The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-06-04
INTO AN OPEN SWITCH.
The Central Night Express Crashes
. - C...--....,

The Central Night Express Crashes
into a Lumber Train at Guyton.
The fast mail train on the Central rail-
| oad. due in Savannah at $50 o'clock yes
erday morning, collided with four freight
cars on the turnout at Guyton at 5:25
o'clock, damaging the engine, the express
car and two lumber cars. and injuring
Engineer Stoddard, Conductor Gates and
Fireman Gugel. The accident was caused
by the switch being left open.
Supervisor Davis was at work on the
switch, and had just ordered the cars put
IN the turnout. The apprentice who drilled
the cars in did not change the
switch back to the main line,
and when the fast mail struck
the switch it bounded into the turnout,scol-
liding with the cars, which were not more
than two carlengths distant The first two
cars we're heavily loaded with lumber. The
trucks under the first one Of the cars were
damned together, and the lumber was scat
tered IN every direction
Upon reaching GuytOn from the western
end OF the line a sharp curve Is made, and
the engine cannot be stopped in the short
distance before coming down to the switch.
Engineer Stoddard, who is one of the most
careful engineers the Central has, dis
covered that the switch was not
train to a stop by applying the
air brakes. Seeing that the locomotive was
not going to stop before striking the cars,
he reversed the lever, and when within five
or six feet of the cars, jumped, and told his
fireman to jump. The train was running
at the rate of eighteen or twenty miles an
hour, and when the engineer jumped he
fell headlong into pile of crossties bruis-
ing himself on the left side and cutting sew
eral gashes on his head. The shock was so
severe that he was unconscious for some
time.
The fireman did not have timeto jump, and
when the crash came he was knocked back
into the tender and rolled back down
against the boiler head. He received a
slight injury on the left shoulder.
Conductor Gates was standing on the
steps at the rear of the baggage car waiting
for the train TO pull up to- tine station and
stop when the crash came and he was
thrown against the railing and the side of
car with such force as to bruise him about
the breast and shoulders. None of the pas
sengers were out on the platform and none
of them were injured.
The train was made up of eight cars, four
of which were sleepers. There were only
few passengers aboard. The steps to the
express cars were smashed off, but no
further damage was done to the car. The
cuSil6 ipSb ttS ptAOS eiuA Olc hOeau AA5hO vas
knocked off. Not wheel got off of the
track, however, and the accident resulted
in comparatively slight damage.
Supervisor Davis put the hands to clear
ing the track, and two hours later, when
the 'shoohy" train came along the train
and its passengers were brought into the
city. Railroad men say that it is remark
able that no more damage resulted from
the collision than did. Engineer Stoddard
received probably the most painful wounds,
but he viii be out in day or two Neither
of the other Two men have taken their beds
from their wounds. Engineer Stoddard
was complimented by all the passengers
upon the manner in which he tried to pre-
vent the accident by remaining on his en-
CINE until the last moment.