Connecticut western news., 1876-10-06
The Cause of a Disaster.

The immediate cause of the terrible disaster on the Pan Handle road, by which four persons were killed and many injured, appears to have been the break ing of one of the journals of the for ward truck of the first passenger coach or smoking car, which let one corner of the truck down on the axle. The train had evidently been running for long distance after the journal broke, as the axle had almost buried itself through wearing in the hard, oaken crosspiece of the truck. With the truck whirling along undiscovered in this condition, and the conductor attempting to make up in thirty miles seven minutes of lost time, and running at the rate of forty miles an hour, what wonder is it that great dis aster awaited his train.
 Some two hundred and fifty yards east of the scene of the disaster is 8 short switch, at the east end of which the dis ordered truck first jumped from the track. The wheels bounded over the ties, pressing against the main rail on the one side and against the switch rail on the other, until the west end of the switch was reached, when the. coach was forced almost straight forward again for some distance; but it's connection with the baggage car being broken, it sud denly plunged aside, and in an instant four coaches were tumbling down the embankment. The passengers of the middle coach saw the cars in front out ting some grand gyrations, and felt their own car careen slightly, and then fall back to it's place and dash onward through the darkness after the engine and two baggage cars. MT. Chapman, general superintendent of the New Soioto Valley railroad, being on the mid die car, ran to the platform and threw on the brake, thus preventing a collision with the engine and baggage cars, which, being without brakes, ran almost a mile on slight down grade before the engi- neer could stop them. It is supposed that the two front cars were whirled around in such manner as to allow the ] middle car to pass, but struck the front sleeper, throwing both it and the rear one off. But this theory is apparently set at naught by the fact that all the cars were hurled down the south side of the embankment,
 The point wherethe accident occurred is quarter of mile west of Block Lick creek, about ten miles east of Colum mbus, Ohio. The embankment, which does not exceed quarter of a mile in length. is about twenty feet high, and the track on it as firm and straight as any at other point on the road. The wrecked cars bear evidence of having been hurled ove, and over with great violence. The root and one end of the smoking car are en- tirely gone, and inside the number o1 broken and dislodged seats indicate the confused tumble into which the inmates must have been thrown. In the rear enc of this car two of the victims were kill ed, one of them by beirg impaled on { portion of window frame three by one and one-haf ir ches square and four fee long, which was driven more than hal it's length into his body from his pos terior upward. A fragment of his cloth ing cut out as if bya punch still adhered to the end of this ghastly instrument O. death. The rear of the smoking ca was driven into the side of the day car making large breech. The forward sleeper lay bottom up, the interior badl, bl oken and confused. The rear sleepe lay right side up, but badly shattered and wholly worthless. The greates damage was evidently caused by the roll ing over and over of the coaches dow the embankment.