The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1890-08-23
A Train on the Old Colony Railroad
Plunges Down An En-
bankment.
A Car Falls Upon the Engine and is
Instantly Filled With Scald-
ing Steam.
Fifteen Persons Killed, Three Fatal
ly Injured, and Twenty-three
Seriously Hurt.
A Freight on the Northern Pacific
Runs Into No. 1 at Garrison,
With Fatal Results.
accident on the Old Colony.

DOSIONs NAdo5sS mug 1Os-Ouo VI tu0
most disastrous railroad accidents that
ever occurred in the vicinity of Boston,
and one that rivals the famous Wollas-
ton disaster of October 5, 1876, occurred
shortly after 1 o'clock this afternoon on
the same road, the Old Colony, and very
near the same locality. In the Wollas-
ton disaster fifteen were killed and near
ly $50 injured. To-day fifteen persons
were killed, twelve instantly, and twenty
three we're seriously injured, three IA
tally, and several more sustained slight
injuries. The train wrecked to-day was
the Wood Hall express which left
Wood Hall at 1850 a. m. and was due
in Boston at 1910 p. m. 1t consisted of
locomotive 1872, manned by Engineer
Babcock and Fireman John Ryan; bag
gage car. smoker, the Pullman car "Pur-
itan'' and four ordinary coaches heavily
loaded. The train had passed Quincy
station at 1857 p. M. running about ten
miles an hour, and just beyond Presi-
dents bridge, about an eighth of a mile
toward Boston, the engine left the track,
from some cause at present unknown,
and plunged down an embankment
one side. The tender, baggage car,
CINE and were stretched along for q dis
lance of 100 feet beside the track. The
foremost passenger coach, No. 236, left
the rails, and it's foremost truck swerved
to the left and plunged diagonally
l-1-,ol k1o nN~ Q~4. NMa@ 49, H. I'll
upon its left side upon the engine. The
lower forward portion was torn to pieces
and of the passengers in the car, some
fifty in number, many we're
thrown into "a rear cor
ner, from which eleven dead
bodies were afterwards taken out. Es-
Gaping steam and smoke from the engine
instantly filed the car, so that those
within could see nothing either within or
without. The forward cars were forced
over upon the outward bound track, com
pletely blocking traffic, and up to 8:45 p.
M, no train had passed the wreck in
either direction, all being sent via the
Granite branch between Atlantic and
Braintrees, while shuttle trains piled be-
tween the scene of the wreck and Allan
tic, al fast as other trains arrived. Only
three persons on the train ahead of car
236 were injured. These were the fire.
man, who was instantly killed and buried
under the engine; the engineer, who
jumped, and was only slightly hurt. and
the Pullman car conductor, B. F. Bosom,
who had the side of his face cut and his
right ear nearly cut off, by being thrown
out of the window of his car. The three
rear car occupants received no worse in.
juries than a slight shaking up. Gar 236
was the principal scene Of death and
agony, and the experiences of the occu-
pants we're probably never exceeded in
horror and suffering in any railroad
wreck or recent years. The following
were dead when taken from the wreck:
Mrs. circuit Allen, Philadelphia; Mrs.
Mary r. Fennelly, Louisville, KY; F. j.
johnson, Montpelier, VT; John Ryan,
South Boston, fireman on the engine.
-Four women, two men and two children,
n a boy Of IA, are unidentified. Total,
twelve. The following died during the
afternoon and evening: Mrs. A. @.
Wells, Hartford, Conn.,, daughter of H.
A.. WEIGH of Waterville, Conn.
The following are critically injured:
Mrs. Oscar Fennelly and her daughters
Alice and Catherine, of Louisville, KY,
scalded over their bodies; 6. NJ. Copp,
Cleveland, scalded over whole body, not
expected to live; =. @. Bailey, Dorches-
ter, formerly proprietor of the Boston
Herald, scalded on face and hands. No
others we're fatally injured. The dead
were laid on the grass beneath q large
tree until an undertaken arrived. The
news of the disaster reached Boston in a
very few minutes and General Manager
Kendrick of the Old Colony at once sent
a clerk in search of surgeons, and tele-
phoned the city hospital and the Massa-
chusetts general hospital for all the sur
geons that could be spared and had q
train made up to take them to
the scene. At least twenty-five skilled
surgeons responded. From the timet this
train arrived, which was less than an
hour after the accident occurred, all that
human skill could accomplish was done
to soothe the last hours Of the dying and
quiet the pain of those suffering from
burns and wounds.
There are various theories as to the
cause of the accident. The general inn
preston, however, seems to be that the
engine was thrown from the track by
spreading rails, and it is stated that 9
workmen had been repairing that
Of the track and may have left
some of the rails insuficient1y spiked.