The Russellville Democrat. [volume] (Russellville, Ark.) 1875-1898, 1889-06-13

| that the passengers who remained in the
| cars through the food and until the fire,
| were saved, while their companions who
| attempted to flee were overwhelmed and
| drowned, and that through it all one To-
| comotive stood, aud still stands, COM
| paratively uninjured in the center of the
| wreckage.
| This disaster and the story Of one Of
| the most marvellous freaks of the food
| is barely outlined. That locomotive
| stands there on its track now with its
| fires burning, smoke curling from the
stack and steam from its safety valve, all
| ready to go ahead as soon as q track is
built down to it. 1t is No. 1909, fifty
| four-ton eight-driver class OF Pennsyl-
| yania railroad locomotive. George Hud-
son was its engineer, and Conductor
| Sheehy had charge OF the train. They,
with all the rest OF the crew, escaped by
flight when they saw the food coming.
The limits OF the playground where a
giant force played with masses Of iron as
o child might play with pebbles begins
with bridge or piece of a bridge about
| thirty feet high that stands high and dry
upon ordinary abutments at Woodvale.
The part of the bridge that remains
spanned the Pennsylvania tracks. The
| tracks are gone, the bridge is gone on
either side, the river~is gone to new
| channel, the very earth for hundred
yards around has been scraped off and
swept away, but this little span remains
perched there twenty feet above every
| tlfing, in the midst of desert ef ruins,
| the only piece of bridge that is standing
from the railroad bridge to South Fork.
| 1t is light, iron structure, and the abut-
ments are not unusually heavy. That it
should be kept there when every thing
else was twisted and tom 10 pieces is one
| of the queer freaks OF this food.
Near by are the wrecks OF two freight
trains that are standing side by side
where the flood caught them. The lower
ends OF both trains are torn to pieces, the
cars tossed around in every direction,
and many OF them carried away. The
whole of the train on the track nearest
the river was demolished. Its locomotive
is gone entirely. Perhaps because the
other train acted as escort or buffer for
the second one, the latter has twenty FIVE
or thirty ears that are uniujured. APP
parently, they could move off as soon as
that wonderful engine, No. l,309, that
stands with steam up at their head, gets
ready to pull out A second look, how
ever, shows that the track is in many
places literally washed from beneath the
cars. Some of the trucks also are turned
half way round, aud are standing with
wheels across the track. But the force
that did this left the light wooden box
cars themselves unharmed They we're
loaded with dressed beef and provisions.
They have been emptied to supply the
hungry in Johnstown.
In front of engine No. 1909 the water
played some of its most fantastic tricks
with the rails. The debris of trees, logs,
planks and every description OF wreck
age is heaped up in front Of the engine
to the headlight and is packed in so
tightly that twenty men with ropes and
axes worked all day without clearing ali
away. The track is absolutely gone from
the front of the engine clear up TO beyond
Conemaugh. Parts OF it lie about every.
where. twisted, turned upside down.
stacked cross-wise, one piece above an.
other and in one place a section Of tho
left track has been lifted clear over the
right track, runs along there for short
distance, then twists into its proper
place again. Even stronger than the
tracks, the water has played with tse
rails, where they have been torn loose
from the ties. The rails are Of steel and
of the heaviest weight used. They were
twisted like willow boughs in spring
freshet in a country brook. One rail lies
In the sand ia the shape of letter IS"
More are broken squarely in two. Many
are broken within a few feet of hsh-
plate coupling them to the next rail and
the fragments are still united by the
plates. Natural law would seem 10 show
that the FIRST place where they should
have broken was at the joints.
There is little to indicate the late pres
euee Of a railroad from here to the upper
pert Of the Conemaugh. The little plain
into which the gap wdaned here, aud in
which stood the bulk Of the town, Is
wiped out. There is not the slightest in
dication that the center OF the plain was
any thing but food washed guleh in
some mountain region
AT the upper end stands afantastie coll
loction Of ruined railroad equipments
Three Fyasns stood ibsrs when lhs aeod
swept aQTn tas YrlleH Ths eaEsiae ess