New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-01-15
THE DAY AFTER THE CATASTROPHE

THE DAY AFTER THE CATASTROPHE
The dIsas or was almost the one subject OF CONVEX
sation Yesterday in this city. The politicians who
were on the train received many calls from their
friends, TO congratulated them on their for
tuuate escape from death. The survivors were
obliged to tell the story of the accident over aud
over again, and it always listened to with tho
deepest interest Hundreds Of persons called at
the Grand Central Depot to make inquiries, and
many persons went out TO Spuyten Duyvil TO view
the wreck All the M trains on the Central road in
the morning slowly past the ruins and the pas
scngers crowded eagerly 10 the windows.
The two Wagner cars which were telcscDped by
the collision were still burning when The TRIBUNE
went to press yesterday morning. Their fthll light
fell upon two OF three hundred men, women aud
children. Policemen from the Kings-brdse Station
formed line around the burning ears. while the
men from two wre,king trains we're bu,y engaged
in clearing the track. The seve charred and dis
figured bodies taken first TO a ne ghboring ho-
Tel and liquor store. There they were laid,
ghastly spectacle upon the floor and the billiard ta
bles Oliver B. Kelley, OF Sorng CITY, Penn, whose
arm was burned off and who fatally hurt, had
been taken to a neighboring hotel. where he died
about O'clock but not until he hal sent message
to his wife, Most of the people living IN the neigh
borhood had leeu disturbed by the noise of the dis
aster and had gone to the scene. Many OF them
| remained all night watching the burning cars aud
loungng about the hotel and store in which the
bodies were When the news of the disaster
reached the city several ambuances had been
seut from the Ninety-ninth Street, Bellevue
and New-York Hospitals. After terrible drive
through the dark. over muddy roads in which
several of them were mired, four or five Of these
vehicles reached the scene of the accident. There
they renamed until morning, but they were not
needed ut all, although the surgeons did good work
| in caring for Miss Daniels.
The wreckers, who had reached the spot early kept
steadily at their work. and by a. m the track had
! been cleared The woodwork of the was still
| burning, and the debris simply thrown TO one
! side of the road. When this was done "a train
| carried back to New-York Commissioner Brennan,
two surgeons and Superintendent TOuccy. The
bodies were then removed to the Kngsbridgs pO-
lice Station, but not until two undertakers. who
had been summoned from YOnkers had had quar-
rel rs TO who should take possession OF them Miss
Daniels, who dangerously injured. was
brought to tins city about 10 a. m. by special
The fire in the hcaped-up debris lasted until the
woodwork was entirely consumed, which was about
noon. The wrecker, then set to work plling what
left of the cars, the chandeliers, wheels and pieces
ofiron upon tn cir trains and this took about one
hour. A few pieces of charred wood wee thrown
into the water the ground was snOothed over so 20
remove all traces Of the disaster and the
trains started down for the Tmrtieth Street
Depot. As soon as the wreckers We're gone twenty
or thirty boys began searching over the ground for
valuable articles. 4 gold ring, $40 gold piece
knife and a few small coins were found by them.
Anyone who visited the place In the afternoon
found il harI 10 realize that an accident had hap
pehed there the night before. The only indication
of it was the fact hat there was number OF per-
sons collected around the spot. Every yestye Of the
cars had been removed by che wOrhnen or the boys.
The hotel and hquor-5tore in full activity, and
men were drinking and playing billiards. IN the
places where the dead bodies had been in the morn
ing
The bodies reached Kingsbrdge Police Station at
4:3O a. m and were all placed IN one room. The
traces of the fire were removed from them fast
possible. Some of them identified while there.
and as fast rs this done a card with a number
and name fastened upon them IN buslness-hke
way Senstor Wagner's identified his father
early III the morning by memorandum book and d
watch, and the body taken to the Grand Cen
tral Depot at 8 a. m. in palace car. Mrs. Vaen-
tine was known by her shoes and by her
fur cloak. At 10 o'clock the remaining bodies were
placed III baggage car and also ta<en 10 the Grand
Ger tral Depot In the of the afternoon they
or the officers Of the railroad company. The only
body not positively identified was taken to Meuitts
undertaken shop III Eighth-ave. The bodies Of Park
Valentine and his wife were sent to Vermont last
night IN charge of friend.
The officers of the New-York Central Railroad all
say that the accident due 20 the careessness of
the last brakeman on the Albany train,
Gerge Meus. The rules of the company say eX-
plicltlv that when train comes TO a standsnll,
the brakeman must 90 back on the track for half o
mile with a danger signal lie is not allowed TO
return to his train but must walk 10 the next sta
tion On some railroads signal is given TO tho
brakeman return To the traln but as several ac-
cidenls have happened through trans coming up as
he was doing this. 1t is not permitted now on tho
New-York Central. Several persons say that they
saw Meus standing only short distance in the
rear his train and that he could have gone back
more than one hundred feet, # 81 far. Slelius was
arrested yesterday afternoon and locked up tempo
rarily in the Grand Central Depot Police Station.
Coroner Knox took his statement there. This
brakeman has been in the employ Of the Central
road for over twenty years, and he has
always been regarded as a faithful man. lie de-
clares that he went back car lengths until he
saw the Tarrytown train and that he waved his red
lamp; but that apparently 1t was not seen by tho
engineer. Had Il g engineer seen 1t, Meus asserts.
he could have stopped the train in time.
There was great sympathy expressed yesterday
for the families of the victims. Many persons IN
cluding William ii. Vanderbilt, called at Senator
Wagner's house 20 express their grief. and many
teegrams of coincidence were received by Mre. Wax-