Connecticut western news., 1888-01-18
IN NEW ENGLAND.
A Terrible Accident on tL @ Boston & Maine Road.

HAvERHnL, Mass., Jan. 11.-A frightful ac-
 cident befell the Portland express train, which left Boston at 1 o'clock vest rday afternoon. | The scene of the disaster was near the Haver-
 hill bridge, which spans the Merrimsc River
 between Bradford and Haverhill. The train
 consisted of eight cars, drawn by one engine. | This train does not stop at Bradford, and was | going at great speed, The Georgetown branch | train was standing on the track near the water | tank house at the Bradford end of the bridge ! waiting for the express to pass over to Haver-
 hill. As the express rounded the curve two | cars left the rails and went crashing into the
 the water-tank house, demolishng it. In this
 house a number of section hands were eating
 Bradford, was talking with the section hands | and was killed, together with Hr. Taylor, one | of the laborers. The car that crashed into the
 tank house knocked the foundation out, let
 ting the heavy tank down upon the car, crush | through the top of the car and doing fearful
 work within. The next car behind telescoped
 the one ahead of it, adding to the havoc. | The killed and wounded were mostly in those | two cars. The cars behind them ran down
 alongside the Georgetown train, barely escap- ing collision with the engine of that train. | The people in the smoker had fearful expert | ence. One of the wheels of the rward truck | broke, and the car bump d against the end
 of the bridge, causing it to careen. It ran up- ! on the bridge for some distance over the sleep | ers and then careened the other way, and | leaned against the ironwork of the side of the | bridge The passengers, of whom there were
 about thirty in the car found themselves at
 the top of the car, while it seemed to some of | them that the car was tumbling off the bridge | to the river below.
 The passengers managed to crawl out, none | of them being very seriously injured. As soon
 as they reached the ground, such as were able
 rushed back to help those who were imprison- ed in the wrecked cars. The entire force of physicians in the city, summoned by telephone,
 were quickly at hand, and the wounded were | r. H. ~f killed is as follows: Clarence Hazlewood, Bos- ton; John OBrien, Bradford;' c. P. Goodwin,
 wife and child, Kennebunk, Me-; William
 Taylor, section hand; A. l.. Walker, Harrison, ! Me-; Charles ThurlOw, Newton Junction, N. | H.; Joseph Shaw, Boston.
 Twenty-nine seriously injured people are at
 the nearest hospital, and large number of
 those but slightly wounded continued to their | destination.
 When the cars plunged into the tank the
 tank burxt, and the deluge of water prevented
 any possible fire in the wreck. The point at | which the accident happened was . fot yards | from the great suspension bridge oyer the
 Merrimac River. One of the derailsd Ges slid
 along on to the bridge itself, and nQAIly tipped | over on its sidc. If the derailmene had come | ten seconds later dreadful calamity must
 have followed. The bridge is a remarkably
 strong one, but it could hardly have borne the | strain of plunging cars without either giving
 way or allowing the train to jump to the river
 more than fifty feet below. The train is one
 of the fastest on the road It leaves Boston at
 1 o'clock, and runs to Portland, with few stops,
 an average speed ei forty 1aa miles .n s9.T
 tank, which fell almost in the centre of the | train. The poor passengers had scarcely time 1 to realize that any thing was wrong before the | roof came crashing in as beneath the ow of | an enormous trip hammer. Those who we @
 sitting under the place where the greatest | force of the blow came, were killed outright.
 Every one of the killed died instantly. Few of the prisoners in the main wreck could be got free without the aid of tools, and the | sufferings of some of them were pitifui. The | injuries of thirteen or fourteen of them were ! very serious, one mans enti' body was pinned
 down except the head, and his position was
 such that although the greatest possible care was used, the axes of his rescuers slipped once | or twice and added to his wounds. Another
 man was free all but his head, which was | pinned fast at dangerous point in the wreck. | He was almost freed when something gave
 away in the mass above him and his skull was | crushed inst the rescuers thought they | could drag him out.
 The remains of the father, mother and child
 who were killed together, were among the last | taken out.
 Miss A. P. Halsey of New York was in the | car that was crushed by the tank. She was sit- | ting on the right hand side near the centre, l and while those around her were crushed o death, she was not hurt, save slight scratch | on the left cheek. She says: "I knew when tho car left the track that | trouble was coming and it came before I could
 move People were standing up, getting ready to run for the doors, when that awful crash sounded, and the cars seemed to go all to pieces. 1 was thrown down but did not lose consciousness, 1 saw the car roof and sides
 crushed in like an egg shell, and the people
 were moved down like reeds. Their cries and
 moans were fearful to hear. saw lots of men jammed down around me, and some of them called piteously fer aid. saw that could do nothing to help them, so began to think | about getting out. was drenched to the skin | by the water that poured into the car. In fact,
 before I could get mp from the floor was nearly drowned. When first felt the water | thought we had fallen in o the river, and you
 that we were not there. After I regained my l feet looked about me for a chance to get out
 of the car. The window by my side had been
 broken out, frame and all and I tumbled l out.
 Representative Cummings of New York in | troduced in the House bill providing for the | licensing of railway conductors. The bill is | the one recommended by the National Associa-
 ton of Railway Conductors at tteir recent
 meeting. It prohibits the employment by
 railway companies of conductors, unless they
 shall first be examined and procure 8 license
 from the Examining Board created by the bill. | This board is to be under the control of the | Treasury Department, and is to consist of a | Chief Examiner and several assistant examin-
 CTS, each to be selected for his knowledge,
 skill and practical experience ill railway train
 service. The Chief Examiner is to have a
 salary of S, 800 and the assistants S2, 5OO The Board is to meet at Washington once a year,
 and, with the aid of the Secretary of the Treas
 ury, map out the work for the examiners. The Board will also have power to revoke the licen- | ses of conductors who violate the oath which kGox- foGa axxI,o ,-,v, klo,x,