New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-09-24
THE TUNNEL DISASTER.
BEGINNING THE CORoNERs INQUIRY.

| What little of mystery In connection with tho
| cause of the railway accident on Friday remained
was cleared up in an inquiry conducted by Coroner
Herman last night At the instance OF the Coroner
! Captain Tooker. of the Nineteenth Sub Police
Precinct arrested the three men upon whom the
burden of responsibility seemed to lie They were
William C. Il. Rawsan. the telegraph operator and
| sgnalman Mt Ninety-sxth-st. station of the Ilar-
| lem Railway George 4 Rood, the conductor of
| the Portchester special of the NewYork. New
| Haven and Hartford Company, and Robert l. Rob
| ms the waterbOy and acting rear brakeman oil the
same train. These men Captain Tookcr kept IN
custodyall day and permitted no one TO have access
! to them Meanwhile Mr.. Toucey, Manager of the
! Grand Central Depot continued his investigation;
but, as on Friday, refused TO make any statement
| Of what he had learned for publication The higher
oncias of the New-Haven road did not busy them
selves much. Mr. Clarke the second vice president,
saying that nothing remained for them to do alter
the hearing of their employees Friday. He added
that his company did not appear As an adverse
party in the case, and until the Official nyestga-
| ton that Mr. Toucey was making accused them of
| negligence or blame he would do nothing more
| than to answer questions put TO him concerning
the con duct of the in charge of the PoTtchester
| special lie could not CONCEIVE how any RESPONSE
| bilty could attach to them under the clrcum-
| stances. We have concealed nothing" he said;
| sour rear brakeman was waterbOy, IT IL true,
| but waterbOy nineteen years old, who weighs 100
pounds and has been very Industrious IN learning
the work of a brakeman. He did not get a torpedo
on the track but it was only because he hadn't time
| the rapid transit was him suddenly. II 1t
had been the Angel Gabriel lie wouldn't have been
able to signal the train III time to prevent the col
| lsion.'
Thus the matter rested until the preliminary
animation OF the arrested persons in the evening
Coroner Herman sat In the reading room OF the
/ h.nrl 81 M
| the employees of the two trains and the telegraph
operator. To the two young men Rawson and Rob
| ms he slated that there was possibility OF their
being implicated crimnally by reason OF tile accl-
dent and he left il TO heir own discretion whether
| they would speak or not. Both elected TO make
| statements and did under oath. Neither the
| conductor nor the watcrbOy added to the intelli-
gence published yesterday. The telegraph operator
told the story of his part in the fatal error He il
| slight lad with connolly features, gentle manners
and a soft voice but he spoke IN clear direct ana
| manly manner without Sinking IN the east his
| share of the blame. He explained the only thing
| that had TO be explained to make all else clear
| how the rapid transit train got in the block be-
| tween Ninety-sxth and Elghty-slNth-sts before
the track had been cleared. After releasing the
| Portchcster special he neglected 10 lower his
danQer-lag being in hurry to rid himself OF some
accumulated work in the Office. He found the
wires crowded and before he aware of it the
Harlem train was upon him. Ii was reported from
One hundred nd-tenth-st. but the message was
DELAYED that when he heard II the ualn was
within streets of his station. hen he tried to
stop il By means of the flag, but the ropes had
become twisted and he COul0 not lower inc Hl0nal
The train rushed by with unchecked speed ana he
could do nothing but hope that brakeman would
stop It before the Portchrster tam was oyrItaken
The engineer, conductor and wat rbOy agree IN tho
statement that the train had stood at the Eighty
sixth-st station not more than minnie and h1it
before fhe collision occurred. TEs would not give
time tor the lagman To ~ back far enough to bring
an approaching tram tC full stop with ms signals.
