Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1871-02-17
THE HUDSON RIVER RAILWAY
lh HORROR.

I LCII INCW OIk dL SlA l1lAAAabC9 yeA9l
J eight Monday evening. Should have
left at eight P. NJ. -"
II was sitting in the rear end of the
second sleeping car, with Mr.. Scott, the
conductor. He heard the first whistle
that was blown; passed Fishl1iIl at FIVE
minutes past 10; the whistle was proba-
bly, blown at twenty-six minutes past 10.
/ The train was seventeen minutes be-
| hind at Fishkill- ] heard the second
whistle and went out on the platform
\ and commenced putting on brakes.
Mr.. Scott followed me out and put on
4 the brake on the other car. As got
my brake on and turned to take hold OF
the other I felt the engineer reverse the
engine. In two or three seconds / felt
the shock, and the car then went on
fifteen ertwenty feet and came to dead
stand. II saw a glare of light, and look
ingfoutr saw. a mass of flames. was
4 on the river side. The instant the train
4 stopped the light flashed like gunpow-
der. The oil from the oil car entered
the fre-box Of the engine and became
ignited The line of fire sprang up like
a wall'of flames. The fore part of my
car was then on fire. l heard no explo-
sion. You could see nothing because OF
the fire. Scott and myself then got all
the passengers out of the car; the car
4 was then on fire. II was the second
sleeping car. There was only one in
4 front of it. The train consisted of a To-
/ comotive, express car, baggage car,
FIVE sleeping cars and one coach.
/ When we went out of the second car
thought the flames would follow back.
! All the passengers were then out of the
4 third car and that part of the train was
uncoupled and showed back. Part oi
the oil train had broken loose and gone
south, and the other part was further
back When got the third car forward
/ the platform was on fire. That was the
car Scott had put the brake on; and
then we found we had saved all we
/ could, and that three sleepers had gone.
| | then went forward TO see what was the
matter. l could see nothing all the way
up to the bridge for the flames, which
seemed to raise solidly twenty-five or
thirty feet l know nothing more about
the accident, except did the necessary
telegraphing. l have no absolute knoWl-
| edge as to the first car going off the
track; it is only conjecture. The first
! and second sleepefs were on the bridge,
/ and the flames were burning under the
| bridge on the ice. I heard no sound,
| or anything but the roar of the flames.
/ Vosburgh was conductor of the first
sleeping car. I don't know whether the
! patent brakes were used. If the ropes
/ had been pulled my brake would not
| have been affected after had put it on.
| The engine was reversed after it had
run about ten rods. We were not try
| ing to make up time. The engineer
was considered good man. There is
a hag-man at the draw. The engineer
| said he told him to put out the red light
as he passed. The first signal we got
was forty yards from the bridge. The
engineer of the oil train had jumped off
| to give the signal | think that the cars
on the oil train that were off were rather
! back of the centre of the train As a
rule we are on time. If we had not
| been behind time the accident would
not have occurred The night was per-
fectly clear. The curve south of the
bridge would prevent the engineer from
seeing the car off the track on the
bridge.g had taken up all the tickets
in the sleeping car. You could put
thirty passengers in a sleeping car, but
twelve could occupy the whole. There
were two state-reoms in the first car, but
only one occupied l should Judge
there were sixteen or seventeen in the
first sleeper. l made the statement
which appeared in the Poughkeepsie
Ea92e relative to having sixty-five sleep
ing car tickets. / found one or two
more persons who said they were in the
first sleeper, but when I come to sift
them down they could not tell. l had
in my car. forty seven passengers. who
told me they were in a sleeper. There
we're three persons who went to bed at
New Hamburg; that made thirteen
missing. There was a child somewhere
in sleeping car that got half ticket
from; / got no tickets from two small
children; / found 10 one to respond to
the half ticket. There were three brake
men on the train. Here the witness
described the patent brakes, but could
not say whether they were applied.
Trains run at full speed over all bridges.
The inquest then adjourned till
Thursday, at 2 clock in the afternoon.
Up to this time no more bodies have
been recovered, but the graphing still
continues. All the bodies found thus
far have been identified. Two more
bodies are yet to be discovered, that of
Simmons, the engineer, and Lawrence
Mooney, a brakeman, which makes
thirty-one victims in ALL I am told
that a child's underskirt was found on
the ice marked Ella Shields.
A Picture OF THE SCENE AT New
HAMBURGF-THE FINDING OF THE
BODIES. l..asa
NEW HAMBURG, Feb. 7.-Crowds of
persons are here Is this morning view
ing the scene of last nights Disaster
and the picture presented to the eye is
a ghastly one. Near the in-fated draw
bridge stands a baggage car well heat
ed, which IS used as a temporary NOR
que, In which to place the bodies of the
dead as fast as they are found by men
with graphing irons The dead forms
come up rapidly, and as eachlis brought
to light, ordinations Of ahorrer are
heard on every side. They are mutila+
ted in many ways, and the sight is
sickening one. Poor Doc Simmons, the
engineer, was found on his engine far
below the river with both his legs
burned off and his head smashed in.
One lady was brought up to the surface
with a babe in each of her arms. It
seemed as though the little things were
still shrinking from the awful death
crash. Their mothers arms were locked
tightly about them. Both were convey
ed to the baggage car. DR. Hancrede
of New York was found with his head
partially burned of. Wosburgh, the
Sleeping car. conductor, was also fear
fully mutflated, and in the pocket Of
his coat was found his money and
partial list of the passengers in his car,
with however, only the surnamess p.
HURLED TO INSTANT DEATH.
The catastrophe, as described by a
passenger on the express train, was ap-
palliug. The oil was confined in large
tanks, so that the instant the engine
struck the train, the forward sleeping
car, engine baggage car, and bridge
were instantly enveloped in flames. Not
an instant was gived the unsuspecdng
and sleeping occupants of the sleeping
car to prepare for the terrible death
awaiting them. They were enveloped
in flames before they could have time
to utter Single despairing cry.
The majority, if not all the passen- /
gers of the other. two cars escaped unin
jured. 1.-The oil completely covered the |
bridge, and spread on either side to the