Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-04-08
RAILWAY DISASTER.
AN EXPRESS TRAINS FRIGHT
Full LEAP.
a Plunge Down a 2Oo-foot Em-
bankment-Details OF the
Catastrophe.
ESPECIAL DISPATCHES TO THE RECORD UNION. !

GREENFIELD (Mass), April 7th-A terri |
bic disaster occurred on the Fitchburg
| Railway tonight, midway between Bard !
wells Ferry and West DeerfeId station. {
the east-tound passenger train due at |
Greenfield at 6:05 P. ". going over an en- |
bankment 2oo feet high. Six bodies have
already been taken OUT of the ruins. and it !
I is not known how many others were
killed The train was the eastern express,
and consisted OF q baggage car, smoking |
ear, mail car and two ordinary passenger
cars. The train was in charge Of conductor /
Forster, with Herbert Littlejohn as en-
gineer.
THE POINT WHERE THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED
Is the most dangerous on the road The
train runs on the edge of an embankment
200 feet above Deerfeld river. The bank is
steep, and is covered with huge bowlders
and mass of rock. When the train ar
rived at this point the track commenced to
! settle under 1t for distance covering its
entire length. The coaches broke from
| their trucks, and went rolling over and
over down the precipice. The engine broke
from the tender, tearing up the track
for twenty feet. Below rolled Deerfeld
river, on the very edge of which the ears
We're thrown. AS soon as they struck they
caught IRE from the stoves The sleeping
car was an entire wreck. 1t was occupied
by several passengers, not one Of whom at
this hour is known to have escaped injury.
One man, whose name is unknown, is i'm
prisoned in the wreck Of the sleeper, where
he is being burned alive. One little girl
was picked up dead. As soon as the news
reached Greenfield a special train was made
up and sent to the scene of the disaster,
having on board several physicians, section
men and few citizens On arriving at
the scene of the wreck
HORRIBLE SIGHT
Was witnessed. Darkness had settled over
the spot, but far down on the river bank
could be seen the smoldering embers of
the holocaust. 1t was impossible to tell
who was hurt and who was killed Stout
hearted trackmen were lowered cautiously
down the treacherous height, and the work
of rescue began. Merritt Peeley, Superin-
vi
of Boston, was found ON the track and
taken into Il e relief car. He had q wound
four inches long and half an inch wide
over his left temple His left thigh was
broken, and also his left leg at the knee,
besides which he sustained internal iniur-
les, from which he will die. d. Crandall,
the postal clerk, was plunged into the river.
and got ashore with difficulty. He was
wounded about the head, and his arm was
| fractured -
the only one that escaped the con-
fiagration. Deputy Sheriff Bryant, of
Greenfield, who was in this car.
rescued two children from the flames, but
one was dead and the other dying. Their
parents were on board, but cannot be
found. Some of the injured and dead
were taken to Shellburn Falls, and some of
the wounded to Greenfield c. p. Bell. of
Nashua, N. H., was cut slightly on the
head and leg, but was not seriously hurt
He was
| THROWN HEAD FOREMOST INTO THE RIVER
And went to the bottom. barely escaping
drowning. Conductor Forster is reported
safe, and but slightly injured. D. c.
Welles, of Andoyer had his shoulder hurt
and his head cut The car in which he
was riding was broken in two, and stood
on end within a few feet of the
river bank. Nicholas Dorgan, of Green
| field, had his left arm and ankle broken,
and was seriously injured internally. A
little girl, who was passenger on the
train, died in his arms from injuries re-
| ceived. ]. E. Priest of Littletown, n. H.,
had his face and head cut. Engineer Little
| john of North Adams was badly scalded
1t is believed fatally. A. X. Warner, Chair
man of the Greenfield Board OF Selectmen.
was badly hurt, but his injuries are not |
fatal. Great excitement prevailed all along
| the road between here and North Adams |
PROBABLE LOSS OF LIFE
Being interviewed by wire tonight. at |
| Shellburne Falls, Conductor Forster said |
am unable to state how many were on |
the train. Only three men have thus far |
been found who escaped injury, and they |
set the number of passengers all the way !
| from twenty five to one hundred" No (.
doubt half dozen were killed outright. |
while falling and as many more were IA |
tally injured. The west-5ound ex-
| press was delayed at Greenfield |
and West Deerfeld two hours !
| while the relief train, with surgeons and |
their assistants, was sent out on its time |
The locomotive IS a complete wreck but |
remains on the track, while its tender is |
down the bank. The following persons |
were taken to Shellburne Falls, more or /
less wounded II. G. Littleiohn; brother
| of the engineer, with his wife and two
! children, both of whom have since died
| A. ID. Cornell, Allen Lewis, 3. B. Stowe,
A. @. Harvey, of Boston, badly hurt; j. p
Fowler, A. R. Warner, of Greenfield,
II. Cevillard, of Charlemont: e. W. Dun
nells, OF Waltham Miss Darby and Nav
Gowing a Miss Carnell is badly hurt. as
is Mail Agent Putney. A. II. Waterhouse
is missing. 1t was reported in Shellburne
Falls that eighteen persons were killed out
right, but this could not be verified Fears
are entertained that the morning will in
crease the list of deaths and casualties. A
portion of the mail is reported lost in the
river.
AT II o'clock tonight men were still
working at the wreck. 1t is learned that
the injured at Sheilburne Falls number
nineteen.
MORE VICTIMS.
LATER.-Engineer Littleiohn is diving.
and Henry G. Covilliard will die before
morning. Three more dead bodies have
been found at the wreck
sALEsMAN's JUMP.
The train, at the time of the accident.
was running at the rate of about twenty
miles an hour. Frank Lank. of Boston, a
salesman for New York firm, jumped
from the train, and is believed to be the
only person who saw the cars go down the
embankment. He says there were three
passengers in the drawingroom car.
THE LATEST FROM THE WRECK.
GREENFIELD Mass, April sth-A. Nj
At midnight it was reported that four more
dead bodies were removed from the wreck !
and it was believed that others had been
swept down the river. OF the four bodies,
one was recognized as that of brakeman
Shyer. 1t is impossible to give a complete
list of the killed and wounded tonight.
rry ROD apurr DDEuIurrCc