The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-10-16
A TERRIBLE COLLISION.
Frightful Accident on the New
York Central Railroad.
One Section Of an Express Train
Plunges Into the Other.

York Central road at 40 o'clock, few
nights ago. two miles east Of Palatine
Bridge N. Y. The first section Of
the st. Louis express, which left New
York at o'clock P. NJ. had broken
down, an accident having happened to
the steam chest, when the second section,
which was composed Of eight vestibule sleep
ing coaches drawn by sixty-ton engine No.
GS3, in charge of William Horth, and run
ming at the rate Of thirty miles an hour,
dashed into it.
The first section was made up of Engine
IA Engineer Weeks and Conductor Abel,
baggage, mail, and express car, three pas
senger coaches, which were packed with
people, one Wagner sleeper, and two private
coaches.
The rear private coach, the Kankakee
telescoped the Wagner car Of the first section,
which was just ahead of it, to half its dis
tance. The only damage caused to the
ordinary passenger cars which were be-
tween the sleepers and the locomotive, was
in the smashing Of windows and lamps
After the crash the second section with
drew from the first section, but left hole iE
the rear portion of the Kankakee big enough
to place boiler in. The first third, anu
fourth tracks were Uttered with wreckage
Conductor Abel said his rear brakeman
was sent back, but Conductor Horth, who
was very badly hurt, said that he did not see
him, and the first he saw were the lights on
the train.
When the crash came the New York 1in,es's
correspondent was asleep in the coach next
ahead Of the sleeper Of the first section.
Every seat in the car was taken. One-half of
the passengers were women. They made
wild break for the door, but were deferred
from jumping out in the darkness by the
cooler-headed passengers.
The wreck could not have occurred in
more unfavorable place. On the left, in the
pitchy darkness, and fifty feet below, was
the roaring Mohawk.
Not light could be seen except those In
tho coaches. The lights in the sleepers had
all been extinguished. One-half Of the pas
seneers were awakened from sound sleep to
find themselves wrapped in gloom. For a
while the people were too dazed to do any
thing. The train men were mute and re-
served as usual under such circumstances.
The first thing that the correspondent
did was to walk back to see If the rear ilgnts
Of the first section were all right and the rear
brakeman was in his place. Ten teet OF
the towering engine, which was Kissing in the
darkness fifty feet distant. Ty's Of the pas
sengers had got light, and were searching
about in the rain for the cause OF the disas-
ter.
The engine, No. 6s3, of the second section,
one of the latest and heaviest engines on the
road was wrecked beyond redemption. The
roof of the express car immedl-
ately behind it had sprung through the
cab and thrown the engineer to the
ground. The fireman, Henry Anderson, had
Jumped and escaped uninjured. Beyond this
the second section was not damaged at all,
the heavy vestibule sleepers protecting it
from telescoping.
It was the three rear heavy Wagner sleep
ing and private coaches Of the first section
that had sustained the shock and saved those
three passenger coaches filed with men,
women and children from destruction.
There was not surgeon or doctor on the
train, and it was with the greatest difficulty
that stimulants were procured for the
wounded. 1t was not till large bonfire was
built on the north side of the track that a real
izing sense of the disaster was obtained. Al
ready six wounded passengers, including one
lady, had been taken from the Wagner sleep
ing car wss n;t;sbls sirbt to see the passengers
dazed, with fear stamped in their faces, crop
ing their way from the sleeping car. Gentle
hands were ready TO lead them Alright, and
after the first terror of the shock had passed
away the women in the coaches fell to and
worked as only women in an emergency can.
1t was lust q miracle that the disaster was
not rendered tenfold more terrible. Within
five minutes after the crash the meat express
came tearing along on the fourth track at
the rate Of thirty miles an hour. 1t was
stopped Just in time, else it would have
dashed into the debris of the wreck.
Axes and saws were procured and willing
hands set 60 work to cut away the sides OF
the cars that were telescoped. Among the first
bodies recovered from the ruins, which
caught fire and burned rapidly, were those OF
three men and one woman.
Later Details.
That the collision was not attended by a
much greater loss of life is surprising to any
one visiting the scene of the accident. That
| it was not more disastrous is due altogether
to the massive and solidly built car OF freslI
dent Ledyard, of the Michigan Central
| Road. which was at the rear end OF the
6rst section and received the full force OF
| the shock. ,...,-
The second section escaped with very little
;niurv Not one of the vestibule sleepers was
DAMAGED a dollars worth, and not a passen-
ger in them was injured. But the engine
was smashed beyond repair. Inc smoke
stack lay by the track. the headilght was
torn apart, the pilot was knocked into kind
liue. wood, the framework around the boiler
was ripped open, the cab was demolished,
and the driving rods were broken. The ten
der had gone clean througha Boston and Al
bany baggage car whose rcof and sides were
broken. The baggagemaster, Egbert Will
cox. Of Syracuse, had miraculous escape
:sI was sound asleep when the colllslon oc,
curred,n he said, "and when awoke found
myself sitting Oh top of the tender WIN my my
head touching the roof OF my own car ine
| r 1~,,o how I O0t thnrn
Wilcox was cut about the body, and the
ton of his head was gashed open. he hnally
crawled down and out through the door. He
then saw the fireman, John Slater, on the
roof of the baggage car over the tender, and
helped him down Slater was unable to tell
how it was he got up there, but 1t seems 10
prove that he remained at his post. hc nln-
self saws he was firing, when he heard an e4-
clamation from his engineer, who at the mo,
ment shut OF steam, reversed his engine, and
onnlied the air brakes. The next thing Slater
knew he was being helped To the ground by
Wilcox.
Horth, the engineer, was found alongside
of the track. Both Of his legs were broken
Slater thinks Horth jumped from the cab,
but tho engineer adhered to the statement
that he was forced through the cab windo"
by the conclusion. He was taken to his nome
in Albany, in the first Atlantic express, whicf
came along WITHIN nail an nour alOe' lno u''
aster occurred
Cnc of the ladies in the car had been ten
der ed lower berth by the Rev. Mr. DeVeuve
of Dayton Ohio, in exchange for an upper
one which she dislilSed, but rather than pu
the gentleman to any inconvenience she de
cIined his offer. Mr.. De Veuve was klllet
instantly and she escaped with nothing NOR
than the shock.
The list of casualties by the accident fig
ures up four dead and eleven severely In
iured.