Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1883-08-31
\ Rad DAY FOR RAILROADS.
An Accommodation Train Runs Into a Car
Loaded with Powder and Causes Ter
rifle Explosion--Two Men Killed and Four
Injured.


An Accommodation Train Runs Into Car
Loaded with Powder and Causes a Ter
rifle Explosion--Two Men Killed and Four
Injured.
LEXINGTON, KY, August II.
This morning a terrible accident
CURED nt Winchester, eighteen miles from
here. For four days past car containing
400 kegs of blasting powder, consigned to
II. p. Mason & Co., late contractors on the
Kentucky Central extension, has been
standing on the siding at Winchester, where
The Kentucky Central and Chesapeake &
Ohio Trunk lines cross. This morning this
.ai of powder was standing on the Z. & d.
rack, just opposite the Railroad Hotel at
Winchester, when the Mount Sterling q
Lexington accommodation, due at Winches-
Ter at q: % a. m, arrived there on time.
The train is a mixed one, composed of a
smoking and baggage car, two passenger
ears and lot of freight cars. It was nee
sssary for three of the freight cars to be
shipped TO the siding, and there were cars
next to the engine, and before the train ar
rived at the depot the three cars and the
engine were detached, and started down
the road to make the siding at the
west end of the switch. At this time the
yard engine was shifting cars on the
Kentucky Central, and the train lay across
the Chesapeake & Ohio track. The engi-
neer of the accommodation train reversed
his engine and tried to back, but the de-
tached part of his train had no brakes, had
gotten under Roadway, and ran behind the
three freight cars and engine, forcing them
forward. The engine struck the car loaded
with 400 kegsyof blasting powder, and hit it
with such momentum that it was broken
and several of the powder-kegs were rup.
tured. This was ignited by sparks from
the engine, and an explosion followed
which shook every house in Winchester &c
its foundation stones.
Two men were killed and fivesothers seri
ously injured. Captain Charles c. Nc
Michael, who ran down on top of the
freight train at the whistle of down
brakes, was in the midst Of the explosion
and was thrown at least fifty yards. His
eyes were blown out, and he was blarkened
all over with the powder. When assist
lance reached him he said, as he CROPPED
around upon the ground, "Boys, l am a
goner. Good by. Send for nv wife and
children. Tell my wife that l was doing
my duty, but did not know that there was
! powder in that car. Oh! oh! my poor wife
and children" The wife was summoned
by telegraph and left this city by special
train at nine a. m. for Winchester. He
was taken to the residence of DR.. Hubbard
/ Taylor, but after gr'Nt agony he died al
twelve m. Randolph Martin, conductor of a
| construction train on the Kentucky Central
saw the collision, and ran to render what
| assistance he could. He reached the train
~
and killed instantly, being mangled into
pulp. He leaves wife and four children
! The engineer of the accommodation train
Dennis SCHUYLER, has never been seen since
| the accident. The fireman, named Baxter
ran off, crazed with fright, but afterward
returned, and he thinks that Schiller is
safe. a negro man named Augustus Nc
kimm, who was standing 100 yards from
the scene, had his jawbone broken by fall
ing timber. A brakeman named johnson
was severely burned, but it is thought that
he will recover. Frank HockerSmith, 6
carpenter, who was at work on the new
passenger depot, was badly injured, but
may recover. Ed S. Hawks, junior partner
in the Railroad Hotel near the depot; VIII
Baker, Henry Jackson, and sew
were seriously injured, although there is a
chance for them all to recover. As gooG
luck would have it, there were but few peo
pie around the depot at the time of the &C
cident Had it happened twenty minutes
later the fair train from Richmond would
have been in with a large crowd and the
loss of life would have been terrible. The
roof of the new passenger depot and a por
ton of its walls were blown away. The
depot was in process of construction ant
was almost finished. Loss $500. The Rail
road Hotel, owned by the Hawks Brothers
was damaged to the extent of 81 900.
was a new building, lately opened. Three
of the Kentucky Central freight-cars were
blown TO atoms, portions of them being
carried distance of 800 yards, and the ell
CINE of the Chesapeake & Ohio accommo
dation train was almost a total wreck.
The citizens of Winchester did all tha
pity and humanity could porompt to allie
viate the suffering of the victims. G. ID
Emmons, the Local Agent at Winchester
for both the Kentucky Central and Chesa
peake & Ohio Road, is held responsible
by the people of Winchester for the whole
accident, from the fact that he held a car
load of powder on the siding there for -four
days, in antagonism to the laws of Ken.
lucky, which specifically states that pow
der shall not be kept upon railroad switch
/ longer than twenty-four hours at a time.
Mr.. Emmons is highly esteemed person.
ally. Strange to say, four out of the 40t
kegs of powder did not explode, but re
| manned intact