinnati Commercial gives the
details of the distressing railroad
slaughter which occy Irred on the Gin
clnnatl ana Dayton road on Thursday
evening NZlsGl. The Commercial saws
"A terrible calamity occurred yester-
day morning on the railroad commonly
known as the Cinciu natl, Hamilton and
Dayton. but which s used in common
by several roads, a short distance above
Lockland, Ohio at about quarter of
six O'Clock. The darkness of early
morning was made impenetrable by a
dense fog. An extra freight train of
tbirty-siE cars, drawn by the engine
sReckett, ? was -Gl9lag to haiB on, and
north and south Of, the bridge above
the Lockland station, owing to the
breaking of the engines pilot. The en-
gIneer Immediately sent back a man to
nag the express train that he knew was
following hin-a com mbined 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 DAYTON.
This train left Hamilton at tYenty-sev-
en- minutes after five, and took about
twenty minutes to reach this bridge
The fagman's lights for this train were
discovered in good time, and it was
promptly halted.
THE DEATH TRAP.
'sIere, then, behind the freight train
Of thirsy-six cars, and within a couple
of rods of the cabOose. stood the engine
SteedmRn, of a train of ten cars-two
express, two baggage two Atlantic and
Great Western sleeping coaches, two
Atlantic and Great Western passenger
coaches, one Dayton and Michigan
sleeping coach and one Dayton and
Michigan passenger coach. The Dav-
ton and Michigan sleeping car was the
last of this second train, and next to it
was the Dayton and Michigan passen-
ger coach. All the cars save the last
We're we'll filed. In the last car sat flor
en- and made their toilet four ladies
and two gentlemens One Of these gem
tlemen was Mr.. Allison, the car build
er. The other was unknown. Three of
the ladies appeared to be intimate, and
sat together The fourth lady appear
ed to have made their acquaintance, as
she occasionally spoke to them. This
car was the death trap, and all these
ladies were soon roasted to death.
PRECAUTIONS THAT FAILED.
stAs soon as this train halted its con-
ductor, William ii. Sitter, gave orders
to the fisgman, Theodore Cress, to start
with a light; 'tO 20 as fast as he could
and as far as he could and stop the
Hamilton Accommodation and freight
mixed, that was following rapidly and
would soon be up with them Cress
was seen to start back at a rapid pace.
bearing a red light and a white light.
While he went on his erraud the con-
ductor walked down along the freight
train its entire length Of nearly twelve
hundred feet, to see what damage the |
Beckett had sustained. He then start
ed back, and had walked only a third !
of the distance in return, when he reali-
zed that something was wrong. Three l
quarters Of mile away, in the dark /
ness and through the fog, was coming /
the train of sixteen cars-twO passen- !
ger and the balance frsjght-Whizzing l
along with the speed of much steam /
and steep down grade. He heard the /
whistle Of brakes on once, and knew
that the hagman's signal had been no
ticed. He heard the whistle again, and /
wondered that it should have been re-
peated. He heard it the third time,
saw the dim glitter of a sWiftly-ap- /
preaching headlight, and knew, al 1
though he could not comprehend why,
that death and destruction were at hand. /
THE CRASH.
sEWhistling the brakes down, turning /
its wheels with reversed motion, doing
all that it could to avoid its fate, the 4
Franklin, an unwilling agent of death 1
=
the momentum of its train, and plung-
ed half its length into that rear sleeper.
The crash was terrible. Instantly near
" all the passenger cars were jammed
into each other, and the SteedmRn 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 reyelling. Mr. Allison es-
capped, but there were four women and /
, man imprisoned between timbers and
panels, bleeding, gasping, and dying,
one with her entrails torn out, and Rn-
other with her head cut OF.
SCENES OF HORROR.
f'If this was terrible, that which en-
sued was horrible. While the beWiider-
ed and frightened passengers in the otha
sr cars were being released, the steam,
hot, was parboiling these man
gled victims, the smoke was choking
them, and soon there was a Whirl of
FIRE through their car, from the engines
headlight or the ear stove, the only fire
Of the train that had not been extin-
guished as soon as possible after the ac-
cfdent. The flames crept all over this
last fatal wreck, wreatbed themselves
around five human beings, ate up
clothing, skin, flesh and bones, while
the victims shrielEed and screamed for
mercy, for pity, for aid-and one for wa
ter. One Of the ladies got her head out
Of window, and an effort was made to
rescue her but it was made in vain.