Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1881-09-16
Fatal RAILROAD ACCIDENT.


thrown into the river and six others more or
less completely demolished. The trestle-
work approach to the bridge was broken up,
and one brakeman was killed and another
hurt. The train comprised 22 cars, those
wrecked being the twelve next the engine.
The first truck or car left the rails at n point
about FIVE or six rods above the bridge as
shown by the marks on the ties. Others fol-
lowed, and in the distance Of two or three
rods began splitting and grinding up the ties,
and when the trestle-work gave way the cars
piled up in shapeless ruin. The engineer,
Michael Stack, discovering that there was
trouble, and finding it impossible 10 hold his
train, pulled the throttle wide open and broke
away from the cars, thus saving his engine
from being pulled or thrown over into the
river. The engine and tender crossed the
bridge in safety, though the hind truck of the
tender was of the iron and humping along on
the ties. The engineer says the wrecked cars
came on leaping up into the air, and he was
afraid they would pile over on him before he
could break away. Besides the six cars in
the river three were left on the bridge, one
standing crosswise and two hanging over the
side. Three others were broken up in the
wrecked trestle at the upper end Of the
bridge, one Of them being reduced TO kind
ling wood and the other thoroughly demoral-
lied. The decking and flooring on the north
end Of the bridge was badly broken up, and
whore the cars went over was smashed to
splinters. The bridge stood the shock, how
ever, without receiving any injury which en-
dangered its safety. On the trestle the
ties and timbers were cut in two and ground
up as though they had been pine sticks.
The body of the brakeman who was killed,
young Frenchman named Eugene Toptif,
was found about noon under the wreck close
hx ho cida o. "a oh
1t is supposed that he went down with the
wreck without jumping, and was instantly
killed. His body was not mutilated or dsfg-
ured He was young man of Is or 20, un-
married, and is said to have father and
younger brother living at Woodstock. He
had been at work in harness shop at Wind
sor, and this was only his third trip as a
brakeman. His body was properly cared for
by Brown * Son, by direction Of the railroad
company, and forwarded to Windsor. The
man hurt was Frenchman named Felix Sa-
voy. He jumped from the train and appar-
emily received injuries about the hip, though
a thorough examination was not made by
Brattleboro physicians, as he was anxious to
be taken directly home to Windsor. He was
carried back TO that place by the mail train
Saturday morning, and is reported to be do
ing well, his worst injury being bad shak-
ing up.
The exact cause of the accident is matter
which will probably never be fully cleared
up Early on Saturday morning load of
steel rails had been distributed to take the
place of the iron at this end of the Valley
road These rails were, of course, thrown of
at either side of the track, and one theory is
that one Of these lay with its end close up to
the iron in such a way that it was struck by
the locomotive or the tender wheels, throw
ing the tender trucks of with the cars which
followed. The engineer was under the i'm
preston that his drivers struck rail and
threw it end for end against the trucks of the
first freight car. There are marks on the
"housing" OF ons OF the tender wheels which
would indicate that this might have been struck
by the rail. On the contrary Mr.. Clark and the
men who were with him are sure that no rail
was left near the track. The usual care, they
say, was taken, and the locomotive passed
that point twice after the steel wa, thrown of,
so that it must have struck the rail if il had
then lain in a dangerous position Moreover,
the sides of the Hat cars on which the rails
are carried project Is inches over the track,
so that in dropping the rails il would be i'm
possible for them to drop or roll up against
the track. Among the Valley railroad men
the opinion seems to predominant that the
accident was caused by the breaking of either
brake beam or an axle, which caused a
truck to turn around and throw the train of
the track. One of the brakemen says that
when he tried TO set one of the brakes up the
wheeled turned round and round without
tightening, showing that something was brok-
en-. Whatever the cause Of the accident it is
certain that something struck one of the new
steel rails tremendous blow, the end Of
rail which was shot down the embankment
showing blow which fattened one corner,
the metal evidently being fused by the con-
cussion, while tho marks show that whatever
struck the rail was revolving rapidly Ac-
cording to the train men the train was NOV
ing at the rate of about IL miles an hour
when the accident occurred-the brakemen
beingGt their posts and at work setting up the
brakes at the time. The current story that
there was a quarrel among the train men
seems to have arisen from the fact that the
poor fellow who was killed was green hand
and was subjected to the usual amount of
"cursing' which such a man must endure.
The freight in the wrecked cars was of
miscellaneous character, AS may be supposed.
In the river was u carload of lumber, a car
load of Howe scales, n carload of children's
toy carriages and light woodenware, a car
load of paper, aud carload of Rutland way
freight consisting of butter, eggs, bales of
hops, etc. A Grand Trunk car on the trestle
contained government bonded goods consist
lug OF manufactured IODAcCO anu cases OF
brandy. Strangely enough, amid the general
ruin, the cases of brandy were not broken
and remained practically uninjured Other
cars on the trestle and bridge contained blank
wall paper, cases of Quechoe fannels, paper
stock, empty carboys, etc.
The work of clearing up the wreck was at
once begun, and gang of men worked all or
nearly all of Saturday night by the light of
lanterns and the locomotive headlights Sun
day force of about 20 men, largely from the
Connecticut river road, were at work with
wrecking appliances and before the job was
left at night the major portion of the wreck
had been cleared away, a new trestle built,
aud both trestle and bridge made ready to re-
ceive the rails in the morning. Engines
passed over soon after O'Clock Monday
morning; the 10 o'clock train came down as
usual, and trains have since run regularly.
This week the work of clearing up the
damaged freight and wiping out all vestiges
OF the wreck has been in progress and is now
nearly completed All freight not utterly ru-
med was shipped back to the consignors-
the Howe scales going back to the company
at Rutland, the water-soaked paper going
back to Bellows Falls TO be made over anew,
and SO on. The amount of damage, all told,
is placed, on a rough guess, at $4,000
News of the wreck was first brought by the
Brattleboro & Whitehall train men, the acct
dent having occurred just before the morn
ing train on that road came down. The little
road did good service and was found a very
decided convenience on Saturday in carrying
by or transferring passengers and baggage on
the Valley road, running between the station
and the bridge for all trains both north aud
south.
This wreck is the first which has occurred
in the vicinity of Bratteboro and on Saturday
| l.. /. Il -.
thronged by thousands of curious visitors.