Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-11-13
WRECKED ON A SWITCH.
FRIGHTFUL ACCIDENT TO A
TRAIN IN PENNSYLVANIA.

Sixteen Persons Injured, But No One
Expected to Die-Oo Congressman Boyle
the MOst Seriously Injured--The Train
Filled with Persons Of Prominence
Suspicions OF DIaboiical Fiendish-
ness.
PIrTSBURG, PA, Nov. ia frighttul
wreck occurred at Bmestone quarry, on
the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, at Z
o'clock this morning. Train No. II,
through express from Baltimore to Pitts
! burg, consisting of a sleeper, two coaches,
two baggage and one express car, ran
into a misplaced switch, and was CON-
pletely wrecked. The sleeper rolled over
an embankment into the Youghiogheny
river. The other cars were upset, and
the whole train was detached from the
/ engine. Sixteen persons were injured,
but none were killed outright Among
the injured are Hon. G. 4. Boyle,
member of Congress from the Fay
ette district; Hon. John Dowlin,
| Collector of Internal Revenue for the
| TWenty-third district, j. N, McJilt0n.
! legal agent of the Baltimore and Ohio
company, Hon. e. II. Bigeler, Collector OF
| Internal Revenue Of the Twenty
! district. None of the wounded are be-
/ lieYed to be dangerously injured, unless
! it Congressman Boyle, whose condition
in not known, but it is believed to be
! serious. j. n. McJiltOn's ankle was badly
| sprained, and Collectors D0wln and
! Bigeler were badly bruised. The report
of the wreck reached this city at about .
! O'Clock this morning and caused great
| excitement, as it was known that many
! prominent men of this city were expected
on the train.
ON A CURVE.
The accident dsarranged the telegraph
| wires, and it was after 10 O'Clock before
| the particulars Of the accident were re-
! ceiVed. The express was about 10 minutes
late when it reached the place where the
wreck occurred. At BluestOne quarry
| the track makes a sharp curve around the
river, short distance back from the
| bank. There is a switch at the COM
mencement OF the curve. Whether some
one had left the switch partly open or not
/ is not certain. The officials of the road
say the switch had been tampered with.
evidently with the intention Of causing
wreck. Had the switch been open the
train would have gone into it bright and
would have been stopped before any dam
age had been done. As il was, the train
could go on neither track. The result
was that the engine dashed along the
ties, tearing up the track, and causing the
coaches and sleeping car to break loose
and dash on over the embankment in the
widest confusion.
ROLLING DOWN THE BANK.
The sleeping car rolled over and over,
and stopped with its side lying in the bed
of the river 30 feet below. The two pas
senger coaches stopped at the waters
edge, but the baggage car went into the
| water. There were many passengers on
board. The scene that followed was one
that beggared description. The cries of
| the injured and manned were heard from
every car. The frightened passengers
| sprang from the windows and struggled
with each other to escape from the rolling
cars, and walls of pain were heard from
some who had been caught and
/ held within the wreck. Those who es-
/ capped uninJured were too much startled
/ for a time to render assistance. Then
/ they began to rescue. A messenger was
! sent to COnnellsyille for medical assist
ance, and in a short time corps Of physi-
| clans was sent up on a special train. The
| injured, after having their wounds
| dressed, were removed to the hospital at
| Connellsville, where they received every
attention that could be given them by the
| railroad company. The wreck caused
great excitement in Connellsyille, and for
hours afterward people hurried to the
| scene of the accident. The track was
blockaded and torn up so badly that no
! trains got through until this afternoon.
q INJURED.
PITTsBURG, Nov. -, 2. A. M.--The list
of persons injured in the accident num-
| bers 81. Only one Of these Congressman
/ Boyle is very seriously hurt, but he will
probably recover. He was taken TO his
| home at UniOntown. A relief train with
! the wrecked passengers arrived here this
! afternoon. One OF the passengers named
/ Van Meter, Of Pittsburg, IS badly burned
/ about the hands and arms. he describes
! how he was thrown against a
| stove while the sleeping car was turning
/ over. lie grasped the hot stove and pre-
/ vented it from upsetting, thus preventing
! the car from taking fire, and probably
! preventing much more serious accident
| in the event Of the car taking fire. A
number of passengers corrobOrate Van
meters story.
sTFFERING FROM EXPOSURE.
Several persons in the confusion left
the car in their night garments. They
suffered extremely from the exposure un-
/ til provided with clothing. Collector
| Bowling, another passenger, said: ~
was up 10 my neck in water, aud might
/ have been drowned, but l managed TO
pull myself out. We were awHk-
/ ened by the rough riding
and discovered that the train WAS
running on the ties. Before We could
make an effort % get mp the coach WAS
thrown into the river. The car made TWO
revolutions before striking the water. 10
alighted on us end IN the river There
were about feet OF water at the point
where 1t struck.
nnONFEtEtE ann INDIANS