The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1888-10-16
PILED ON THE TRACK.
A Bad Accident ON the Baltimore and Oh
Railroad,


WASHINGTON, October THE Cincinnati
and st. Louis express, which left the Balti-
moro and Ohio station, in this city, at lO;3o
o'clock last night, whirled past Dickerson sta
ton, 81 miles from here, on the metropolitan
branch of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad,
shortly before midnight, at lightning speed,
| ran sharply around curve about mile west
Of the station, and with accelerated speed ran
down a heavy grade and cOliided, with hardly
q moments warning and with fearful force,
with an east bound freight train from Martins
burg West Virginia, killing three trainmen
and injuring six others. by almost miracle
the passengers escaped injury.
The express left Washington on time, but
lost time owing to trouble with the engine
short distance out of the city and then ran
ahead OF the speed of forty miles an hour to
catch up. A mile west of Dickerson station
the road makes sharp turn and then goes
down heavy grade in deep cut, the banks
being twenty feet or moro above the level of
the track. Around this curve, tho train DASH
ed just before midnight and began its descent,
gathering momentum each second.
The freight train, which had orders to re-
main on the switch at Tuscarora, one mile
beyond until the express passed. had few
minutes before left the switch and was slowly
toling up the grade. Suddenly there was the
flash OF a headlight and the trainmen on two
engines were appalled, at the coming disaster,
which they Immediately saw could not be
averted.
The two engines were almost upon each
other and the engineers saw that nothing could
be done, and that it was useless to apply the
brakes.
Jump, BOYS" shouted Engineer J. Z.
WEIGH, of the freight train, as he sprang from
his cab to the side OF the tracks; but his fire.
man, J. y. Yirtz, had no time to get out oil
his place at the furnace, and George Riden-
baugh, brakeman, who was also on the engine,
was so paralyzed with fear that he was unable
to heed the engineers admonition. j. w.
Hand fireman of the passenger train, jumped
and escaped uninjured. IN an instant the two
engines ran together with such fearful VIC
lence that they stood locked together on tho
track and formed the base upon which was
piled in confusion pyramid twenty feet high,
consisting OF three wrecked freight cars, two
express cars, a mail Car and baggage car.
These cars acted as buffer for the passenger
coaches attached to the western bound express,
and though the passengers were violently
thrown forward, they were not injured.
The passengers Immediately set to work to
eXtricate the trainmen from the debris, and
wTecking train arriving few hours later as
sisted in the work. AtJ5 o'clock this evening
the track was not free from debris, although
all the men had been gotten out.
The killed are:
WILLIAM II. WILEY, postal clerk, of Fair
JOHN CASEY, postal clerk, OF Washington.
GEORGE RIDENBAUGH, brakesInan, of Berlin.
Tho injured are:
Engineer Joseph JeAries, of the express
]. B. Nirtz, fireman of the freight.
Thomas Landon. conductor OF the express.
A. e. Crook, postal clerk.
l.. w. Gordon, express messenger.
III. NJ. jackson, postal clerk.
The bodies of the killed were brought to
this city, and those OF Wiley and Ridenbaugh
were subsequently shipped to their late homes
The injured were conveyed to their homes, in
Baltimore, with the exception of A. G. Crook,
who lives in Washington. 1t is not thought
any are badly injured, except Yirtz, who
was bruised and shaken up, and Engineer
Jeffrees, who was severely scalded about the
head and neck, and may die. Jeffrees was
found in his cab, underneath the wreck, and,
strange to say, would have escaped injury, but
for the escaping steam.
The accident was due to mistake on the
part of the freight trainmen. They say they
had orders to lay off on the switch
at Tuscarora and wait for rwo
sections of the Pittsburg express train,
which caused the collision, to pass. They had
been ON duty for tllirty-six hours, they say,
aud after seeing the first section of the Pitts
burg express pass had gone to sleep at their
posts to secure a little rest. They awoke as
the second section Numbered by, and as it was
running on tho schedule time OF the Cincn-
natl ard st. Louis express, they thought it
was that train which had just passed, and
therefore pulled out of the siding and came
down the single track
Senator Voorhees, and Postmaster Dalton, of
the house OF representatives, were on the train
on their way 10 Indiana.