Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1876-03-16

y
ton went, you speak of as having taken
place on the 5th ands6th,
A. The camp train with the carpen.
ter force was sent there on the 4thsand
9TH to prepare the tr,sslng for to build
a new bridge, and think Oliver Kemp
and one or more of his men say that
they went allethrough those spans and
found them all right, They were cons
PEELED to examine them very thoroughly
tomeasnre for a. new bridge, Our in
strnctions from the company are. to
spare no expense or labor III keeping the,
bridges in first class condition, and
am perfectly satisfied that unless they
might be pulled down or destroyed by
fire they We're perfectly safeto pass my
train. personally examine bridges
when changes are made and examined
this one several times. 2' @'e'+.
y Would the breaking of the bridge
be likely to throw any offthe ears off
the track on the cross ties7 If the
bridge should break, and give away the
| cars would follow.
O. Do you think the engine went
down first? No, think that a portion of
the cars went down first and pulled the
engine after them. 1-4 si53
@ From the Bolman., truss to. the
pier on the South, what was the con
ditiol, of the bridge? ] have described
it when said the diagonal braces and
caps, stringers, cross ties, iron and
longitudinal timbers had been all re~
moved in the last Is months.
( Major Randolph, Civil Engineer.
testified that he had examinedthe truss
land that from his calculation, it ought
TO bear. two Or three times the weight
Of the. engine without straluing the iron
! more than one-sfxth lis strength as
established by experiments. The tim
Der in it was amply sufficient to meet
all the strains that could be brougb, on
! it. ,s.., .......s-.
N. T. Chase, Supervisor, testified
that be has often. within the last six
months and not many days before the
accident examined Narrow Passage
bridge and found it in good order. On
the day previous to the accident l
went up on the engine 1852 from Tom S
Brook and rode to Mt Jackson and
saw no give or anything out of the way
q. Did you examine the timbers of
the bridge and what was their condition.
A. Their condition was good or
wouldn't have trusted myself on the
engine.
Q. State what you think was the
cause of the accident. l do not think
the bridge broke down with the weight
OF the engine. My impression. is that
ONE of the cars were overloaded or
something happened to one of the cars,
brokenwheel or something of the kind.
Q. Did you examine the timbers OF
the wreck after the accident and what
was their condition? | found them to
be generally very good, most of it
sound.
Q, Did you not find many unsound
timbers? None that We're of any inn
portance, in fact, do not think I no
ticed any at all.
Tuesday. March l4th. Mr., Webster
supp VI OiiNS6S Oil CSCOHu DiFlSipu VI
Vain line testified as the condition OF the
tinbers and probable cause Of accident.
Mr. Cavey, bridge carpenter testified
as 10 the same points.
VERDICT.
Att P NJ, the jury returned their YER
d Ct. They say from the evidence be~
fire them and from THEN personal in
spection Of the timhers used in the
bridge, and of the wreck of the bridge
Florence Donnavan. Of Sandy Hook,
bid, and William A Wightman, of Ed
inbarg, Va, came to their death by the
breaking of the Narrow Passage bridge,
on the 9th day Of March, 1875. and that
tn, said breaking of the bridge was
caused by the msoundness of the TIM
bers in SAID bridge 1t further appears
that G. l. Noel, and Reuben e Ham
man, of Shenandoah, r. l. Wood, of
Alexandria Vac, Ii Hold gson, of Berke
ley Springs w. Va, S. A, Baldwin, of
Baltimore, Md, Henry Quantz OF. Vim
chester, Va, A. c. Bowers, of Balti-
more, Md, J: Chapman and I. Jefferson,
Winchester, Va,whose bodies were
removed, came to their death at the
same time and place and from the same
cause. -..i e.. yE,-f