Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1872-10-16
rHn aAI1aoAD disaster.

In our issue Of Monday we gave an
account Of the accident which occurred
to the Eastern bound passenger train
last Sunday night, near Truclec. Our
information was hastily cleaned from
passengers on tho train, and being
somewhat mssgre. We condense the
particulars Of this disaster from the
rrackee Republican Of yesterday.
THE DISASTER
Happened at half.past ~ O'Clock, just At the
outskirts Of rruckee. It appears that the East
ward bound passenger train, Immediately amer
"woodin: up" on oldstream, about three and
. half Mills ab)Sc toxn, broko in two parts.
The rear portion C insisted oftwo sleeping care,
two pass niger coaches, aud Q smoking car, and
. bag age an express car. The forward por'
ton consisted Of the mail car and two loco
motives. The engineers state that they were
not aware that the train was thus broken, but
knew that so netting was the matter for the
rvason that they could not control 1t with the
atmospheric brakes which arc generally used.
They
wHIsrLED AN ALAE1
To tho brakemen to apply the hand brakes
some three p.les above town. and repeated the
SKI q QoAANNk W = aAtAo eatAA 49, 49,
"a no. Il would seem that tho iGand brakemen
did not hear the alarm signals and the rear por'
lion OF tho train Kept gradually increasing In III
Momentum on tbs heavy down Rrsdo until the
velocity was fdghtful. and not until Il was toe
late we're the hand BRAKES applied. Tho pas
& say that tho q r-r
IN rounding the numerous curyss was 20 greal
that they could NOT stand up. Tho cars were
constantly threatening 10 cIps.ze, and II seemed
10 them that tho speed was from ~ to iO mile'
IN hour. About . Iniuu . and . half before the
collision took place 4 gentleman IN the sleep
ing car observed 70 conductor Marshall that the
rate OF speed was alarming. Marshall replied
that Il was, ami instantly. step ed out on tht
platform In front and 4 piled the brake. The
railroad Waterman 1t the Dunier Creek bridge
slates that tho locomotives and mail car crosssc
the bridge me mile above town 1t = nigh rate
OF rpeed, and In about . half q minute tho OK
pres., baggage aud passenger cars asshed ovel
the bridge, as he expressed u, and In another
hsif minute no heard The collision.
TERRIFIC SIZED.
We can allow something Tor the ima9inat or
{ the Waterman, and the excitement u not ths
terror OF the passou sors. II the rate OF pood u
uyerratcd. bu that Il must have been terrific
here can be no question. Eyeu 10 or 90 mile:
an hour over q track with 81 many curve'
W ,uld DO extremely dangerous, and l. never al
lowed by the company. Wonderful 70 say tht
p2-HelgtE Train p4sSou at hu0 CuTt0S NlblOu
accident and overlook the locomotives and NAL
car on the fret level stretch Of road which com
,nen:es less thSu three quarters OF q milo from
the depot In rruckee.
THE COLLISION.
The expross car struck tho mall car and throw
Il of on the left aldo Of the track. down an em
bankment. ITO shock was tlemondous, ant
was heard by hundreds In TIuckeo Tho OK
pre- .s car ''telsseoped" through = portion OF th'
mail car. and ne former was in turn crushed tt
. mass Of spllnters and rubbish by the baSSagt
car. Tho TWO lattor were com yletely demol
i.hed-palvetized, as 1t We're, By, the force Of tn
concussion. Fortunately, the sleeping cars AMI
passenger cars did not follow tho others dowl
tho embankmcnt.
Poor Marshall. tho Conductor, who was on thu
platform Of the forward sleeping car, With hi,
hands on the brake. vainly thriving to stop th,
train, had his thigh and body horribly crushed
between tho timbers and iron Of the platform
One OF the nrst passengers who got out or tn
sleeping coach saw Marshall wedyod and man
xled, and heard him e1cliim. MY God, N.
xifer" He could not have lived . minute. TIL
deceased 10 ives u wife and caild living In Sacra
mento, and has . sistee In Truckoe. He wa
known a. once the beat conductors on tn
road. and was very popular With the travelling
pablo. In thi. place he had a large number o
friends, who will mourn his tragic fate. Johr
Hawke. the mail agent; II. van Wormcr
Wells, Fargo q Co.'S messenger. and Jos 'ph W
Taylor. who acted IS gu ,rd for Wells, Fargo .
Co.'S express, were killed, aud Horace Miner,
brakes nan, was seriously, and probably fatally
injured.
cNCsE or I'll ; ACCIDENT.
The breaking Of the train was the nrss cans,
o! the accident, and the slowing up OF the tw'
locomotives a~ftsrSard. and allowing the rea
ears TO plunge into them. was o second cause
The story or the engineers, that they did no
know they wcro detached from the passeuge
cars, is too incredible 20 bol.ere. II was al
elsy matter for tho locomotives to govern thei
own speed II they were detached from he train
Their statement that they could not manage th'
train when they were half a mile In advance o
il. and at the samo time didn't know whctho
they were connected or not, IL too thin 10
credsnce. An investigation Of the N at thor
ough nature should st once be Instituted L
ascertain the Cause OF this terrible disaster
Some one has blandcr.d, and shonld be pun
ishcd. Life IS too val liable TO BIO impcrilled b.
tue stupidity Of incompetent or careless on
gineerr.