, 1888-01-01
TELESCOPED.
Two Trains Running at High
Speed Collide.
Five Persons Killed and Several
Seriously Injured.
Other Railroad Accidents Cause
Loss Of Life.
A Terrible Wreck.

York, Pennsylvania & Ohio railway, five
miles west Of this city this morning, proves
the disaster to have been the most horri-
BILE that has occurred in this vicinity. The
colllding trains were the through New
York express from Chicago and a double
header %westbound freight train. Both
trains were over two hours late, and the
express being entitled to the right of way
was running without orders. Conductor
hurry of the freight train, taking it for
granted that the express was in, pulled
out for Geneva. The two trains, the ex-
press running forty-five and the freight
fifteen miles an hour, met on a long forest
hidden curve with
A TERRIBLE CRASH,
the engine of the express train and the
first engine of the freight being raised
bodily in the air and stood Oh their fur
mace ends, the pilots pointed upwards and
the driving wheels locked.
Both engineers and ffemen were pressed
between the iron ruins. The sight was
s~ickening, but was soon covered from
view by friendly blankets. The baggage
car, express car and the smoker of the
passenger train were completely wrecked,
the baggage ear being telescoped into the
smoker,
SPLITTING IT OPEN
and sweeping every seat from the floor.
The total number of passengers on the
train was fifty three, fifteen of whom
were in the smoker. All of these were
more orless injured, and William Stephen
son of Toledo died shortly after being
taken from the ruins. The crash was
heard for a great distance, and soon the
n%eighborhood was aroused and people
living in the vicinity came TO the scene.
The passengers who were not injured
seemed dazed, and for a few minutes
everybody stood s~peechless.
THE GRoANs AND CRIES
that came from the ruins soon brought
them to a realization ofthe situation and in
a short time a large force of men were at
work systematically dong all they could.
Two wrecking trains soon arrived followed
by a passenger train on which to transfer
passengers and bring the wounded and
dead to Meadville. The wrecking crews
worked with a will, and soon a portion of
the mangled remains of Fireman Hume
were taken from the wreck. The almost
u~nrecognizable form presented a sickening
sight, the limbs and lower part of the body
having been
GROUND To A PULP.
Hume's aged father had arrived and
his cries and moans when he gazed
upon the mangled body of his son were
heartrendeing.
The body of Engineer Swan was ex-
posed, but it was so tightly wedged in the
wreck that no attempt was then made to
move it. A portion Of the body of En-
giReer George and also an arm and shout
der of Fireman Irwin could be seen. The
work of clearing the wreck was prosecuted
in the face of a driving storm and sleet
that lasted the entire afternoon.
Those of the passengers who were not
injured were transferred and sent forward,
while the
DEAD AND WOUNDED
were brought to this city. The railroad
officials did everything in their power Tor
the comfort of the injured.
Following is a list of the casualties:
KMed-Engineer Swan of Meadville,
Engineer George OF .Mcadvillc, Fireman
Irwin of Meadville. Fireman Hume of
Cambridge, o, Wm. II. Stephenson of
Toledo.
Ipiured-H +. Helm of New York,
leg crushed; Adolph Wagner of Buffalo,
leg broken; Adolph Hosen of Patterson,
n. j., leg crushed; H. Melville of Mid
dleheld, o., one leg crushed and the
other broken; Miehael O'Brien of Buffalo,
leg broken; I. N. Newton of Shingle-
house, Pa leg crushed; David Beauland
OF Iitusyille, leg broken; Charles L.
French of Sterling, Mass, leg broken;
Forest Graham of Kent, O., hips
crushed; NJ, Twyman, brakeman, feet
crushed; Joseph Baconon, baggagcman,
leg cut and body and face badly injured;
Phillip Foulk of San Francisco, arm
injured: J. NJ. Woods of G~reenville. Pa,
badly bruised Il. A. Malone of Sala-
manca, leg. broken; Aiolph Buser of
Cincinnati, legs crushed; Fireman Charles
Crum, bruised about head and shoulders.