The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-10-30
DEATH IN A LOCKED CAR.
Terrible Accident on an In
clined Railway.
Six Lives Lost BY the Breaking
Of a Cable.

The worst accident ever known ON the in
cIned plane railways of Cincinnati, Ohio,
has happened on the Mount Auburn inclined
plane, at the head of Main street, and which
reaches to height # between 250 and 300
feet in q space Of perhaps 1000 feet or less
The accident resulted in the death of six per-
sons and the injury of two others.
Two cars are employed, one on each track.
They are drawn by two steel wire cables that
are wound upon drum at the top Of q hill
by an engine located there Nine passengers
had entered the car at che foot of the plane
and a number were on the other car at the
top. The passage of the ascending car
was all right until it had reached
the top, when to his horror the engineer
found that the machinery would not respond
and that he could not stop the engine. Only
one result was possible. The car was ar
rested by the strong bumper that stops its
progress, and as the engine continued all its
they snapped like wrapping thread under it's
enormous power. Then the car with itG
nine inmates locked within began the de-
scent Of the slope. The crash at the
foot of the plane was terrific. A cloud Of
dust arose that hid the wreck from view for
moment but when it was dispelled the scene
was pitiful. The iron gate that formed the
lower end of the truck on which the car
rested was thrown sixty feet down the street.
The top of the car was lying almost as far in
the gutter. The truck itself and the floor
and seats Of the car formed a shapeless
wreck, mingled with the bleeding and
mangled bodies Of the nine passengers.
Two were taken out dead, one a middle
aged woman with gray hair, was recognized
as Mrs. Ives; the other, a young girl Of twenty,
was Miss Lillian Oskamp. Another, N. Kneiss,
q teacher, died soon afterward. Five others
were injured, three fatally, and one man
escaped miraculously with slight injury.
One of the injured was Judge W. NJ. Dick
son. He was too old to survive the shock,
and died in few minutes. he was we'll
known attorney, retired for a number Of
years.
As soon as it could be done the dead were
taken to the morgue to await full identifca-
tion, while the wounded were carried to the
nearest places where examinations could be
made.
This inclined plane is the oldest in the city.
1t was. built twenty-one years ago. This is
the first accident attended with.loss of life at
any of the four inclined planes that are in
almost constant use. There have been two
similar cases in the history Of the inclined
planes but in both the others the engine was
got under control before the cables were
broken.
Perhaps the most trying condition of any,
except the nine on the descending car, was
that of the passengers on the other car at the
foot Of the plane. They were locked in, as is
always the case, and were compelled to await
the coming Of the other car and its inevitable
crash beside them at the foot of the track.
Charles Goebel, who was the man at the
lever who found himself unable to stop the
engine, says that he complained that the ''cut
Off" was not working properly. 81 told the
engineer about it this morning." he said;
land the engineer told me he had repai1ed
it. But it was evidently still out of order,
and this must have been the cause Of the ac-
cident."