Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-02-09

PoUGHKEEPsIE, Feb. s. The coroner's in.
quest into the circumstances of the recent rail-
road accident commenced here to-day, upon the
body of James Stafford. The first witness was
eX-District Attorney William j. Thorne, OF
POughkeepsie, wkS testified:
was in the rear car of the train, and asleep
first heard crash great confusion ensued
and | got out and walked up outside Of the car
on the river side; the engine of the oil car
had passed my train before l went out; part OF
that train was left on the bridge; there were
several tanks of oil on it; saw nothing but
flames in every direction; everything seemed a
sheet of fir; some cars were on the bridge
which had not fallen from the track
the fire must have enveloped everything
at once; | directed a man ] saw to
uncouplc the next car to him, which he did
when we showed the two cars back: all this oc-
CURED on the draw bridge; my impression was
that four cars were destroyed; | saw passengers
getting out of the fourth car from the rear; the
fire was very hot; one would keep going from ii
all the while; all that could be seen was one
great volume of fire; if there had been half a
dozen cars piled up, they could not have been
seen for the flames; it appeared, from the looks
Of the ties, that the car ran off the track at,New
Hamburg station; the oil car was notion fire
until struck by the locomotive of the up train
Charles Cassum, conductor of the express
train, testified: We left New York six minutes
past eight o'clock, Monday evening; we should
rear end of the second sleeping car with Scott,
the conductor; he heard the first whistle that
was blown, probably at twenty-siX minutes past
ten; was seventeen minutes behind at Fishkill
| heard the second whistle, and went out on the
platform and commenced putting on the brakes .
Scott followed me, and put on the brake ON the
other car; as got my brake and turned to take
hold of the other, felt the engineer reverse his
engine; in a short time,-two or three seconds
felt shock, and the car then went on fifteen
CT twenty feet and came to dead stand; there
were but two sensations; | saw a glare of
light, and, looking out, a mass of flames
was on the river side; the instant the train
stopped the light flashed like gunpowder; there
was no fire till the engine struck; oil from the
car then entered the tire-boX of the engine and
became ignited; lire of fire sprang up like a
wall flame; the fore part ofmy car was then on
fire | heard no explosion; l suppose the oil
tanks were burst by the engine running into
them; you could see nothing, because of the
fire; Scott and myself then GOT all of the pas
sengers out of the car; the car was then all on
fire; it was the second sleeping car; the train
consisted of the locomotive the express car, the
baggage car, five sleeping cars, and one coach /;
when we went out of the second car, [ thought
the flames would follow back; all the passen-
gers were then out of the third car, and | had
part of the train uncoupled and showed back
part of the oil train had broke loose, and
rome south, and the other part further
platform was Or fire; that was the car on which
Scott had put the brake; | then found that we
had saved all that we could; that three sleepers
had gone; then went forward 10 see what was
the matter, could see nothing all the way up the
bridge for the flames, which seemed to rise
solidly twenty five or thirty feet; know Moth
ing more about the accident, except that did
the necessary telegraphing; | have no absolute
knowledge as to the first car going off the track;
only conjecture; the flames were burning un.
i - ~.
anything but the roar of flames; | don't know
whether the patent brakes were used; if the rope
had been puled, my brake would not have been
affected after | put il on; the engineer reversed
after we had run about ten rods; we were not
trying to make up time; in cold weather. our
orders are not to make up time; the engi-
as is the flag man at the
draw; the engineer said he told him
to put out 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 signals; ! think that the cars on the oil
train which ran off were rather back of the
centre OF the train; as rule, we are on time;
if zoe had not been behind time the accident
lCoutd not haze occurred; the night was perfectly
clear; the curve south of the bridge would pre-
vent the engineer from seeing car off the track
on the bridge; had taken up all the tickets in
the sleeping car; you could put thirty paSsen-
gers in a sleering car, but twelve could
occupy the whole; there were two state
rooms in the first sleeping car, but
only one occupied; | should judge that there
were sixteen or seventeen in the first sleeper;
found one or two more who said they were in
the first sleeper, but when l came to sift them
down, they could not tell; had nmY car forty
seven passengers, who told me that they were in
the sleeper; there were three persons who went
to bed at New HampbHrg; that made thirteen
missing; there was one child somewhere in the
hot frpf a hale OaR 7
no tickets from two small children; found no
one to respond to the halftcket; there were three
brakemen on the train; trains run at full speed
over all bridges.
James D. Scott, conductor of the sleeping car
testified to positive knowledge that the passen-
gers of all the cars, except the first sleeping car,
were saved, and that the train was running
about thirty miles an hour.
The inquest then adjourned till Thursday. Up
to this time no more bodies have been recovered,
but the graphing still continues. All the bodies
found thus far have been identified There are
nineteen of them. Two more bodies are yet to
be reeOvered-those of Simmons, the engineer,
and Lawrence Mooney, the brakeman, which
make twenty-one victims in all. A child's under
skirt, marked ELLA Shields" was found on the
ice.
Edgar Underwood, conductor on the oil
train, says the axle on the oil car broke on the
switch at New Hamburg station, and, as the
cabooSe passed, some one at the station hal
loaed. Everything twas kdoue that was possible
to stop the train. He saw the oil car run Oh the
bridge, and saw it about TO cross on the up
track. The train was then nearly stopped, when
he got off on the up track, and his brother on
the down track, both looking for the up train.
His brother Immediately shouted; "There comes
the trainl" Every effort was made to stop IT,
but it looked as if no power on earth
could do it. He saw the locomotive strike the
car, when the flames burst out in every direc-
ton.