Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1877-01-11
THE ASHTABULA DISASTER
Story Of an Eyewitness.


Among the most interesting reports
obtained is the following, procured Al
Erie, Penn, by reporter of The
Cleveland Leader, from Mr.. Mcclure,
engineer of the leading engine, which
broke loose from the train and wa
saved. Mr.. MCGUIRE was the only un
hurt man who saw the whole of the
whole of the calamity under the mos
favorable circumstances, and reports al
follows: . .za-r s-e-
Daniel Mcclure, engineer of the
Socrates, states that his engine was
ahead of the Columbia. All the sta
tiOns between Erie and Ashtabula, with
the exception Of three, were stopped
at. The train was running slowly. He
felt the bridge give way when two car.
lengths from the west end; he felt il
settle down; had his hand on the thrOt
tie and PULLED it wide open. The draw
bar connecting the engines was snap
p. d by the sudden jerk. The trucks OF
his tank did not clear, and settled
down, but the opening wids of the
throttle saved the engine and the
trucks were pulled on. He ran up the
track 100 yards and gave the alarm by
repeated whistles and ringing OF the
bell. He saw the engine C0lumbis
sink with the bridge and turn bottom
apward. The express, baggage and
passenger cars followed in q heap, the
passenger cars landing on the express
cars, aud all went into the river. The
fire first broke out in the last sleeper,
which swung over to one side, and was
soon in blaze. In two or three min
vtes the entire wreck was a mass OF
flames. The shrieks of the living and
the dying were terrible to hear; but
their voices were soon hushed as the
fire king embraced them. / was one
of the first at the wreck, and pulled
several out of the ice and helped to ex.
tricate some from the debris. One
woman was pinned down by her legs
on a burning car; her cries for help
were piteous, and in despair, as the
flames circled around, she shrieked,
Take an ak and cut off my legs;' but
it was impossible to reach her, and she
was consumed. The paint on the burn.
ing cars snapped like powder, soaring
many workmen. couldn't estimate
the number burned, but think 100 per-
ished by flame and water. Some were
killed outright. A hush and an wife
in the burning wreck were held down
by Instructions, and calmly awaited
their fate. Their lips moved as in pray
er. Neither pen nor tongue can de
scribe the horrors of the scene. In q
minutes after the fire started it was
impossible to extricate the pas sengers
The engineer of the Columbia, Pap
Folsom of Cleveland, says his engine
was turned bottom upward. He Wa
thrown violently through the window
of the cab and was badly cut. Nc
Guire helped pick him up bruised ant
bleeding; his first words were, 'Anoth
er Angola horror, Dan.'
The train was running at the rate o
10 miles an hour at the time. The
bridge was considered sale. Passengel
train No. s, with two engines hue
passed safely over the bridge about
o'clocs. His train struck the bridge a
1882. Thinks the frost and the wealth
er and the heavy train snapped the
bridge. Six engines had tested ths
bridge without straining 1t. AT thu
| time of the accident the storm was q
| its hight. He could not see two ca
length ahead of his engine, and thil
rendered it next to impossible to givt
immediate assistance. This complete
ly eclipses the Angola horror. HI
thinks no one would have escaped frou
the doomed train had he not saved hi
engine, thus enabling him to give tn,
alarm. Terrible indeed would 1t hav,
been had the Socrates gone over In thu
binding, furious storm. Noe wOuli
| have known of the disaster and tn,
next train due would have shared tn
same fate and been thrown into tn
river. He has been in the service o
the company siace 1859 and never say
! such O storm before.