Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1872-12-11
TOWN AND COUNTRY.
RAILROAD ACCIDENT

In the issue of the .Sentinel OF the 27th
ult, an account of railroad accident that
took place near Wilmington. Delaware,
by which two persons We're Killed and
seventeen others injured, was published.
Two passenger trains with the same des
tination in view wcre running nearl y
on one and the same time. The engine
of the fret train did not steam properly,
and the train came to "halt% the
second train ran into it while thus stan,
ding, telescoping two cars with the cad
result ~ as above stated. Trains thls
closely run to each other should be con
Quoted by men who ever faithfully dis
charge their duty to theil em pl"yers and
to the public. and who are not only men
of integrity but who are men of sufficient
discernment and capacity to realize the
danger of a situation ike TIE one re.ered
to, AMI the energy to promptly employ
all means at hand TO avert u calamity
which most assurediy under such cirs
umstances follows the least abatement OF
duty and attention
1t was not believed that such an acci
dent could happen on the line of the
Pennsylvania Central railroad, for no
management in the United States ir
more rigd in lis disciplinend require
ments of eml 10y ees than the Pennsyl-
vanit railroad Company. and yet with
all the precaution, disciplin, and require
ments for which this company is justly
noted ali accident of d character sJmil4I
10 the one just stated, took place here al
our doors, at Miffilin,own, on Que of lL
best damaged divisions of The road No
reflection however, can be east on the
infringement of the division for this acci-
dent, that resul,, d in the destruction OF
company property, and lie death Of five
per-ons, and the Injury of ;hree others.
The accident took place about one.
mile north of this place, on Friday eveu-
ing, the 5Ih inst, between the hours of 9
aud 10 O'clock The train to which ii
happened was an eastward bound one.
and IS named by railroad authority 'YThe
Cincinnaiti Express Its time here is s
O'Clock and AZ minutes in the evening
see timr table his Train was run il
two sections each section having a loco
motive to draw il, TIE distance usual,
kept between the sections is about two
miles. On the evening OF the 5ih, the
train, as the reader has already learned,
was considerably behind time.
Some where between MeVeytown and
Lewistown the engine of the lst section
of the train ceased to work properly. il
did not generate sufficient steam Ia
run the train at the schedule rate OF
speed. The section however, was kepl
on it's course to "Bixler's station tw,
miles east of Lewistowu, where water
was taken, and purcussian signal caps
placed on the rails to caution the 2nu
section of the train
If such caps are deemed sufficient pr,
csutiouary notice under such critical CIR
cumstances in the irunnins Of passeng-r
trains, they in this instance proved ex
ceptions, for they entirely failed to pre-
vent what the placing of them on tin
rails indicated apprehension of-namels
an accident.
The common sense view Of the siiua
ton is that under the circumstances tn,
signals were far from sufficient, and thai
the management of section that woulo
attempt TO run disabled engine. under
such slight signals of danger, distance
of ten miles. with section following al
a speed past the usual rate of % to 80
miles per hour. to make up lost time, is
a management that is too neg cctiul oI
too deficient in ability to properly dis
charge the duties uRdtr all circumstance,
that attend the management OF the iirsI
section of passenger train; property is
too valuable, and life too precious to bc
destroyed by neglect or ipcapacity. A.
IN ght be expected under such manage
ment the 2nd section running at rapid
rate of speed overt took the lst section
running at II tolls miles per hour, shorl
distance on this side of Lauvers curve
The brakes were put on by the engineer
but the section was not entirely stopped
such was the velocity at which the en-
CINE struck the rear car of the first sec
ton, a Silver palace car, No Is, that its
front end was sprung onto the rear end
of the Pullman palace car Plymouth, and
showed into or telescoped the plymouth
to the dis tance of Is 10 20 feet. thereby
instantly killing, w. w. DSntz. wife
and child of Princeton Wis, and Mat
thew Knowles and j Willard Bacon.
both of Chicago
Who Mr. D,niz WIS may be learned
from the following Congressional resolu
tion Mr.. Dawes yielded the floor to Mr.
Sawyer, Wis, who offered a resolution
reciting the telegraphic account OF the!
accident on the Pennsyk ania railroad,
among ihe victims of which were W. w
DSntz, an employee OF the House, his