Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1889-10-11
A TERRIBLE COLLISION.
Frightfu1 Accident on the New
York Central Railroad.
One Section of an Express Train
Plunges Into the Other.

A terrible accident occurred on the New
York Central road at II 40 o'clock, q few
nights ago, two miles east Of Palatine
Bridge, n. Y. Tie first section of
the st. Louis express, which left New
York at o'clock P. M, 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.
| $50, 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 W eeks and Conductor Abel, a
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 ii, to half it's dis
lance. 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 in
the rear portion of the Kankakee big enough
to place boiler in. The first, third, and
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 7 ork Times 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 a
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 a
nnfaV0ra hiA ni3Cn On the left the
pitchy darkness, and fifty feet below, was
the roaring Mohawk.
Not light could be seen except those in
the coaches The lights in the sleepers had
all been extinguished. One-half Of the pas
sengers were awakened from a 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 andre
served as usual under such circumstances.
The first thing that the correspondent
did was to walk back to see if the rear lights
of the first section were all right and the rear
brakeman was in his place. Ten feet Of
the rear car had been cut away by
the towering engine, which was Kissing in the
darkness fifty feet distant. Two of the pas
sengers had got light, and were searching
about in the rain for the cause of the disas-
ter
The engine, No. 683, of the second section,
one Of the latest and heaviest engines on the
road was wrecked beyond redemption. The
iOoL Oh tne express car lnrneQ1-
ately behind it had sprung through the
cab and thrown the engineer to the
ground. The fireman. Henry Anderson had
jumped and escaped uninj ured. Beyond this
the second section was not damaged at all
the heavy vestibule sleepers protecting it
from telescoping.
1t 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 a doctor on the
train, and it was with the greatest difficulty
that stlmu1ants were procured for the
wounded. It was not till large bonfire was
built on the north side of the track that real
izing sense of the disaster was obtained. AL
ready six wounded passengers including one
lady, had been taken from the w agner Sleep
ing car
1t was a pitiable sight 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 just a 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. It 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 to 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.