Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1890-11-08
FATAL MISTAKE.

A Youthful Operator Causes Another Fear
ful Railroad Disaster Engineers and Fire
mon Crushed to Death.
SYRACUSE, N. Y. Nov A-The ex-
press train that loft New York on the
Delaware. Lackawanna & Western road
ut 0 o'clock yesterday morning and was
due here ut 5:55 last evening, while de-
scending the steep grade near Rock cut,
three miles from this city crashed into
coal train standing on switch and
waiting for the track to be cleared for
Its passage northward.
Both locomotives were completely
wrecked and the baggage and mail cars
were crushed to pieces OF the other
cars on the passenger train, four in
number, three were thrown from the
track the force OF the collision hurting
them into a position at right angles
with the rails The single Pullman car,
which was next to the mail car, kept
its place.
Michael Burke OF this city, engineer
on the passenger train, and j. W. Doyle,
Of Great Bond, Pa, engineer on the
coal train, were killed outright, with
their firemen-Jerry Lee OF this city
and Merton Fernan OF Great Bond. The
four men were buried under the wreck.
Doyle was dug out by the train hands
with the assistance OF some Of the pas
sengers The other three are still in
the wreck.
As by q miracle none OF the passen-
gers were killed and only one OF them,
Mrs Thomas Corcoran, Of No 81 Myrtle
avenue, Buffalo. was seriously injured.
Mrs Corcoran was on her way home
from Portland. She had two ribs
broken and her right wrist was dislo-
Gated. She also sustained severe in
iuries to her spine, and her left shoulder
was badly bruised. She is now at St.
Joseph's Hospital in this city and her
chances OF recovery are very doubtful
The New York and Philadelphia ex-
press train from New York City, which
ia due in Syracuse at 5:55 p. m. passes
Rock cut ut $40 o'clock. 1t does not
stop there, but passes the station at the
usual rate OF speed, which Is about
forty miles an hour. Before tho express
was due at Rock cut two coal trains
from Syracuse had arrived at the station
and had been run in on switch on the
north side OF the main track. The en-
CINE on the first train that went in on
the switch stood pretty we'll up toward
the east end OF the side track Engineer
James Doyle. OF Scranton, Pa, OF the
coal train, was in the cab OF his engine
waiting for the express to pass when
he would pull out Michael Tierney,
a brakeman, was also in the cab
cleaning his lantern. The second coal
train was behind Doyle's ard about
seventy feet from the caboose of the for
ward train. M. A. Clark, the boy op.
orator at the station, was in his room
few rods east of the switch and was on
the lookout for the express. The lat
ter was on time and Us the headlight OF
its engine came into view it flashed
through Clark's mind that the switch
was open and that IL 1t was not closed
the express would dash into the coal
train. No sooner did the thought
enter his brain than he dashed
out OF the door, rushed to the switch
and swung it over Then he re-
allied but too late his mistake. As the
switch was turned the express swung on
to the side track and the crash OF the
engines spoke the result. Tho noise OF
the collision was lost in the cries OF the
passengers within the coaches OF the
axnresa train. The fireman and en-
gineer OF each engine wore caught in
the wreck and ground to death.
The baggage and express car of the
passenger train turned over into the
ditch on tho north side OF the track. In
the car were w. II. Toppenall, Of os-
wego, George Derby, of Cortland, and
Josiah Kimball, OF Oswego. All were
more or less injured, though none ia
tally.