The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1886-09-23
DEATH ON THE RAIL.
Two Trains on the Nickel-Plate Come
Together ut o Curve with
Frightful Results.
Eighteen Persons Killed and a Dozen
OF More Desperately In
jured.
buffalo telegram. |

A Niagara Falls excursion train on the
Nickel-Plate Railroad, from Ashtabula,
Ohio, collided with local freight train in
the cut on the curve just east of Silver
Creek, on the morning Of the 4th inst.
Lewis Brewer was the engineer of the
excursion train. drawn by engine No. 1886,
and William Harris was engineer of the
freight train, drawn by engine No. 6. Both
engineers and firemen saved themselves by
jumping. The excursion train consisted Of
one baggage-car, enc smoker, and eleven
coaches. Only those in the smoking-car
were hurt, il being completely telescoped
by the baggage-car. The corrected list Of
killed is as follows:
WV Loomis, aged 40. OF Erie, Pa.
Emory Stoddard, aged "a, OF Pittsburg Pa.
w. N. Stoddard. a son OF the above. Of Pitts
burg, Pa.
stephen Culverton Mayor of Waterford, Pa.
John Flicker aged "a, Pittsburg, Pa.
David Sharp. of Erie, Pa.
Charles Hirsch, aged 80. OF Erie, Pa,
w. w. Restetter, of Erie. Pa.
gehn Lythers. supposed to be from Erie. Pa.
shall of Dunkirk. N. Y.
John Myers, aged IS OF Erie, Pa.
Orrin Parkhurst, OF Mayville N. Y.
John J.. Gilbert, OF Pittsburg, Pa.
Henry Gebhart, aged A, OF Pittsburg. Pa -
Frank Gebhart, son Of the above, OF Pitts
burg, Pa:
Unknown man, thought TO belong to Erie, Pa.
Henry Hike, rescued alive, but who died from
his INJURIES.
A dozen or more persons were seriously
injured. some of them so badly as to pre-
c!ude all hope of recovery.
There are various causes given for the
collision. Engineer William Harris of the
freight train is blamed. 1t is said he had
orders to meet the excursion train at Irving.
He failed to obey the instructions and was
running at full speed when the crash oc-
Cured. Trainmen will not talk regarding
who is to blame. A gentleman who was on
the train says that the freight train had or
ders TO 60 to Silver Greek and the passen-
ger train to Irving, which is this side, and
it was these orders that caused the collision.
The excitement among the survivors was
intense. The scenes in the smoking Car
were most narrowing. The first warming
that was given was the slight jar caused
by the heavy pressure of the air brakes.
Some of the passengers stirred themselves
in their seats, seemingly apprehensive of
danger. Then came the terrible shock,
followed by the smashing OF windows and
the roof of the car, and all was a mass of
bACCbAuB anu otiuBBiiHS hCH
covered with blood were locked in each
others arms, while underneath them and
on all sides lay the poor unfortunates,
crushed out of all human semblance.
The wounded crawled out of the debris,
and were assisted to the neighboring houses.
People brought bedding, ETC., on which to
lay the dead and dying, and did all they
could to relieve the suffering until the
arrival of medical aid. Mrs. j. III. Sigel,
of Erie, Pa, passenger, who was on her
way to Buffalo, said:
I was in the first coach next to the smoking
car. The passenger train was n large one, and
carried a large number of excursionsts, as weiy
as regular passengers. The first we knew of the
collision was terrific crash like explosion.
Nobody was hurt except those in the smoking
cur. The sight was SO horrible that could not
look at it. Not a single car was thrown from the
track, but the smoker completely tele-
scoped. IL was a mercy that our not
crushed. IL was narrow escape. One young
man in the smoker saved himself by dropping
on the floor and escaped with few bruises. i
did not learn the cause OF the accident, but we
were going very slow. while the freight
coming at a high rate Of speed. We were Just
one coach-length off the treste when the COL
lision occurred. Some of the wounded men were
taken To different houses, and one of the coaches
was turned into a hospital. In another coach
the dead were placed.
There we're many horrible features con-
nected with the accident. Two of the men
in the smoking-car had their heads pro-
truding from the car windows when the
collision occurred. The head of one of
these was cut completely off, and the head
of the other man was nearly severed from
the body. When the body of the third VIC
tim was taken from the wreck his arms and
legs were separated from the trunk, SO
badly was the body crushed. Dillon, one
of the slightly injured, had his face and
head completely bathed in the blood of one
of the mangled victims.