Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1881-02-23
The Buffalo Disaster.
o. S. BAsFoRD.
Essex, Vt.

Following are full particulars OF the ter
rible disaster at Buffalo, Tuesday, meagre
accounts of which have been received by
telegraph: At o'clock in the morning
of that day the arched roof of the old part
of the New York Central depot, on Ex-
change street, fell with terrible crash.
The cause of the disaster is attributed to
the weakening of the walls bv making the
arches to communicate with the new depot
recently built. The roof was overweighed
with accumulated snow and weakened By
removal of the former offices which had
formed large portion of its support, fell
| crashing to the earth, hurying Il number
of cars and human forms beneath a tangI-
ed mass of iron, wood, glass snow and
brick. The St. Louis express on the
Central was three hours and half late
and its connecting train on the Lake Shore,
| composed of four cars with the sleeper
stood upon the outer track waiting for it,
A Canada southern train had Just hauled
out Of the depot and only twenty minutes
before the day express on the Central had
horne eastward u large load of living
freight. Switch engine No. 1876, manned
by Frank Schaefer, engineer, was standing
on the middle track ready to take Coroner
Scott to East Buffto. Near the other end
of the new depot was n train of Hat cars
On the track Just outside of the south wall
were some old-fashoned passenger cars
belonging to The Central road. Half II
duZen passengers were in the cars of the
waiting Lake Shore train, and one or two
Others VINO are believed TO be lost We're
standing in the depot near the HAT cars
Coroner Scott had Just boarded the switch
engine and was on the point of biddr e
good hve to Henry Walters, Superintend
ent Tillinghast's confidential secretary,
when IA sudden, hollow sound as of snow
falling in "A m ,ss from the roof was heard
and immediately aftrrward the south wall
about 90 feet from the new portion. began
to toIter and fall. Depot Master Kring
succeeded in getting beneath brick wall,
which held its position, but his cap was
| orn from his head by fragments. Mr.
Smith ran ino the vesllbule of the aband-
oned eating house, and escaped through
he cellar. Mr. Walters, who WIS Just be-
hind hun, was caught by timber, and
held prisoner until other portions of the
falling roof crushed out both his life and
human shape The Lake Shore train was
buried from sight by roofing material
Ihe switch engine was broken and partly
dlsmantled. An unsighly gap was torn
out of the wall of the new waiting room.
he fatal mass which crushed the life out
of Capt. Byrnes. The old cars which
stood on the track We're all torn to pieces
The work of overhauling the ruins was
immedi,tety commenced by members of
the fire department and employees of the
railroad, and the first two bodies recovered
were those of Capt Byrnes and Henry
Walters. Shortly after the workmen
found the mangled bodies of VIM. Wells
clerk for Car Inspector Howe of the Lake
Shore railroad, and two other bodies have
been found.
The noise resembled that of an earth
quake and was heard mile distant be
whole of the old depot structure, which
WAS 45O feet long by 100 feet wide is a
mass of ruins. At no other hour of the
day or night could the accident have hap.
pened without more terrible loss of life,
as The depot at the time was comparatively
deserted. The number of narrow escapes
was large, but, fortunately, no accidents
are reported of serious nature beyond
he four persons killed outright. In the
Lake Shore cars of the waiting train few
passengers, perhaps fifteen or twenty in all,
were seated, waiting for the train to start.
| Fortunately not one of them was injured
The bodies OF the victims have been taken
| in charge by the coroner and an investoa
| LiOn will be DromDtlV made