Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1885-02-27

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A very serious railroad accident oc-
Cured on the. Virginia Midland Rail-
way, between Washington and Alex
andria, laat Thursday right. The north
bound mail train came in collision with
a freight train. Four OF the train men
were killed and the passengers were
badly shaken up.--Ths accident occur
red just north Of the viaduct which car
ries the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
across the Baltimore and Potomac R"il-
road track. The line has double track
up to within two hundred yards
OH either side Of the viaduct, but only
u single track runs under the arch OF
the yiaduct. Trains leave the double
track OH either side by automatic
switches, which work two sets OF signal
blocks-one OH each side OF the viaduct.
The rule upon which trains are run at
this point is that the train which first
strikes the signal block has the right OF
away. Engineer Bruce, of the passen-
ger train, says that when he struck the
switch the signal was that the line was
open. He says that as his train passed on
the single track he saw the headlight
Of the freight, and that train appeared
to him to be at standstll. The pas
senger train was the through mail from
Danville, and consisted Of the engine,
express car, mail car, baggage car,
smoking car, one day passenger coach
and two sleepers. There were about
seventy passengers on board the train,
which was running about forty miles an
hour at the time of the accident. The
freight train consisted Of about twenty
cars, two of them laden with oil. Both
engines were completely wrecked and
thrown from the track by the collision,
the postal car was telescopsd, the ex-
press smashed to splinters and the
smoker badly wrecked, but neither Of
the other coaches was damaged.
Within five minutes Of the time the
collision occurred the wreck took fire
from the engines, and all the freight
cars and the broken cars of the passen-
ger train were burned up. The con-
tents of the express car were totally de-
stroyed, and the two safes which 1t car
ried were so badly injured by fire that
it is supposed their contents were de-
stroyed.
Postal officials say that the collision
on the Virginia Midland Railroad
caused the largest loss Of mail mat
ter of which there Is any record in
the department. The fire which re-
suited from the collision destroyed thir-
teen through registered mail pouches
coming from New Orleans, Mobile and
other points in the South, and destined
for Washington, New York and East
ern cities, These pouches are known
to have contained money and valuables.
but to what amount cannot yet be as
certained. The fire also destroyed 100
sacks of ordinary mail matter, heavy
miscellaneous mail, and $50 registered
letters taken up for delivery along the
line and not inclosed in pouches. The
ordinary mail lost is supposed to have
come from Louisiana, Texas, Missis-
sippi, Alabama, parts of Georgia and
South Carolina and points in Virginia.
1t is said that the freight train Was
three minutes ahead of time. A differ
ence of one minute more between the
trains would have been ample TO have
prevented the collision, as the single
track where it occurred is less than 300
feet long. The total loss is put at
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