The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1869-07-16
Railroad Accident.

T.
ea Railroad Accident.
NEW York, July 15.-Oficers o
the Erie Railroad furnish the follow
ling account of the accident at Mount
Hope:
The through freight train, bound
West, backed on the switch to get
out of the way of the night express,
6:30 PM from New York, but did
! not clear the main track before being
struck. The two engines collided,
! upsetting the engine and the mail,
express, baggage, and smoking cars
Of the train, all of which were burned.
There were some emigrants in the
smoking car, some of whom were
! killed. and three bodies were burned.
Rev. b. B. Halleck, of 327 East
| Fourteenth Street, was in the
car, and was burned to death. SO
far as known, six or seven were
killed.
The passengers were transferred to
another train and sent forward at
9 o'clock AN ,hag5e.
Further accounts of the disaster on
the Erie road state that Rev. Mr..
Halleck was not hurt by the collision,
but was jammed in by the broken
lumber, and was slowly burned to
death. A passenger states that the
freight train, which should have
waited on a side track on the left of
the read this side of the station, had
stasted on before the arrival of the
express train. The engine of the
former had not reached the main
track when it was struck by the
engine Of the express train, which
was running at the rate Of forty miles
an hour. The engine of the freight
train was standing on a frog, so firmly
fixed that it was not mispl ced.
The" engine of the express train
struck the station house, to which it
set fire. and then turned round and
went off the track to the left, headed
east, and the tender went to the right,
headed west. The express car went
down the hill towards the river, and
the first baggage car telescOped into
the baggage car. The whole train
was burnt, except three rear sleeping
cars. Only dozen pieces of bag
gage were saved. The freight engine
stood locked into a passenger car.
After a vain effort to put out the
flames with water, carried from the
river, the passengers moved the
freight cars east. Two cars were
moved at a time. Many of them were
loaded with oil. At 30 o'clock this
morning there was no engine at
the scene of the accident, and some
were suffering terribly from their in-
juries, several with great pain
a 4 Gtv fms tppruTnn nina hO1Yaa
were counted. Some distressing
scenes Of suffering occurred, and
there were some remarkable escapes.
The engineer of the express train
stood bravely at his post and turned
over several times with his engine,
but fortunately escaped injury. Rev.
that he was not hurt at all, but was
wedged In. His fellow passengers
used every effort to save him, but he
died a slow, agOnizing death, In the
presence of sympathizlng friends,
who were unable to help him. A
young German said his father was
bRrued, and when the ruins of the
smoking cars were removed he recog-
njzed the remains of his father by his
watch and some coins. The fault of
the disaster is attributed to tie engin-
eer of the freight train, who started
out before the express train passed
him. lie has disappeared.
a German lost his wife and three
ehildren. lie escaped without injury.
The through mail and registered let
ters for Cleveland were destroyed.
The way mail was saved through the
exerti0ns of the two agents, Messrs.
Spencer and Nicholson Mosthope.
The scene of the disaster was in Pike
County. Pa, about seven miles west
of Cars Rock, aud about fifty rods
from the Delaware River. At the
right Of the track, going west, there
IS a rocky decliyity of about fifteen
feet. 4o
1T is stated that w. Fl. Sanford, the
defaultiDg contractor, Cashier. of the
Central National Bank, left Boston
last week for Europe af#fs
An oil car on the Erie Railroad
took FIRE and burned in Bergen Tun-
mel to-day. e8s1-s
The steam gunboats Severn, Hart
ford. Washonda, Detroit. Colombo
and Swattona, are fitting out rapidly
at the navy yard here, for Immediate
service. sa4e9ggal sfa
A steam tug sunk at Hobokeh to
day, drowning Charles Van Orden,
engineer.
?. Bonita, boy who had his throat
partially cut and his ear cut off by
negro last week, died yesterday