New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-01-17
TIE SCENE OF RUIN.

HARTFORD, Conn, JAM 10.-lEc Truly American
experiment of taking two locomotives and heavily
laden train of nine over lightly-constructed
and inefficient bridge has again met with its natu-
| raj consequence of wrecked train. dozen more
sacrificed lives, and half hundred manned and
bruised men and women. The railroad disaster
which last night saddcued this part of Con-
nectcut was the result of one of those
stupendous pieces Of rashness, which 80 frequently
charactcrizes the actions of American railroad
officials which is shown to have been especially
culpablc in the present instance by the declarations
of two directors Of the Inflated road that they ex
pected just such mishap to take place. The minds
of the people Of Hartford are pretty unanimous in
LAYING the guilt of the accident upon the shoulders
Of those who tried to carry 800 passengers in one
train over so young and il-ballasted road as the
Connecticut Western. Briefly told the story Of the
disaster is as follows:
| An excursion train, consisting Of two locomotives,
baggage car, six passenger coaches and two freight
| cabooscs and packed to suffocation with men aud
women left Hartford at 9:20 O'clock for M.lerton,
N " the other terminus Of the read and way sta
tions. Three-fOurtls of the passengers were women
and one-fouIth men, representing the better
class of people along the line of the road.
The object of the excursion was to attend one of the
services of the Moody and sankey meetings, held in
the rink of this city, and the excursionsts were, in
friendly and companonable mood, beguiling the
| night ride with conversation and sacred songs. At
Bloomfield and Tariffville of passengers
were dropped and the train then entered the Farm
ington fats. stretch Of low ground through which
| flows the river of the same name, and bounded on
either hand by the Talcott Hills.
| Half mile beyond Taritlyille the train reached
long Howe truss bridge two spans of which werc
| supported in the middle by stone pier of solid ma
sonny The first span was crossed in safety, but when
| the locomotive reached the middle of the second
span, the right side Suddenly sank away beneath
them. The impetus of the train carried the engine
to the further Shore the leader turning complete
somersault, and landing on the further bank upon
its top, while the other engine plunged straight
forward and fell over upon the side. The baggage
car and three passenger cars followed in q dis
ordered pile the first named ieapng clear of tho
| Others while the foremost passenger car Was
| crushed beneath the other two. Upon them fell
portion of the broken bridge the iron girders and
ss-peces tearing through the light wood Work of
! the ears and making havoc among the occupants.
The rest of the train remained upon the track.
As the bridge silently settled beneath the too heavy
| load there was a sudden catching Of breath among
| the passengers, bat no oucry. Then came tho
| binding crash. As the cars piled promiscuOusIy
upon one another cry OF terror broke from tho
passengers, followed almost Immediately by loud
| cries for assistance. the heavy bridge Glrders
tore their way through the MASSES of humanity
piled in the bottom OF the cars. The shock Of tho
fall put out theamps, and as the Mortified passengers
poured out of the uniniured the bridge, they
were almost rendered powerless by the sounds of
terror and suffering which cane to them out of the
! dark recesscs Of the wreck.
Immediately ;he uuiujured began TO crawl out
loo aud, he Ne
| of the wounded began. The sound of the falling
train was heard in the distant village of Taridyill.
! The church bells were Tung, aud soon tho entire
! town had turned ont to render assistance 10 the
wrecked company. Fires were built on the ice ard
slcdges were mprOvsed from sGpng3 and car
cushions upon which those most seriously injured
were drawn away TO place Of safety. But the work
lacked system and little had been accomplished
wien spl cal train containing III dica assistance
arrived from Hartford. The horror Of the scene was
inc:eas d by the intensely cold wind which blew
from The North. rotarding tho work OK rescue and
freezing st The clothes Of those IclIess passengers
who had fallen under the water The reinforce
mcnts from Hartford worked with a will, ana soon
cleared the wreck of all who were living. These
wero cared fox in the neghborine farm houses and
in the uniuju:cd cars. Everything rcedfnl was
furnished, all salishnc>s seeming to he forgotten in
the common cause of Humanity.
One thing was commented on with great thank
funcss the absence of FIRE. frequently m awful
accompaniment. in accidents Of this sort. A. soon
"a the wouadcd were cared for search instituted
for the dead The bodies of two wounded ladies,
Miss UcUic McCargau AID Miss Ailtn, were first
found and soon afterwards that Of Miss McCargan's
sister Mary. The remains of Mrs. Benjamin Carnan
were recovered soon after and also that of Jeanette
Warner Of Canaan. These five women, stiff in their
frozen garments bore no traces of bodily Injury, all
of chem, secmingly, having persisted by drowning.
They placed III the special train and taken soon
afterwards back to Hartford, whence they were dis
patched to Winsicd. their home, by way of tho
Hartford, Providence and Fishkll Road. The work
of recovery was continued all last night and to-day
up to p. NJ, when it Was discontinued until early
tomorrow.
The wreck. as it appeared tins evening. after the
searchers had left of work for the night, was n
curious mass Of tangled wood and iron. Upside
down on the bank lay the leading engine, Sales
bury total wreck, and just behind upon its side,
the locomotive, "rariflyillc" tho boiler torn loose
from tho cab and tenders. both OF which were badly
shattered Next come the baggage car broken quito
in too and almost submerged beneath the ice.
Strange to say the occupants, including the con-
dnctor and superintendent of the road escaped With
slight injuries. Then followed the first passen-
ger car the most fatal one upcn which
arc the other two resting obhquey. with
one end on the abu,mcnt of the bridge,
there are perhaps three and half feet of water in
the river and five inches of ice. On either side
of the river tho banks are low, and the RAILROAD
runs over trestlc work. TariaviNe, near which
occurred this terrible disaster is merely q little
manufacturing hamlet depending chiefly on the
water power obtained from the Pennington River
~ 10 lint tba rfv il
200 or 300 hundred feet in width. with con.
silnrahln fall lho country ihrrcahnnls Is about