Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1888-10-13
TRAINMEN KILLED.
Collision in Cutting on a Down
Grade Near Dicl1crson.

Collision in n Cutting on a Down
Grade Near Diclkcrson.
The Cincinnati and st. Louis express,
which left the Baltimore and Ohio station in
Washington at o quarter to eleven o'clock
Sunday night, whirloi past Dickerson station
thirty seven miles distant, On the Metropo.-
itan branch of the Baltimore aud Ohio r il.
road, shortly before midnight at lightning
speed, ran sharply around cnrve about
mile west of the station, and with accelerated
speed down heavy grade and collided with
an east bound freight train from Martins
burg, w. Va, killing three trainmen ind
injuring seven others. BY almost miracle
the passengers all escaped uninjured.
The express left " ushington on time, but
owing to trouble with the engine q short dis
tance out OF tie city, lost some time, end
then ran ahead ut speed OF forty miles an
hour to catch up. a milo west OF Dicllerson
station the road makes sharp turn and
then goes down e heavy grade i'll deep cut,
the banks being twenty feet or more above
ths level OF the tracks. Around this curve
the train dashed just before midnight, and
began its descent, gathering momentum
each second.
The freight train, which had orders to
remain on switch at Tusclrora, one mile
beyond, until the express passed. had few
minutes before left the switch and was slowly
toiling up the grade.
Suddenly there was flash of headlights,
and the trainmen on the two engines were
appall, at the coming disaster, which they
Immediately saw could not he avoided. The
two engines were almost upon each other
and the engineers saw that nothing could be
done and that it was useless to apply the
brakes
slump, boys" shouted Engineer j. F.
WEIGH Of the freight train, as he sprang from
hi cab t. the side of the track, but his fire
II III, j. B .lVirts, had no time to get from
s pl c. at the furnace, and George Riden-
baugb, n brakeman, who was also On the
engInc, was so badly paralyzed with fear
TIT b Was unable to heed the engineers adj
monitiop. j. w. C. Hand, fireman of the
passenger train, jumped, but was caught in
the track.
In an instant the two engines came
together wi h such fearful velocity that they
stood locked together on the track and
fusion pyramid twenty feet hi h. consist
ing of three wrecked freight cars, two ex-
press cars, the mail car ard 4 baggage car.
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 all escaped
uninj ired. The passengers Immediately set
to work to extrcate the trainmen from the
debris and wrecliing train arriving few
hours later assisted in the work.
The bodies of the killed were taken to
Washington city, and those of Wiley and
Ridenbaugh we're subsequently shipped to
their late homes The injured men were
conveyed to their homes in Baltimore, With
the exception of A. C. Crook, who lives in
Washington. 1t is not thought that any of
them are seriously injured except VirtS. who
was much bruised and shaken up, and En-.
gineer Jeffries, who was severely scalded
about the head and neck and may die.
Jelfries was found in his cab underneath the
wreck, and strange to say would have been
totally uninjured but for the escaping steam.
The accident was due to mistake on the
part of the freight traiumen. They say that
they had orders to lay of on the switch at
Tuscarora and wait for two sections of the
Pittsburg express and the express train
which caused the collision to pass They
had been on duty continuously for thirty-slx
hours, they say, and after seeing the first
section of the 2ttsburg express pass had
gone to sleep at their rosts to secure little
rest They awoke as the second section
Numbered BY, and, rs it was running on tho
schedule time of the Cincinnati and st.
Louis express, they thought it was the train
which hal just passed, and therefore pulled
CIT of the siding and came down the single