New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-02-14
THE POUGHKEEPSlE DISASTER.
Testimony OF n Conductor.

| nor. investigation of the railroad disaster
| continued today. The most important Wit
| ness was Edgar Underwood, conductor o.
! the oil train Underwood testified as 1Oi
lows: -,
The vi, train was extra train No. g. My
| train does not run on time. not beng rcgl
lar train. and had the right of way when
passing on card time. According to the
| rules of the railroad my card time was nj
teen miles per hour. l was not then making
| that time The running gear OF my tram
WAS last examined at Greenbush, and at the
water station we looked over the train our
selves We stopped at COxsackie, Hudson
| and Hyde Park. on our way down, ana eXh
| limitations were made with hammers. Could
| not saw whether the train had been e4a
mined.
| That night at Coxsackio and Hyde Park
| went the whole length Of the train on one
! side, and two OF INV men on the other max
| ing an examination Of the running gear.
Before we reached CoN-ackie discovered
Il hot box. and. in consequence thereof.
| could not make Hudson ahead OF the rcgll-
| lar train. SO took the side track at Cox
| sackic where we cooled the journal. staying
| there ten minutes after the regular train.
| and twenty-five minutes altogether. That
| hot journal gave me no more trouble that
| night 1t was one OF the tank ears the ninth
| one from the caboOSc. 1t had twenty-five
cans. all told Ny attention was first called
to the trouble OF my train by the night
| Waterman at New Hamburg. AS we passed
| the station he called. | was in the caboo>c
at the time and heard him come ont and
| put on the rear brake, and told the
caboose men to give the engineer the
signal by droppin. the white light
| | stood on the. caboOse and kept the sig
nal till we got near the drawbridgr. Did
not hear the whistle for brakes. Think
| felt the engineer reverse the engine. though
| | am not certain. 1t is down grade there.
| If he saw the signal 1t was his business to
! blow for brakes We generally use a signal
cord but that nj Int it was not safe to string
it, 1t is called Il bell cord We mad short
train and thought it was not worth while.
1t is used generally to give the engineer in
formation when train breaks apart. 1t
would have been difficult for the engineer
to get the signal FROM it If it had been
strung in consequence of strinyng it
through the brake handles. 1t is an order
of the road that it shall be strung on all
trains If we had had cord We would have
tried to pull it, but | don't think We could
have succeeded. don't think the eng ineer
could have been notified that way If there
had been a cord. A bell cord has been
strung over fort y-tive ears.
When put On the brakes the speed OF
the train was Stacked and we We're running
portion of the bridge which spans the road
north of the draw bridge. 1t is down grade
there. and hard matter to stop the train
in any wa. had three brakcmen on the
train--onc on the engine and two in the
raboose. The proper place for the second
brakeman is in the middle of the train. bat
there was no place for him to stand there
on that train. except on three or four boards
over the oil tank. 1t is not safe for Il man
IN bpr " he Ip IL ~
walk for him over the top of the ears to the
brake is ibou. three feet wide. SO far as
orders are concerned. it was the duty OF my
hrakclnen to he in the middle of the train.
so far rs box ears are concerned. brake
man can't stand with safety on the plat
form Of the oil car. Ny train consisted OF
an engine. six express oil ears, two box cars
and Il caboose.
The stock ear in the centre of the train
had brakes OH it. and was between two
tank ears. and no brakeman could stand on
it. Even If one had been there. he could
hav. controlled but one ear. whereas where
he was he could control six. If he had been
there he could have ,lisceIned the accident
| would have you understand it was to our
interest to have a man at the rear. The
brakes in the rear We're all good. and WE
had them on a> soon We could. The OF
der for a man IL be in the middle of the train
was given. because he can work from there
to the rear. The night was very cold. |
was looking ont of the rear window of the
cahooSe. and the rear brakeman was at the
door. When | left the cahoose after the
train stopped. went down to the very car
that was oil. The train then at dead
stand. and eleven ears ahead OF the broken
ear were detached and on the south side of
the draWlT!dge. don't know how far they
We're: | coNld not see. Went down the
track on the east side of my train.
The broken ear Was forward. One train
was left back. ana the other ears had gone
on. 1t was lying on the up tack. near Y
croSswise. ons end higher than the other.
When saw the situation. ! at once ordered
the brakeman down the road with a red
light | knew the express was behind. be
cause We should have passed it before we
got there. We couldn't go down on either
track because the track was blockaded.
When l hal!oocd on the engine to 90 down
with the red light. the broken car was on
the east track and my train on the other.
The engineer heard the man halloo. and hal
looed back all tight. 1t was half Il minute
after gave the order to send the red light
betsrc the man started and halloOed all right.
Then the man to whom gave the order
hallooed look out express coming. 1t all
happened in an instant almost. 1t WAS twenty
or twenty-five feet north of the tank on the
east track, on the south draw or bridge.
when gave the order.
When | first saw the express she was
about one hundred feet OF. | dropped my
light for a signal. and think the engineer OF
the express bowcd down brakes. | saw
the express in thirty seconds after the man
warned me. From the time my train stop
ped bntil the collision occurred not over
two minutes elapsed. l WAS on the bridge
near the draw when the locomotive struck
the tank. | don't know that any signal
WAS set on the draw. The first thing |
knew after the collision was getting up oil
the ice in the river eighteen or twenty feet
from the draw. I don't know how | got
there. think the train was nearly stopped
when it struck the oil tank. l heard the
express train whistle minute before | got
OFT my train. She appeared TO be between
the water tank and sirawbridge. could
not tell exactly where she WIS The oil ear
was not unusually heavily la'len.
There was Il light signaling all right on
the drlwbridge tower If man had been
there, don't think he would have had time
to change 1t to danger signal. 1t would
take a half minute to put on the brakes Ii
had had two more bEakeman on my train.
! could not have stopped before l got to the
draw. think the broken truck under the
on the engine whose duty it is to watch the
rear signals from both sides of the engine
when going around curves. 1t is straight
line out New Hamburg station Nv en-
Slneer must have known sOmethin" was
wrong when we put On the brakes II is nv
duty to see the bell cord strung For the
way we were situated that night we were
running, as safe as We could. We can hold
olir tram IN eighty rods. All the tank ears
OF the tram were burned. There were se~en
OF them at Hyde Park coming down. l
h 81 n