Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1874-09-25
The Fatal Collision GU the II. & O.
Railroad
AWFUL DEATH OF TaB POSTAL CLEsE, BRAD-
FORn

FoRD.
a collision between two express trains &C.
CURED on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, be-
tween eiG ht and nine O'Clock D. m. Wednesday,
at Smithton. ffty- eight miles east OF PaTkers-
burg, West Virginia, in which one man lost his
life and several of the cars were destroyed or
damaged. Smithton is q regularly arranged
point for the trains TO meet and pass each otaer
The morning express train from Baltimore Wa
going west and the evening cain, also express.
from Parkersburg, was boun east. The west
bound train he'd arrived at Smithton, aud wsS
about stopping ard 90 on the switch when the
eastern bound train came along at the rate of
about fifteen or twenty miles an hour AMI the
collision occurred. The engines were both
throwd from the track by the force of the COLT
sion.
THE DREADFUL wRHCK.
The Baltimore American thus describes the
scene: The baggage cars on the eastern 0und
train teles"oped nearly twenty feet, and the
rCof or one was ripped up like paper and de
pozited on the top of an adjoining passenger
car. The baggage car on the western bound
train was driven through the front OF the postal
car, and the rear Platform of that car was
broken off and the end jammed up against the
forward passenger or smoking car. The en-
gines were be 3ly demolished, and not a single
The inmates of the baggage car jumped from
the tram I'd escaped with a few slight bruises
The only occupant Of the postal car was Mr.. S.
~ w; braaIeIn, VINO was at WORK when the acct
ran to the rear door of the car, and passing
through he was abOut TO jump off when the car
was Jsnmed against the passenger car men,
toned above, and the unfortunate young man
was
CAUGHT BETWEEN THE TIMBERs,
and as the postal car careened and jumped of
the track, he was fastened between the cars so
firmly that he could not escape. Iu the mean
time one of the lamps in the postal ca had been
broken, ap@ the Gil spreading over the floor, in
a few minutes the whole interior of the car was
filled with flames th at burned through tho doors
ahf windows, and became communicated TO the
baggage and one of the passenger cars. During
the progress OF the fire in the postal car the pas
sengers had all escaped from the wreck, and at
ence set to work TO release Bradford from his
terrible position. Axes were brought, and, in
few minutes several men were engaged in chop
ping away the ends of the cars that held the uu-
fortunate young man.
THE MIN WORKED NoBLY,
nut the hre spread so rapidly that they were
compelled to desist from work and turn their
attention towards the extinguishing OF the fire.
they did bot succeed, however, in putting the
IRE out until Bradford had been burned TO
death. The scene is said to have been distress
ing in the extreme, and the excitement of the
passengers was intense. The piercing screams
or the burning man were perfectly heart-rend-
ing, and the horrlfed passengers were COM
pelled to stand by and see him roasted to de nth
THE SCENE IN THE PASSENGER CARS
on botn trains Is said to have beeR terrible.
Men, women and children rushed pell-mell for
the doors. The violence of the collision threw
every one in the car off their seats and the ter
riblc noise made by the telescoping Of the for
ward cars added greatly to their fears. A num-
Der OF the passengers received severe bruises in
tne rnsh Tor the doors. One gentleman from
Cincinnati received a severe wound in the LETT
leg by falling from the platform of a car he was
escaping from. The conductors OF the trains
did everything in their power TO quell this panic
but the passengers refused to listen to any argu-
ments until solid ground was reached. The
ground In the neighborhoOd of the place where
the collision occurred is very level and only one
OF the passengers cars rolled over on its side.
The exact cause of the accident is, as vet, un-
known, but the railroad officials will make a
thorough examination, and if either the of the
engineers were to blame they will be punished.