The Portland daily press., 1873-12-22
TERRIBLE ACCIDENT ON EAST.
ERIN H. H.
Collision of Trains.
THREE MEN KILLED AND SEVERAL INJURED

Railroad in which two trains were wrecked
and several lives lost. The unwise retcence OF
railroad sub-officials during the morning caused
credeuce to be given to many wild rumors, and
q disaster, fearful at its best, was magnified
mapy tines Later in the day statements
were made by General Agent Batchelder and
Others the substance of which We give.
Freight w, the starting time of which is
4.4O p M, left Cape Elizabeth at 7.3O-over
two hours late. The train was made up of At
cars, loaded with mixed freight, drawn bv two
locomotives, the Chelsea and the Mattawam
keag The night W as dark and stormy, and
the rails were slippery with sleet. The train
crossed the Pullman at Days Siding in Kenne-
bunkport. Shortly after the conductor Albert
Bisbee of Saco, discovered, as he was running
the heavy down grade this side of Kennebunk,
that his train had broken .and a portion was
some distance behind. Fearful that the de-
tached cars might strike the rear of the main
train, he put all steam on aud made haste to
reach Kennebunk There wood and water was
taken in. The Kennebunk telegraph operator,
boy of 16, was directed to stop all down
trains. especially the f freight, Conductor Pet
tie. Then Bisbee went back after his missing
cars, which had stopped at the foot of the
grade. The train was made up and was toll
ing up the rising grade, when the Boston
freight came rushing down through the driv-
ing seet and in an instant three locomotives
and II cars were piled up in heap. What
employees were left alive and uninjured clam
bered out from the debris and FASTENED TO the
point of collision. They found the body of A.
W. Sherburne, fireman of the Mattawamkeag,
stretched beside the track, horribly mangled
Near him was an arm. Further search brought
to the light the bodies of Conductor Bisbee,
and Milo Felch, a fireman. These were the
only dead men, but there were two men injur-
ed. Frank Knights, fireman on the down
train had leg and arm badly injured, and
Theodore Davidson, engineer on the Chelsea,
had his leg crushed. The locomotives were
broken to flinders, and seven cars were thrown
upon them, totally wrecked. kilograms were
instantly sent to this city and to Portsmouth
for wrecking trains. Relief was soon sent, and
the wounded were put under medical care.
All day Saturday the track was INSTRUCTED by
the wreck, and passengers to and from Boston
were transferred at the point of the disaster.
The g. 10 a. M, train from this city did net
leave, and the other trains were very late. The
track was cleared however, by evering, and the
Pullman came through on time.
Until the inquest is held it would be mani
testify unjust to mete out condemnation. A
fearful responsibility rests somewhere.
ON THE UP TRAIN.
The engineers and others on the up train say
that they left orders at Kennebuuk to stop all
down trains, and that they hung out the sig
nal lanterns themselves. They then went back
to the down grade, made up the train, and
| started for Kennebunk. thinking, of course,
| that they had clear track. There were four
men in the cab of the Mattawamkeag, Walter
Gowcn, engineer, Conductor Bisbee, Sherburn,
the fireman, and stranger. When the stranger
looked up and saw the great headlight of a To-
connective bearing down on them through the
storm, he calculated 'Good Godp' and
jumped. Gowen saw the danger, reversed his
engine, blew the whistle, screamed and leaped
for his life. AS he jumped he saw the white
face of Sherburne, the fireman, glaucing up
from the mouth of the furnace. Theodore
Davidson, engineer of the rear locomotive was
| thrown about sixteen feet over a ditch. Felch
his fireman, was instantly killed.
ON THE DOWN TRAIN.
| ,%he people of the down train say that they
were stopped by the signals at Kennebunk
waited there some twenty minutes, when the
signals were taken in and they were directed te
proceed. They were given to understand thai
the W freight was run on a side track, waiting
for them to go by. The train ran slow and the
engineer thinks he might have stopped it be
fore the collision, had not the rails beer
slippery with sIeet. He and his fireman jump
ed at the last moment, and escaped with Sigh
| bruises.
THE TELEGRAPH OPERATOR.
1t appears that the telegraph operator al
| Kennebnnk was afraid he was OBTAINING the
train too long, and telegraphed to the train de-
| spatcher at Portsmouth, Harry Wing, to know
| if he should hold train F, giving no intelligence
| of The other train. The answer came back tt
| let it go-and it went, The train was of 2s
cars, and was hauled by the new and expensive
anthracite burning locomotive, No. 70.
AT THE SCENE.
| A reporter of the PRESS visited the scene OF
| The accident Saturday, and found it to be neal
the foot of two grades. The three locomotives
| and seven cars were smashed to fragments.
| Many of the cars were more or less injured. He
learned that Bisbee was Saco man, about &c
years old, and that he was TO be married
| Christmas When taken from the debris his
head was gone. Felch belonged in Seabrook,
| and was 81 years old. One leg and one arm
were gone. Sherburne belonged in Sanford and
was about 80 years old. He was terribly man
gled.
THE DAMAGE
General Manager Bachelor estimates the
damage to the locomotives at $4,000, ant
makes no estimate of-tamage TO cars or freight
1t is said that the coal-burning engine cos
1927, 900, and the others about $4,000 each.
THE INQUEST
will be held at Kennebunk to-day by coroner
Sargent. W. f. Lunt, ESQ.,, County Attorney
elect of York county, appears for the govern
ment, and T. II. Hubbard, Esq, to guard the
interests of the Eastern Road.
sEMI-oFFIcIAL STATEMENT.
From the evidence thus far produced in the
case Of the accident to the freight trains at
Kennebunkport, Saturday, resulting in the
death of three persons, it appears that the trair
from the east broke apart at Kennebunkport
and binding snow storm prevailing, and il
being down graue Ine engineers were compelled
| to run ahead, as the train was following down
| the grade. They ran to Kennebunk on time
and there the engineers gave orders to the tele-
| graph operator and night Waterman to hold al
trains until they returned and opened the road
| by taking their train. The operator imme
dately hung out red light saying no trains
would dare go by that The engineers of the
train from the east after seeing the signal ligh
| in position returned for their cars. found them
some two miles east of Kennebunk depot and
were returning at a speed of about twelve miles
| an hour, when they were met by the train from
the west. Tine snow was SO thick as to hide TIT
head lights on both engines at the time. VIII,
| the train from the west did not remain at Ken
nebunk does not yet appear, but the witnesses
| have all been summoned and will testify to-day
| Among the rumors is one to the effect that tn,
conductor of the trains from the east was re-
CURED by the rules of the road, under such Cir
| cumstances, to run his train slowly and send
men ahead with signal lights to warn the ap
proacLing trains, but it must be remembered
that the conductor of that train was on the real
end and the engines had broken from and left
the train With the knowledge of their trair