Morning journal and courier., 1885-12-28
THE WIND CAUSED TIT.

Thrown Down a SeVenty-Foot ENa-
 baRkmeRt@A Fireman Killed.
 Runors were afoat about this eity yester- day morning that tie owl passenger train, which leaves this city at 3:58 8. m., had been derailed near Pelhamville. g station on the New York road ebout thirteen miles this side Of New York, and that thirteen passen- gers had been killed. Another rumor was that three passengers were killed, and many anxious people waited around the depot plat form in seafch of news of ths accident, but it was finally learned that, although the train had been derailed, only one man was killed, he being Eugene Blake, the fireman on the road. The train when it left here few minutes late yesterday morning was made up as follows: Engine Nc. f22f1, United States mail car, baggage car No. 42, smoking car Nc. f27, regular passenger car, Mann sleep ing car No. 1o8 and sleeping cars Nos. 215 and 214. The train was in charge of Con. ductor Ernest Holcomb, of Springfield. and on the engine were Engineer Riley Phillips, who lives o6 the corner of Cedar and Spring streets, this city, and Fireman Eugene Blake, who lived on Hurlburt street in this city. Iu the mali car were Chief Clerk of the postoface Turner, who lives in New York, and six other railway clerks. In the baggage car was Baggage master William Gamble, of Springfield, and on the train were Head Brakeman William Ford of this city, Middle Brakemsa Hiram Godiei of Hartford and Rear Brakeman Stephen Thayer of !40 Liberty street. this city; slso hDout sixty passengers-nine in the rear sleeper, thirteen or fourteen in each of the other slespers and the rest in the passenger and smoking cars, among the latter be ing 8 theatrical company from Hartford Rear Brakeman Stephen I'hayer in telling about iue accident last evening said: i've left this city about five minutes late making our first stop at Bridgeport where we took on board a theatrical party and few other passengers. We also stopped at South Nor walk and Stamford and when we left the latter place we had on board about eighty passengers. As we passed New Rochelle about six o'clock, sat on the rail of the rear car with my lantern in nay hand watch ing a man with the ilose- bleed, when suddenly as we neared Pelhamville, going at very rapid speed, as it is down grade there, happened to look through the car and saw the lights in the sleeper ahead of my car go out; and at the next instant I was spinning around on my head on the ground with my lantern still
 
 instant, but when I recovered I saw the train derailed and the engine lying on its side down the seventy-foot embankmsnt on fire and enveloped in a cloud of steam. The mail car also was on it's side down the embankment, but was lying on the side of the embankment, so that by walking down the embankment ten feet you could reach one end of the car, which was sixty feet long. The baggage car was on it's side, with the forward trucks on the track and the rear trucks within one foot of the embanknent. The smoking car and the three sleepers were also lying on their sides very near the edge of the embankment and across the track. The passengers were crawling out in their night clothes from the wi indows of the sleepers and from the other cars, hardly enough awake to know what had happened. I seized my lantern and hastened back to Pelhamville and found the station dark and deserted, but portions of the platform were scattered around the place, the accident hay ing been caused by the wind blowing the depot platform, which was about fifteen feet long and ten feet wide across the track and che engine having struck it. After much pounding on the door woke up the station master, who lives in the second story of the station, and told him what had happened and then hastened back to New Rochelle, about one and a half miles from the scene of the accident, to signal the Adams express train, which was thirty-five minutes behind us, and to telegraph to New Haven and New York for a wrecking train. After l had done this, 1 hastened back to the scene of the accident, and when l arrived I saw that the people had crowded into the baggage and smoking cars, and that the porters had brought them their clothes so that they did not suffer from the cold much as they were supplied with hot coffee by the Pelnamvllle people Fireman Blake had been found lying on the ground by the side of the la1 vnd n the Pelham station, where he had asked for his wife and then died. Engineer Phillips was also found by the side of the engine in- sensible, but he had come to and did not ap- pear to be much injured. Chief Cl TX of the Postefice Turner had been pinned to the floor of the car by mailing table and had been cut out from under nearly ton of mail. He was insensible and badly cut about the head and the doctor who was there dressing his wounds thought that he had been inter nally injured. In about half an hour the express came by and passed the wreck on the up track, which was not obstructed, stop ping long enough to take all the passengers, none of whom were injured in the least, on to New York, as we'll as Mr. Turner"
 When the news reached this city of the &C., cident wrecking train was at once made up, and with large force of men left this city at eight o'clock, arriving at the scene of the accident at about eleven o'clock. These
 
 went at once to work to get the cars back on to the track, and to get the engine, which was badly smashed to pieces, ready to bring it to this city The outside track was free for travel and all trains were not delayed over half an hour. At late hour last even ing the wrecking train had not returned to this city and the down track was still ob- structed.
 Engineer Phillips and the train men came to this city on Conductor Beers train, which arrives here at o'clock p. m., but was half an hour late owing to the accident. Engi- neer Phillips got off the train at Spring street and was able to walk to his home with assis- tance.
 When a visitor called on him last evening, Engineer Phillips was lying on a sofa and complaining of his back which pained him greatly. When asked about the accident he said: "Just as we passed New Rochelle Fireman Blake turned to me and said Riley, we will go over to my fathers house in New York to-day and have a good sleep I said all right, and Blake started to coal up We were running down grade at the rate of about 40 miles an hour and were nearing Pelhamville station when suddenly some- thing seemed to fly up and strike the engine, and we went over the bank, the tender and mail car passing the engine; and that was all 1 knew until l found myself on the ground. I believe, however, that did reverse the engine, but am not sure, and open the valve so that the water could escape and so the engine would not blow up. Blake was about B years old and was married about six months, he being an engineer on the Long Island road in the summer and for two or three winters past has been fireman on this road as business was dull on the Long Island road winters. He was not going out with me this morning as he had a felop on his hand, but he at length decided to go, and so did. His wife went down to New Rochelle on the 5 o'clock trein and his body will probably be taken to his home in New York"
 Vice President Reed said that no accident had happened to that train for twenty years and he thought it was very singular one. Railroad men say that they don't see how it happened that there were not more people killed, and had it not been for the air brakes l being, as they were, self-acting, the cars must certainly have all gone down. The action of the brakes let weight enough into the trucks to stop the motion of the cars.
 The wind must have blown the platform on to the track sometime between 5:43 a. m. and G. as Stamford special leaves Pelham vile at 5:43 and the express must have reached there about o'clock.
 Personal.
 Dr. Levi Ives and Charles Diekerman, of