AccOrt!ing to the time report of the UDeratOr at
Ninety .sixthat. there were seven minutes between
the departure of the trains at that station Tho
distance is ordinarily run IN two mnutcS or less.
hr New-Iaven train it Is SAID, ploded signal tor
pcdocs between Ninety -SlNth ana LlShty-slNtn-Hls
ana slackpued lis speed until % came To full stop
It had waited 1T Nmety-siXth-st., and some time !
was spent IN getting under hcadway. The Harlem |
train went past its own track with no knoW- !
ledge OF danger ahead How much it gained Oh the
Portchcster special does not pear except from the
statement of the Opela;Or at Eshty-slxth-st, who |
testified last night ths9 the latter train 1T his
station three minutes before the collision occurred.
On this point D1sSen On the Portchester specIa!
sand Yesterday to a TRIBUNE reporter:
" The statement made IN this morning papers
that the Portchcster tram mad only hrel standing !
IA the tunnel for Il moment when II was struck ny |
the Harlem train ~ not correct 1t hd0 been stand
ing 1T least four minutes when Conductor hood was |
noticed passing cisurcly Though to tie rear ahd 10
at least four minutes after that when the tram
was struck. | was 80 impressed With the cOnduc- |
tors movement, ~ he passed that | remarked tU q
fuenu that RuOl seemed "A very list 'ss man tor the
care OF a passenger train. | was IN the car next
the fatal one. and my window being open. had DIS
tnctly heard the torpedoes over winch our engine
passed, but heard none from the rear. We were
halted i'm most dangerous place and IN total dark
/
had been on the alert as they shonld have been,
the accident would Lave been wholly avoided not
withdrawing the negligence OF others. Anyone
travelling on the New haven r0ad VIII wonder at
the number OF boys in the employ OF the Company as
hrahemen, son of them apparently not moro than
eighteen years Of ago.
TbeInqulry held last night by Coroner Herman
was preliminary to the inquest and IT'S purpose was
10 secure the presence OF witnesses and of the re-
sponsl e persons at the inquest aud TO hN the
amount of their bail.
TESTIMONY OF THE POETCiEsTER TRhINMEN.
George +. Rood, the conductor of the Portchester
special testified rs follows:
am conductor in the employ of the Ncw-York, New
dnctor on train 80 20 which lett rortchcstcr ~ go
We due at one hundred and twenty -Aitn ST. at
:: TO- We arrived there twelve or fifteen minutes late
We were sguaied 10 20 on the Harlem track Tie rea-
disabled locomotive on the main track. We
were stopped al one -uhdled-and trLih ana Nlhct}-
sixth sis. by signals We stopped az the latter place six
minuir- when TIE 1Hns.E ssu4 WA, f'inoleI ana wye
were told 10 20 ahead 10y the waving oi h"hd rom the
.,la tower. We then went into the tunnel and pro
pea again 10y siShnL dd hol 0"A H' my watch
We were there aboui minute auG hail. Wien Wc were
minute and half wa, on the rear platform Of the rear
car aud that my a snan went back with hi, light
fog being thick after NE ten feet from the train.
lie took red sht from the rear piaior There were
two there ana he LEFT one We went without other or
dcrs than the signal. Robert J.. Robbins au en-
ploye OF tho train ho was Waieiboy and Hctcd as
robbins. one. T. L. Traphaecn got OF sick and Went
spuytcu Duyyn Junction to signal any train following
We having been stopped by signal. We left nobody at
hundred and cutlst. bccauSc 1t would have LEFT
me without "a brakeman We had five ears the traiu
all fitted with air brakes. Three brakemcu ample
handle the train two would have been the ordinary
complement II Robbins IN going back with the signal
lamp 100 feet before the train hc did well. If
the Harlem train going nj the rate OF twenty miles an
hour 1t could not have been stopped within the 100 feet
Trains from to thirty miles an hour
through the tunnel jumped oil the train and Was In
OF the mauhOcs when the struck. The water
boys duties 10 carry water. clean the and
assist the brakcIucn. After get the Harlem line
governed entirely by signals and must 90 accord
Ing 10 the rules OF the Harlem line.
Robert +. Robbins, who was the next witness, tes-