The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-10-08
KILLED IN A COLLISION.
Freight and Passenger Train Collide, In
stently Killing Three Trainmen.

WASHINGTON. D C., Oct THE Cincinnati
and St Louis express. which left the Baltimore
& Ohio station. in this city. at lO45 o'clock last
night, coilided with an east-bouud freight train
from Martinsburg, ". Va. near Dickerson,
killing three trainmen and iniuring six others.
By almost q miracle. the passengers all escaped
unirjured. mile west of Dickerson Station
the read makes q sharp turn and then goes
down a heavy grade in deep cut, the banks be-
ing twenty feet or more above the level Of the
tracks. Around this curve the train dashed, just
before midnight, and began its descent gather
ing momsntum each second. The freight train.
which had orders TO remain On Q switch
~ Tuscarora. one mile. beyond, until tho
sxpress passed. had . few minutes be-
fore left the switch and was slowly toiline mp
grade. Suddenly there was fash Of head
light, and the train men on the two engines were
appalled, at the coming disaster, which they i'm
mediateiy saw could not be avoided The two
engines were almost upon each other, and the
engineers saw that nothing could be done and
that is was useless to apply the brakes. "Jump,
ooysP shouted engineer j. 4. Wslch, or the
freight train, as he sprang from his cab to the
side Of the track; but his fireman. j. b. Virts,
had no time 10 get from bis place at the furnace,
and Geo. Reiderbaugh, brakeman, who was also
on the engine, WAS paraivzed with fear that
he was unable to heed the engineers warning.
}. w. Hand, fireman Of the passenger train,
jumped and escaped uninj jured In an instant
the two en- gines came together with such force
that they stood locked together on the track aud
formed base upon which was piled in
confusion a pyramid twenty feet high, consist
Ing Of three wrecked freight cars. two express
cars, the rnail-car aud baggaes-car. These
cars acted as q buffer for the passenger coaches
attached to the westsrn-bound express, and
though the passengers were violently thrown
forward, they all escaped uninjured. The pas
sengers Immediately set to work to extricate
the ;rainmen from the debris. and . wrecking
train, arriving few hours later. assisted in the
work. Al 5 o'clock this afternoon the track was
not yet free from de oris, although all the men
had beer gotten out The killed are:
WILLIAM II. WILEY. postal clerk, of Fair
mount, W. Va
JOHN CASEY. postal clerk of Washington.
GEORGE RIDENBAUGH, brakeman. of Berlin.
Nd.
The injured are: Engineer Joseph Jefferys,
of the express train; j. b. Virts, fireman Of the
freight: Thomas Laudou, conductor OF the OK
press train; a G. Crook, postal clerk: L.. w.
Gordon, express messenger, and d. NJ jackson,
postal cierk. The bodies or the killed were
brought TO this city. and those OF Wiley and
Ridepbaugh were subsequently shipped TO their
late homes The injured men were conveyed to
their homes IL Baltimore, with the exception
not thought that any of them are badly injured
except Virts, who was much bruised, and enei-
neer Jeherys. who was severely scalced about the
head and neck, and may die Jefferys was found
IN his cab underneath the wreck, and, strange
10 say. would have escaped totally uninjured
but for the escaping steam.
The accident was due &c a mistake on the part
OF the freight train men. They say they had
orders to lay on the switch at Tnscarora and
wait for two sections of the Pittsburg express,
and the express train which caused the collision
10 pass. They had been on duty continuously
for thirty six hours, they say. and after seeing
the first section OF the Pittsburg express pass
had gone to sleep at their posts to secure q lit
tie sleep. They awoke as the second section
thundered by, and as it was running on the
schedule time Of the Cincinnati aod St Louis
express, they thought il was the 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
n their way to Indiana