Daily Republican., 1885-10-19
A Railroad Crash.
TERRIBLE COLLIsION HrAn
Jersey CITY-TH KnR PERsOns
KILLED.
DEFECTIVE SIG AL

Il NEW YORK, Dot. 18 in the foo IN,
hnng over tho mesdovs tohishs h,
tween Jersey City and Newark. thre
passenger trains came together on IN
New York divisic n of the Pepnsvlv.
MIA Railroad. Three passnn gers ver
Tiled outright and nino ipjufed. NOR
OF less seriously. The names of IN
thres persons killed have not yet beol
ascertained, for they were pass euper
on the rear car of the emigrant train
VIII oh WAS telescoped and thrown acrOa,
the track. When the accident was q rs
reported rumor put the number of kill
sd At nine or ten, but the ruins hav,
hHen. thoroughly overhauled, and it 1,
believed that the list OF casualities IL
G ,mpleto.
1t was cloudy and the atmosphert
was thick when specia emigrapt trajr
lett Jersey City at S.O2 p. M, under the
charge OF engineer Larilere and con
ductor Began, with seven box freight
oars filled with baggage and eiQh,
passenger cars, and about 800 immi-
grants on board. When the train
reached the ooaliug sheds just beyond
the Passaic and about o mile beyond
the block signal station at Marion q
stop was m ade for coal. The accounts
given to explain the delay at this point
vary. One explanation given was that
there was an unusually long wait for
the coal, and another that the rear end
of the train with two or three cars and
the cabooso became separated from the
MIST part OF the train and that the en-
glnser ran back to pick 1t up. Mean.
while the Pacific express, driven by en-
gineer Covert and conductor Merritt,
with four sleepers, three day passen
ger coaches. one combination car and .
baggage car, was speeding on its way.
lt had left Jersey City ut 8. 10, thirteen
minutes behind the emigrant special,
which 1t was to pass 1T East Newark,
where the latter ran on to the four
ack 81 stem, only three miles beyond
the spot where the accident occurred.
There are only two tracks ACROSS the
bridge. and the express should have
waited at Marion until the emigrant
ttain had reached East Newark, II tho
signal man mad done his duty, for the
danger signal should have been dis
played ~ Marion until the news was
flashed back 10 that tower that the
emtgrant train bad safely passed off
the passenger trscks at East Newark.
Whether the engineer passed the danger
signal or whether 10 was not shown
will be = matter for future investiga
tiop, but 1t is clear that the rear
brakeman had not gone far enongh to
stop the express.
With Its long heavy line OF cars, the
Fullmans we'll TO the front and backing
Up the massive engine, with q tremen
dous momentum, In the darknes of the
night and the midtt of the dense fog, II
crashed into the caboose ut the rear of
the emigrant train. Tho latter may
possible have just started. At any rate,
~ had not fairly gotten under way; for
the caboose was smashed into firewood
and the locomotive plunged ahead into
The rear passenger coach, turning IL
across the other track. Ia this car we're
the three who were killed and they died
almost Instantly, or shortly after the
crash. The i've emigrs nts who we're
hurt were also taken from the ruins of
the coach.
Hardly had the train hands and the
multitude Of unfortunate foreigners
began TO gather their scattered senses
and pick up themselves out Of the ruin
when another cleaning headlight loom.
I'd up through the mist. 1t belonged 70
the engine OF the Lehioh Valley train
No. 1874, which left Metuchen at 7.4O.
and was due In Jersey City at S35 Itl
had left Newark Ave minutes before the
Western express. 1t dashed headlo
into the wreck and went over the en-
bankment, but fortunately taking none
of the cars with it, and leaving engi.
neer Hall with nothing worse than
some bruises on the leg and cut on the
mouth.
AN EYE-wIrEEss OF THE SCENE.
Elwyp M. Barron, Of the Royal Ly-
caum Comedy Company, was IN eye
witness of the accident His company
was on It's way to Middletown, Del.
where it will perform this evening, but
when it reached this city at 230 a. IN.
Mr.. Barron and his company left the
train and remained over until the 815I
train s)uth this morning.
Mr. Barron says he and his company
lett Jersey Cily in the Western ex press
al 3. 10 p. m, and reached Hackonsack
vt 8 40, when the the train Stacked and
6na,ly stopped, when he heard q crash,
h scream from women and q cry for
help. The passengers got out 10 dis.
cover the cause.
They found that the Lehigh Valley
train, No. 3, had ran into the head Of
tho enigrant train at Hackensack, and
the $40 train from Jersey City crashed
into the rear of the emigrant train.
Mr.. Barron says he saw six persons re-
moved from the wreck, two of them
lying In few minutes. Soon after
wards the cry Of fire WAS heard and o
light blaze illuminated the surrounding
darkness. The sleeping car of the Nor.
folk train wAs on fire No one eeamed