Smyrna times., 1871-02-15
,r..,,,,c Railroad Accident.

.Lo mast terrible accidents whi;h
Onc vi ant a thrill of horror throughout
nave eve o~ccnrred on Monday night, Of last
the lanu ,Ir line of the Hudson River Il. r.,
"esA' G,. - IIsmburg, miles below PoughkrepSie.
a' c".i5ht train, mainly made up ol OIL ears.
lJ from Albany in the evening, on the
Stn" rack There were 'wrnty-GVe cars III
.L;" rain Almost at nc enu Oh ne w@nden
thiI u'," oy.r Wappuger' Greek, at New Ham
Driut', axle of the tenth car III the train, an
Ouik' - brnke. tipping it sideways. aud letting
Oh 80, 49, ,,nos the ties For few yards further
AZ" entrance to the bridge, it dragged, then,
S..L;rr timber, was tossed over on the up
sIltG'"a earJ instantly all the cars behind it were
uaoS' .aS "a o." i mass of wreck 1t was the work
Pr ;ns,ont and while the echoes were still
Int half awakened by the awful crash, upon
re chaos gared the headlight OF a passenger
tr.;n-,he Pacific expresS-daShing Onward
w;th LIGHTNING speed on the up track. Before
,here could be a motion t" cheek It's advance,
before even there could oe one warming Snrlek
So, tho Incomotive, with the terrible noise as
&c ao oarthouake, the locomotive Ot the ex
y. q" .no;n Winged into the mountain OF ruin
P'o'' ',nrn the track Down on it came
.uIar;ng .lI the ears which followed in its
I. aseh with a crash, mingled with the
vi Ir;sts of the terrified inmates. The
,i,,o';rs had burst open the oil tank of the
cT ,,,,tb c,r the instant of striking it, From
Is. nov of the locomotive the flames leaped
w - ,br heavens. Tie oil dashed high in
tbe air by the shock, ignlted there, and where
II fell there lay sea OF hre. Another and
another tank exploded and gave their boil
ing. flaming contents to feed the swelling fury
of the fire. Up, up, round the cars, and
down over the bridge, tapping all with tongues
of A,me, binding the maddrned ones who
tried to escape, Shrouding the awful death
cells, where, from their sleep, the miserable
ones had no time for any thought but wild
alright and agony, we're hurled into eternity.
From the bridge into the waters OF the creek
eighteen feet beneath, plunged the engine of
express ;rain, and down upon it fell the tender,
a baggage-car, and an express Cur, then the
Buffalo sleeping COACH from which none es,
caped alive, and over these poured down the
LIQUID fire from the bridge, as it too, fell, with
its load of the remaining cars of both trains.
So fierce was the fire that nothing could be
done to save those so instantly enveloped by it.
Itwrapped two cars so quickly that few escaped
from them uninjured by it, Down beneath
the ice, drowned, lay some, fortunate that
their death had been less horrible thln that
of those eneulfed in the fire; others, >til
more fortunate, had known no pain, but in that
sudden cra>h had taken, all unconscious of its
cause, the short step from mortal life to i'm
mortality In two of the Sleeping cars imme-
diately following the Buffalo co ,ch the loss of
life and injuries we're great. From those he
hind, most OF the passengers e>caped-frw
without serious injuries. Looking before
them they saw, wrapped in the fire, the chaos
Of wreck; in their ears, mingled with the
roaring and cracking of the flames, resounding
the shrekS of the poor wret ,hes in their death
agony. far beyond all human aid, in that infer
nal furnace. They stood upon the ice, scantily
clad, for most of them had been half undressed
preparing for sleep when the disaster came,
and the severe atmosphere was down to zero.
AS the ice melted, the cars upon it sank down
into the water beneath, and then the burning
timbers OF the bridge. For hours the furious
flames revelled in their work of ruin The
lurid glare reddened the skies; the ice and
snow brought out in keen relief the branche.
OF the tall pines and male blacker the shadow,
behln them on the snOw-c!ad sides of thi
awful gOrge-this valley of death Near thu
wreck lay human body, upon the ice. L.
entraIIS were torn out, it, head aud legs crush
ed. The ghastly horrors OF the scene could
have had no more vivid climax. Such an Oh
lect IN the foreground made complete uictur,
which will never fade from the r,membranc
OF those who gaZrd upon it,
Who were lost was the anxious inquiry
among the survivors. Twenty five or thirty a
least had gone down in the BuffalO sleepin
coach. not one of whom was there the slight
est hope OF saving from the moment that tn
hre swallowed it up.
The number of ki led and wounded is var
ouSly estimated from thirty-fve to eighty
ABOUT twenty bodies have been recovered, bu
ssme are so burnt and charred as to be uI
recognizable.