The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-10-08
A CRASH AFTER A SN00ZE
SLEEPY TRAIN MEN CAUSE A TER
RIBLE COLLISION.

Three of the Railroaders Killed Out
right, One May Die and Five Others
Suffering from Injuries - Not a
Passenger Harmed - The Express
Running at the Rate of Forty Miles
an Hour
WASHINGTON, Oct. THE Cincinnati
and st. Louis express train which left the
Baltimore and Ohio station in this city at
1O:45 o'clock last night, whirled past Dick
erson station thirty-seven miles from here
on the Metropolitan branch of tae Balti-
more and Ohio railroad, shortly before
midnight at lightning speed, ran sharply
around a curve about mile west of the sta
tion, and with accelerated speed ran down
heavy grade and collided, with hardly a
moments warning, and with fearful force,
with an east bound freight train from Mar
tinsburg, w. Va, killing three train men
and lnjuring six others. By almost mir
acle 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 at speed of forty miles an hour
to catch up.
SCENE OF THE COLLISION.
A mile west of Dickerson's station the
road makes a sharp turn, and then goes
down heavy grade, in deep cut, the
banks being twenty feet or more above the
level of the track. Around this curve the
train dashed just before midnight,
tum each second. The freight train
which had orders to remain on a switch at
Tuscarora, ,one mile beyond, until the express
passed, had q few minutes before left the
switch and was slowly toiling up the grade.
Suddenly there was the flash Of a headlight,
and the train men on the 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 it was useless to apply the brakes
LEAP OF THE ENGINEER.
"Jump. boys" shouted Engineer J. E.
Welch, of the freight train, as he sprang
from his cab TO the side of the track; but
his fireman, J. B. Virtz, lad no time to get
out of his place at the furnace, and George
Ridenbaugh. a brakem who was also on the
engine, was so paralyzed with fear that he
was unable to heed the engineers admoni-
tion.
j. W. Hand, the fireman Of the passenger
train, jumped, and escaped uninjured. In
an instant the two engines came together
with such fearful violence that they stood
locked together on the track, and formed
base upon which was piled in confusion q
pyramid twenty feet high, consisting of
three wrecked freight cars, two express
cars, mail car and baggage car.
SAVED THE PASSENGERS.
These cars acted as buffer for the pas
senger 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 train men from
the debris, aud wrecking train which ar
rived few hours later assisted in the work
Ats o'clock this afternoon the track was not
free from debris, although all the men had
been gotten out.
THE DEAD.
The killed are:
WILLIAM H. WILEY, postal clerk, of
Fairmount, W. Va.
JOHN CASEY, postal clerk, of Washing
ton.
GEORGE RIDENBAUGH, brakeman, of
Berlin, Nd.
THE INJURED.
The injured are:
Engineer JOSEPH JEFFRIES, of the ex-
press.
J. B. V1RTz, fireman of the freight.
THOMAS LANDoN, conductor of the ex-
press.
A. G. CROOK, postal clerk.
l.. w. GORDON an express messenger.
H. M. JACKSON, postal clerk.
The bodies of the killed were brought to
this city, and those of Wiley and Riden-
baugh were subsequently shipped to their
late homes.
The injured were conveyed to their
homes in Baltimore, with the exception of
A. c. Crook, who lives in Washington.
ONE MORE MAY DIE
It is not thought that any are badly in
jured except Fireman Virtz. who was much
bruised and shaken up, and Engineer
JefPries, who was severely scalded about the
head and neck and may die.
Engineer Jeffries was found in his cab
underneath the wreck, and, strange to say,
would have escaped totally uninjured but
for the escaping steam.
CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT.
The accident was due to a mistake on the
part of the freight train men. They say
they had orders to lay off on the switch at
Tuscarora and wait for two sections of the
Pittsburg express aud the express train
which caused the collision, to pas
They had been on duty continuously
for thirty-six hours, they say, and after
seeing the first section of the Pittsburg ex-
press pass had gone to sleep at their posts
to secure little rest. They awoke as the
second section thundered by, and as it was
running on the schedule time of the Gin
cinnati and 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 to Indiana.