Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1880-04-30
The Waynasboro Collision.
TWO TRAINS WRECKED-ANE ENGINE AND
FIFTEEN CARS DEMOLlsHED-FIREMA
KILLED AND BRAKEMAN WOUNDED
SCENES AT THE wRECK-FoRCE OF THE
COLLISION.

SCENES AT THE wRECK-FoRCE OF THE
| COLLISION.
J &C., &C., sc.
| The wreck of cars, engines AID freight
that has for the last three days been piled
on and around the track at Waynesboro
depot is equal to any thing of the kind that
has ever been seen on the Chesapeake and
Ohio road, and old railroad men say they
never saw anything like it in all their lives.
THE TRAINS THAT WERE WRECKED.
| 1t is remarkable that when the loss Ut
property is so great there has been only
one life lost and one man wounded.
The disaster happened to the I'd and Sd
! sections of No. 8. through freights. about
II O'Clock Monday night right at the de-
pot in Waynesboro. The Sd section con-
sisted of 20 cars heavily loaded with coal
and lumber. followed by the usual caboose
and drawn by one of the elegant new $1O,-
600 engines, No. 49, The train was In
charge of Conductor Ogg, with Engineer
Lorenzo D. Smith and Fireman Jas. Mark
wood on the engine.
| HOW IT HAPPENED.
! The train had stopped at Fishersville,
and from this point east for some dis
| lance the up grade is quite heavy. Mr..
| Ogg finding that he could not start the
heavy train without help, sent back VIM
Hess, brakeman to get the engineer Of the
section following to shove him of the
siding and up the grade. This was done,
and after Ogg and his train had reached
| the 81 mint and just as the brakeman was
gong to leap from the rear car to the next
aud go forward to attend to the front
| loose from the train. The brakeman not
being able to make the jump, climbed
| down ami ran after the train. but could
not catch it aud the doomed train thumb
cred down the heavy grade towards
| Waynesboro without brakeman aboard,
and with only two men On the engine.
1t was some time befor II ,ngineer
knew that anything had halpenei, the
smoke obscuring t rear of h $ train. But
at last alarmed by the rapidly increasing
! speed of the train h. whistled "down
brakes !" Receiving 10 check to his speed
and now thoroughly alarmed en- again
looking back, the clearing smoke showed
him the train minus the caboose with its
conductor and brakemen and at the mercy
OF the fearful impetus it had acquiered.
| 1t was to little purpose that the engine
was reversed The heavy train with brakes
off, rushed down the incline OF two and a
half miles increasing its speed every Sec
u hat hn fraJ
just ahead of HIM was taking water at the
Waynesboro tank, now realized the fear
full ruin he was rushing into. He called
to the fireman, poor hardwood. to get
back on the front car and put on the
brake, but the train was by this time 60.
ing at such fearful speed (Mr. Smith thinks
40 miles an bour) that it was hardly posi-
BILE for hardwood to get to the car. The
last he saw of him he was on the platform
of the tender apparently undecided what
to do.
THE ENGINEER JUMPS OFF.
The train had now reached the cut in
rear of MIR. Fl. L. Gallaher's residence and
the engineer determined to save his life if
possible by jumping off. In swinging off
the step he struck against part Of the
fence at the cattle guard. The next in
slant he had leaped to the ground and lay
there wouaded, bruised and stunned while
his train thundered past.
THE COLLISION. ~.
Meanwhile Capt. f. NJ. smith, the con-
ductor Of the End section, which was TAX
ing water at the depot, hearing the other
train approaching rapidly, jumped from
his caboose and ran back towards the
bridge swinging his lantern and signal
ling it to stop, but of course could only
get out OF the way and let it pass. A
brakeman, John Parent, the only other
person on his caDoose, saved himself just
i'll time by leaping from it and running up
the bank where he stood appalled, as the
two trains Cane together with shock
that made the earth tremble and threw
cloud OF splinters, bolts aud bits of iron
for me ny yards around.
| THE RESULT.
| Those who first reached the spot de-
| scribe the scene as one never to be forgot
ton. The caboose first struck by the en-
CINE was so completely demolished that
nothing but the trucks and the straw bed
of the brakemen were found to mark the
spot where the car had stood. The wreck
ed cars were piled upon each other higher
than the telegraph poles and the powerful
engine with its front mashed in, the pilot,
Cab and smoke stack gone and the engine
terribly broken and battered lay on it's side
upon the side track. The tender had for
tunately tilted up and emptied it's water
right upon the fire putting it out and pre-
venting confagration which would have
been serious one among the wrecked
| cars, heaps of coal and lumber and ada
cent buildings.
THE CASUALTIES.
Young hardwood was gotten out from
the debris with his skull mashed, a part of
one hand cut off and much bruised. Life
was entirely extinct. The engineer Smith
WAS found, where be had jumped off, with
his right arm badly fractured and his left
shoulder dislocated, and suffering greatly
from the conclusion. DIR. st. r. Gibson,
of this city was Immediately telegraphed |
for and came down at once on a train of |
wreckers with Capt. E. T. Smith, Division
Superintendent, and reached the scene OF
disaster by A. M. DR.. Gibson on agxiv-
ing, took charge of the wounded man and |
the body of the dead one and returned |
with them to Staunton. The body of |
Mr.. hardwood was taken to the residence |
of his father, Mr.. F. NJ. hardwood, On