Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1888-07-13
TRAIN THROUGH A TRESTLE
EIGHT PASSENGERS KILLED
AND FOURTEEN WOUNDED.

1 AND FOURTEEN WOUNDED.
! TWO GENTLEMEN FROM sTAUNTON
AMONG THE PAssENGERs-THEIR AC
COUNT OF THE wRECK-AN ENGINE
FALLS FORTY FEET ON THE RAIL II
WAS RUNNING ON.
&C., &C., &C.
A fatal accident took place yesterday
| morning. at 2:3O O'Clock, on the Virginia
Midland Ry., two miles South of Orange
G. H, the cause being the giving way OF
a repaired trestle, while the train was
feeling it's way over it at about six miles
an hour. A telegram from the Charlottes.
vile ''Jeffe1sonian" Office to the VINDIcA.
TOR. gave our people the first reliable &C.
count of the deaths, and later, on the ar.
rival of the g. q o. train, we obtained
further particulars from two gentlemen
of Staunton who were on the train.
Mr.. VIM. J. Perry, who was on the train
arrived here yesterday evening. He left
Washington on train composed of three
sleepers, a day coach, a combination-smo-
ker and express car and mail car.
About 2:30 A. M. yesterday the train
passed Orange G. H.. and was running
only eight miles an hour OF straight piece
of road. 1t was approaching piece of
trestle work fifty feet high which was be-
ing repaired, and had slowed up to cross it,.
The train ran on to the trestle slowly,
and when the engine was in fifty feet
of the other side the trestle gave way.
Everything was precipitaJed to the bottom
except the sleepers. The day car turned
over in going down, struck on its top and
lay there. Of the sleepers, the first one
fell endwise and crushed in the end of
the day car. The other two remained on
the trestle, being stopped by the upper
end of the fallen sleeper
The jar threw Mr.. Perry out of his
berth. In the opposite berth was Maj. II.
M. Bell of Staunton. Several passengers
got out of their berths, as did Maj. Bell,
but the porter Of the car assured them
there was nothing the matter except that
some cars had left the track and they got
in their berths again. Maj. Bell, however
insisted that he heard cries for help in
front, and all got up and went out to see
There they found the extent of the dis
aster.
There was not one of the crew of the
train that escaped injury. except The
crew of the Pullman cars. All was
dark in the gorge into which the cars had
fallen, for every light in the wrecked cars
was providentially extinguished by the
fall. By the light of the Pullman car Ian
terms everybody went to work helping out
the wounded. The engineer had gone
down with his engine and had his head
badly cut. In that condition he start
ed and walked back to Orange with the
Pullman conductor, and carried the news
to get help.
THE KILLED.
One man was taken out of the day car
and died in short time. Papers on his
person showed that he was Scotchman
named Hunt. A second man was taken
out from same car and died soon after.
He proved to be "a North Carolinian named
Whiting. The limbs of two other dead
men were sticking out from under the day
car but they had not been gotten out when
Mr.. Perry left. An old lady, with some
chickens had come into the, day car, and
that being against the rule. the conductor
sent her into the ombination-smoker. She
was killed and her body was in the wreck.
Another old lady who was in the day car
was mortally injured. Two men wer Q
taken from the wreck, dead.
THE WOUNDED.
In the Pullman car which fell end
wounded when rescued by the passen-
gers of the other sleepers, but none dan
gerouslY.
In the combination car the express safe
had burst through the partition and
pinned down North Carollnian, but he
was not fatally injured.
The conductor of the Pullman walked
two miles back to Orange and relief
train with doctors was sent to the spot.
Later trains came up and carried the pas,
sengers and wounded in the directions
they chose to be sent.
The trestle had, it was said, long been
regarded by the neighborhood as unsafe.
MAJOR BELL.
Mai. H. M. Bell, who was also on the ILL
fated train, arrived in Staunton yesterday
afternoon and was seen by our reporter.
He was on his return from Philadelphia;
at Washington took the White Sulphur
Sleeper at II P. M. 1t was the rear car of the
train. In front of it was the Atlanta Sleep
or, and next to that the New Orleans Sleep
er, which last was tilted down. The train
was only running six miles an hour at the
time of the accident. The passengers who
started from their berths at the jar were
treasured by the porter and returned to
their berths and remained some fifteen
minutes. But Maj. Bell heard the cries of
the wounded and they all went out.
On getting out he found his sleeper to
be on trestle work. The cries of the
wounded were heard in front, and all re-
paired to the scene. The gorge was about
40 feet deep. 1t was crossed by trestle
about 500 feet in length. The South end
for $50 feet, which was being repaired,
was standing, the North end of $50 feet
was standing with the two sleepers on it.
The centre, of two hundred feet, had
dropped square out. So squarely did it
drop that the engine and tender which
went down forty feet, were found standing
upright on the rails that were under them
when the break came. The cars were
lying at angles like jack.straws, the day
car on its back and the New Orleans
sleeper resting at slant with one end
on the day car and the other up on the
fractlo