New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-10-03
THE TUNNEL CALAMITY.
BEGINNING OF THE CORONER'S INQUEST,
A LARGE NUMBER OF WITNESSES EXAMINED YES

BEGINNING OF THE CORONER'S INQUEST,
A LARGE NUMBER OF WITNESSES EXAMINED YES
TERDAY-PREvIoUs STATEMENTS or TRATNMEN
AND RAILWAY employees REPEATED.
Coroner Herman yesterday began the Inquest on
the victims of the recent railway accident ID the
Fourth-ave. tunnel lie took the testimony OF q
relative of each of the dead persons-the husband
of Madame ALBERT SOU OF william howe ana "a
cousin of Miss CrOmnelln-and had the persons
who are most directly .implc IN the accident
repeat the statements made by them on the pre-
liminary examination ten days ago when they were
admitted to bail Soon after the Coroner had
begun the examination of witnesses ne interrupted
it to call for map of the tunnel when the super
lntendent of the New-YOrk Central Railroad had
promised to provide HIM with. 1t was not forth,
coming and the Jury decided that they would visit
the scene before finding u verdict. In the after
nvon the map WAS sent to the Coroner.
Professor Eugene Aubert, the first witness told
how he heard the news of his wfes death. lie
himself came TO the city on the morning OF the
accilent on the 1908 train which was an hour be-
hind time. 1t stopped repeatedly N the tunre
and once the delay so long that he got up and
went to the door of the car. intending to ask the
conductor whether precautions had been taken to
protect the rear of the train. Jnst then he saw
an empoye pass through the car 18th red lantern,
and he took it for granted that all was right.
benjamin Howe testified that he was at New
castle Penn, when the accident happened HIS
father was dead when he reached nome.
Morton r. Doremus, OF Mount Vernon, cousin
of Miss Crommen and passenger on the wrecked
train, testified
pcdo; the train stopped and then moved slowly on Some
distance further ran over another ana slowed up
OF Eighty sxth-st we ran over two ana stopped WHO
the train was stopping and before II was entirely stopped
left my seat and walked to the rear platform, on wmch
were Conductor Rood Harold and Arthur leeks, ana
another passenger asked the conductor what was me
cause of our stopping He sad he didn't know lie ,et the
and the ground for an instant We lis
tened and heard slight iarring sound inc conductor
walked through The arehway INTO ne middle tHne anu
got more than through when pieces or the wreck tO
lowed The conductor was not eNclteui ne iookeu
IN
side middctunne and he didn't have time TO get DacKt
his train before the accident happened Fearing the boiler
NJ the engine would burst took the boys hand and ran
ND the track safety Then finding the steam escaping
rerned and put the boy in the Eighty Street sta
Non I fonnd messengers there from the train and hook
and ladder company, and called for lights ana axes III
was een or twenty before anybody went to the
bcn Of the injured When the Ncw-IOrk Central train
came it all that could do to mold IL long enough 10
put the wounded on hoard The conductor OF our tra
had no time TO send anybody back and II the waterboy
got back 100 he did nobly The time was SO short
had time only to ask the question anu stcp o LII 'uo
archway before the smasll-up occurred.
Georee E. Rood, the conductor of the Portchester
special. repeated his former statement. lie sad
that the tram, after 1t ran over the torpedoes, d
not run slowly enough to permit brakeman To
Robert l.. Robins, the water carrier and acting
brakeman of the POItchester traln also repeated
his statement made at the preliminary examina-
ton He was examined further by the Coroner
and several of the jurynen, and admitted that at
Ninety -eghthst. he had exercised his 1udgment
and instead OF going back with the nag had looked
up the track and seen for distance OF fourteen or
seventeen blocks that no train was approaching. II
he had gone back from Ninety -eighthst. he would
have reached Onehundreu and-tenth-sU ana couiu
have done no more than stop the Harlem train
where il did stop, at that station.
Frederick Sack, the conductor OF the Harlem
rapid transit train also confirmed the statement
heretofore made by him, and added in reply 10
injuries that he would have considered 1t proper TO
place warning t0rpedoes on the track on that DAY
lie thought that his train was gong at ABOUT
twenty miles an hour and would have been able TO
stop within 100 feet. lie had no intlmatl0n that
thp " OccuDleu
morning ~ the main track was open when he
reached the place where the Portchester train was
switched Oft. . -
Henry Hersey conductor Of the train No ~ OF
the Huds II River Railroad which preceded the
Portchester special, testified that ms tram was
stopped ut all the signal stations. About Ninety
secUndst in the tunnel. he was stopped by train
man from d Harlem train and tralninan was sent
back with torpcdoes Another tralnmah was leie
az ty-sAth-st The first man sent back was
the baggage man. He did not send man back
FROM Ninety eghth-st. beca1se he could see the
signal at one hundred and feminist. protecting
him. Had he not seen such signal he would
assuredly have sent "a man bach. -,
Valentine Washer, the baggage-man on the
Spuyten Duyvl train of the Hudson River road,
confirmed the statement OF the conductor about
the stoppages. He was put of at Ninety secondst.
and got back to Nlnetyeighth-st.. when he met
the New Haven train lie got on the engine and
told the engineer that he had Just lett his tram.
The train went ahead very slowly. The conductor
did not ask him to go back or he wonld have done
3d. lie thought the train had been at Eighty
81 th st. about two minutes before the collision
man could not have got off theSran while Il was
in motion without danger of being thrown against
the walls. He gave il as his Judgment that II he
had been the rear platform and had started Jack
10 put torpedoes on the track re- could have gone
back in the tunnel about l75 feet.
The next witness was Maus Haverley, the second
trainman dropped by The Spuyten Duyvil train,
who thought he could have gone back two blocks
between the time of the stopping OF the Harlem
train ana the collision.
William G. Is. Rawson, the telegraph operator at
Ninety xti-st, reiterated his statement taken
the day after the accident. He added that In clear
weather one man was able TO do all the work of the
station except ia exceptional cases. II he VIE
taken sick he could only report the fact to the train
dispatcher and wait to he we'd. He admitted
that It was his hrst duty to signal approaching
trains. but not seeing the train coming he mad
attempted to perform other duties. which had de-
tanned him TOO lOng Ho thought that there was
plenty of time for the NewHaven trainnian TO have
put torpedoes on the track
Thomas w. Wright. the Eighty sixth.st. operator
alsU confirmed his previous statenenL AS read by
the Coroners clerk. lie said 1t was three minutes
between the time OF the arrival of tho New
Haven train and the collision Being questioned
on the point he gave 10 his opinion that one man
could not properly attend TO the work mt tho