The Rugbeian and district reporter. (Rugby, Tenn.) 1882-1883, 1883-01-27
TERRIBLE RAILROAD ACCIDENT.

Overturned Coaches on the Southern
Pacific Railroad Catch Fire, Burning
the Passengers to Death-Twenty-One
Lives Lost and Fourteen Wounded.
SAN FRANCISCO, Cal, January 81.
Shortly after midnight the overland eX-
press, by the South IN Pacific, which left
here at $50 a. m Friday, stopped near Te-
hachepai Station to cut out an extra engine
taken on 1T Sumner, to assist in pulin up
Tehachepai grade While making the change
the train got away and started back north:
ward down the grade of l20 feet to the mile.
The train consisted of two engines, the eX.
press, mail and baggage cars, two sleepers,
one coach and smoker 1t went down the
grade at fri 5htful speed for about four
miles, when the hindermost sleeper jumped
the track and went over an embankment ff-
teen feet high, carrying with it the other
sleeper, the mail, baggage and express cars,
which were piled in q shattered heap, took
fire and were consumed. The coach and
smoker kept on down the grade and were
stopped without leaving the track, about two
miles further on.
A Los Angeles dispatch says: 1t is now as
Certained that at the time the train broke
loose and ran down grade, the air brakes had
been taken off and the men who tended the
hand-brakes were away from their posts.
One was attending to switching the engine,
the other was relighting his eXtinguished
lamp. The train gathered Roadway quickly
and was soon dashng down grade at the rate
OF mile aminute. AT sharp curve of the
road the coach and smoker, which were
ahead, broke the couplings and separated
from the rest of the train making the turn
safely. The sleepers, mail, express and bag
gage cars were dashed against high bank,
then thrown back and rolled down the en-
bankment The lamps and stoves at once set
fire to the wreck, which was instantly in
blaze
Harry Corners, news agent, sleeping in the
baggage car, wakcned by the movement OF
the car, aroused James Woodruff, baggage
master, just US the cars made the jump. The
roof Of the car split open, til owing both men
out severely injured. Corners, while lying Oh
the ground unable to render any assistance,
saw the train cnvcloped in flames heard the
shrieks of the dying victims and saw them
vanly endeavoring to struggle from the
burning ruins The porter as he and his wife
occupied alone the drawing room of one of
the sleepcrs, awakened by the crash, suc-
ceeded in getting out without injury, but of
sixteen other occupants of the car not one is
believed to have escaped.
Meanwhile, the occupants of the coach,
which kept on down the grade succeeded in
stopping it, saving the lives OF some forty &C
cuphnts Of that and the smoking car. They
Immediately walked back to the scene of the
accident, but found only the smOldering re.
mains of the train and u few who had escaped
the darkness, shivering in the piercing cold
night air or rendering assistance to each
other.
Relief soon arrived from Tehachopai, foui
miles distant, and as soon as possible medical
attendance was sent from Sumner and Bakers.
field and subsequently from Los Angeles.
Search for dead soon shovel that twenty
one persons had persisted; eleven were be-
You'd recognition, only headless bodies and
charred limbs being found OF the body of
Mrs Downey only the head and bust re-
manned. 1t was recognized by iewelry. All
the bodies and fragments were gathered up
and cofiined. The wounded were iemoved to
the baggage car and on the arrival of tho re-
lief train from Los Angeles sent to that city.
Express Messenger Charles Pearson had his
head shattered. Five were burned but recog-
nizable, viz:
Miss NJ. T.. Squires Mrs. H. o. Oliver, Mrs
Downey, NJ Wethered and Mrs. James Cas-
sell; two men unknown, but supposed to be
discharged soldiers, we're found dead but not
burned; one other body of large man, badly
tharred, is supposed to be the remains of
Colonel Larrabee, exCongressman from Wis
consin. Governor Downey says Larrnb was
on the train, and he is missing since the acct
dent. The remaining eleven are still uni len.
titled An inquest is in progre, s, ,but no news
is yet received from it, No one but railroad
and county officials were admitted.