The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1877-01-04
Shocking Railroad Accident.


bridge down seventy five feet into the
river. There We're l15 passengers on
board, many of them from Eastern States,
and ii is supposed that at least one-third
OF these We're killed, drowned, burned or
frozen to death. The wreck took fire, and
the difficulty in reaching the victims was
great. Part Of the cars went through the
ice, and many were drowned The names
of the dead and the number killed had at
last account not been ascertained Sc
we're snow storm was raging at the scene
of the disaster.
NEW York, Dec 30th. A special from
Ashtabula SAYS the storm OF Yesterday was
so severe that very few business places
were kept open after four or five o'clock,
and the trains from all directions were
several hours behind time About 8 p M,
the village WAS aroused by a general fire
alarm, and word soon spread that passen-
ger train No. > from the East, had gone
through High Bridge over the Ashtabula
River, with Il large number OF passengers
and that the whole train was on fire A
urid glare iii that direction confirmed the
report, and in spite OF the terrible night
nearly the whole village and all the fire
engines We're soon Tn r01tc to the depot.
about one mile from the village
The train was due at Il station at ) 10
and was nearly three hours late 1t had
eleven ears Including one drawing-room
ear, three slctpers. one smoking car, two
coaches and four baggage and express
ears. 1t was drawn by two engines-thc
Socrates ahead, followed by the Columbia,
No $50. Daniel McGuirc engineer OF the
Socrates, relates -
The train was running slow. and Just as
they had fairly crossed the high bridge,
not more than forty rods distant from the
depot, they felt a violent jar, and in an IN
slant the coupling between the Socrates
and the Columbia broke. and the whole
train was preciptated with the bridge in
to the river, siXty-iiye feet below
Mr. Mcclure says his engine was pulled
back nearly to the edge OF the broken
span. before the coupling broke, and re-
gained its former motion barely in time to
save itself. The bridge was an iron truss
bridge. and had been in use about eleven
years 1t IS supposed the heavy draughts
must have thrown the cars from the track
causing the cold irons TO snap.
The horrible scene below beggarS de
Scrlptl0n. The span is about one hundred
feet wide, and through the space between
flows the river, about four or five feet
deep, at this time thickly covered with ice
Into this space were the eleven cars and
one engine and tender precipitated The
ialI, OF course, broke through the ice, and
shIVered the cars rs if Il magazine Of nitro
glycerlnc had exploded beneath them
The seven passenger coaches altogether
contained about lGJ adults and a number
Of children.
In the drawing room car, bound tol
Cleveland, were nine persons, all supposed
To have persisted. Ia the two sleepers
bound for Chicago. Were thrty-five pas
Sengers. Most of those in the forward
ear We're saved with injuries more or less
severe.
Within 4 very few moments after the
crash, the flames burst out from nearly
every ear. Ere help was at hand the
flames were striving with the icy torrent,
rs 10 which should devour the greater
number of human creatures MI Frank
Bellinap, who was one Of the earliest at
the scene says the piteous cries tor help
from the victims were enough to distract
the Stoutest heart. Here was young and
finely dressed girl about ten years old,
struggling TO release her hips from the
weight which was crushing her slender
form. and close behind her were flames
shooting out iorked tongues which in an
other instant had enwrapped her in their
furious embrace. Here was a fine appear
ing gentleman Of middle age sitting bolt
upright in his seat, unable to extricate
himself, calmly awaiting the flames, which
soon claimed their victim There We're
bodies floating out from the wreck, and
others not Yet strangled by the icy flood.
were attempting to reach the shore
a crowd soon made their way to the
burning debris and with axes and hooks
eXtrcatcdmany persons, who were placed
on stretchers and taken to the top Of the
hill, where the best OF assistance awaited
them. The hotels at the depot were soon
filled and private houses were thrown open
throughout the town. The surgeons of the
town rendered all the assistance in their
power, but many persisted during the
night Notwithstanding the best of care
Others are now lying in Il suffering con-
,iition.
Fully one hundred persons were killed
IN this terrible disaster. Among those
wounded at Ashtabula are Charles Kicker.
Biddetord, Me, not serious, w i. San
derson, Upton, Me, slight injuries
INCIDENTS on rHE TERRIBLE DISASTER.
New ORR, Jan /.
Specials from Cleveland give the following add
tiOnal incidents of the Asht.bula horror: Daniel
Mcguire, engineer of the leading locomotive, Sucr;-
les, which escaped. and who is the only unhlrt man
who the whole of the affair." says The train was
running slowly at the time OF the accident lie felt
the bridge give way when two car lengths from the.
west end. He felt it settle down. He had his hand
on the throttle and pulled it wide open. The draw
for connecting engines snapped by the sudden
ERIK The trucks fhis water tank did not clear and
settle down, but the opening wide of the throttle
sa1ed the engine, and the trucks pulled on. lie
ran up the track one hundred yards and gave the
alarm by repeated whistles and ringing of the bell.
lie saw the engine Columbia sink with the bridge,
and turn bottom upward. The express, baggage
and passenger cars followed i'll heap, the passenger
cars landing in the express cars. All went into the
riy er. The fire first broke in the last sleeper
which swung over on one side, and soon in a
blaze.
In two or three minutes the entire wreck was 4
mass of flames The Shricks of the living and the
groans of the dying We're terrible hear, but their
them.
He further says: 81 was one of the first at the
wreck. pulled several out of the ice and helped 10
tAtrIcate some from the debris One woman was
pinned down by her legs Il burning car Her
cries Tor help were piteous, and in despair the
flames encircled her, She shreked, Take an axe
and cut oil my legs" but it impossible to reach
her. and she was consumed.
The paint in the burning cars snapped like powder
soaring many workmen. / cannot estimate the
number burned, but think one hundred persisted in
the flames and water; Many killed outright.
husband and wife in the burning wreck were
held down by Instructions and calmly awaited their
late: Their lips moved as if in prayer. Neither pen
twenty minutes after the fire started it was impossi-
bic to eXtricate passengers.
The engineer of the Columbia Folsom of Cleve-
land, says his engine turned bottom up. He was
thrown violently through the window of the cab and
badly cat. Mcclure helped pick him up bruised and
bleeding. His first words We're sanother ANGOLA
horror, horror, Dan" The train running at the
rate OF ten miles an hour, at the time The bridge
was considered safe. Passenger train No. with two
engines, had passed safely at about seven
o'clock. His train struck the bridge at 30 He
thinks the frost and weather and heavy train snap
ped the bridge. AT the time of the accident the
storm was at its height. Ii could not see two gar
lengths ahead Of the engine, and this rendered it
next to impossible to give immediate assistance
NcGuire thinks no would have escaped from
the doomed train had not his engine been saved
thus enabling him 10 give alarm. Terrible indeed
would it have teen, had the Socrates gone down in
The binding furious storm. No one would have
known OF the disaster, and the next train at Ashta
bula would have perhaps shared the same fate and
been thrown into the river
Another incident was of man who escaped from
the wreck with his clothes all ablaze and ran as if
mad. The crowd on the bank yelled to him to throw
himself into the snow, but he took no heed and then