The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1877-03-14
BLOWN UP.
A Disastrous Explosion Upon an iii.
nois Railroad.
Il IA

hicago Times.l
An accident fatal in its results occurred to
the eastern bound Atlantic express train on
the Chicago and Northwestern on yesterday
at IL 80 q. m. As the train drew up to the
depot at Gait station, 113 miles west of Chi
cago, and was moving slowly with Westing-
house brakes on, the boiler of the locomo-
tive exploded, shattering the latter and fill
ing the air with large fragments of the ma
chinery. The conclusion caused by the
explosion was so great as to shake as
by an earthquake both brick and
frame buildings hundreds of yards from
the scene of the disaster. The engine liter
ally fell to pieces. The tender, by some un-
accountable method, Immediately after the
explosion, jumped or was thrown to one
side of the track, several yards to the rear of
the locomotive. The front part of the pos
tai car was forced into the cab of the loco
motive, but fortunately ]. w. Burst, mail
agent, and Spencer L. Cole, postal clerk,
were, at the time, engaged in the middle of
the car, and escaped the fatal conse-
quences resulting to the engineer and fire
man. The trucks of the baggage and express
cars were thrown from the track, as were
also the forward trucks of the smoking car.
The explosion and stoppage of the train did
not occupy over thirty seconds. The con-
well as the now affnghted passengers, on
stepping from the cars met sickening
sight. Some thirty feet in the rear and on
the north side OF the locomotive the engi-
neer, VIM. Watson, was found, cut and
mangled and in the death throes, and on the
south side of the train, at the rear of the
smoking car, the bruised and mutilsted
form of the fireman, Nick Langland, was
found. As the engineers body was found
on the left side of the locomotive and that of
the fireman to the right, it is believed that at
the moment of the explosion each made an
attempt to escape, and in doing so had
crossed to opposite sides of the cab. The
acting station agent S. B. Walcott, at the
moment of the explosion had just emerged
from the depot building to the platform,
with the mail sack over his shoulders, when
a fragment of sheet iron from the smoke
stack struck him in the lower part of the
body, part of the missile cutting through the
flesh and inhicting 8 wound from which he
died at 3 p. M. yesterday. The engineer,
when carried into the depot building. was
insensible, ami died in about Is minutes af-
ter the accident. The fireman retained life
for about two hours.
partly imagined from the fact that the body
of the fireman was thrown into and carried
in mid air over the top OF the postal, baggage
and express cars, a distance of about LIS
feet, falling or rolling between the rear Of
the baggage car and the front of the smoking
car, his flying and bleeding body bespatter-
ing the front windows of the smoking car,
the body falling to earth in such a way as to
barely escape the wheels of the smoking car.
The engineer must have been thrown by
the conclusion a distance of about 40 feet. as
his body and portions of his clothing, watch,
ETC.. were found scattered that distance from
the locomotive.
Mr.. Burst. the mail agent, on first impulse,
started for the bell-rope, but finding it de-
tached, he then realized that the accident
was in front instead of the rear of his train.
The next moment the front of his car crash
ed into the cab and rear iron-work of the
locomotive, the escaping steam from the lat
ter filling his car. and for time threatening
death to himself, his companion, Mr.. Cole.
and sister of the latter, who happened at
the time to be riding in the mail car. Had
the accident occurred half hour sooner,
when the train was crossing tie iron bridge
that spans the Mississippi at Clinton, the
horror of the Ashtabula disaster would
be tame in comparison, or had the
train been running at its usual speed
instead of slowly approaching the station,
the catastrophe might have been one of the
most shocking that has yet occurred west of
Chicago Various theories have been adj
duced and speculations INDUCED in as to the
cause of the explosion, the general opinion
among those most competent to Judge being
by the slow rate at which the train then and
for several minutes previously was NOV
ing caused a pressure beyond the capacity
of the interior of the boiler. The train was
composed of one Pullman palace car, two
first class passenger coaches and smoking
car, all well filled with passengers. There
was also the usual baggage, mail and express
cars. The baggage and passenger cars were
switched on side track, new engine OBJ
tanned, and the train arrived here but two
hours behind Its schedule time