Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1890-09-25
DEATH ON THE RAIL.
A Terrible Wreck on the Reading
Railroad.
An Express Train Goes Over an En-
bankment and Twenty-One Lives
Are Lost-Other Railroad
Casualties.
SCORES KILLED.

READING. Pa, Sept 2O.-Shoemakers-
vile, station on the Reading railroad
fifteen miles north of this city, was the
scene of terrible railroad wreck at 6:15
Friday evening The latest reports in
dictate that between. fifty and seventy
persons were killed and that an equal
number received injuries more or less
serious. Thirteen bodies have been
kaken from the wreck, some of which
have not yet been identified
The Inflated train is No. 8 express,
better known as the cannon-ball train,
which leaves Philadelphia at o'clock
in the afternoon. 1t left on time Fri
day at Philadelphia, but was several
minutes late leaving the outer sta
ton here owing to the large crowds
who were returning homo from the
Berks County fair and who had
gathered at that station to take the
train. Seven moro cars had to be add
ed othe already-filled coaches, and a
| delay of fifteen minutes was caused.
| When the train was once beyond the
numerous side-tracks about a mile
north of the city the engineer
began making up the lost time and in
a few seconds the train was running at
lightning speed. Suddenly there was
crash, a rumbling of the passenger
coaches over the ties, and down went
the engine, tank, baggage, express, and
parlor cars and the passenger-coaches
into the creek which borders the road
at that point.
READING, Pa, Sept. 22.-It was not
until $50 Saturday afternoon that the
wreckers reported that all the bodies
had been taken from the Schuylkill
river at the scene of the wreck of the
fast express on the Reading railroad
Friday evening. Their labors ended
with finding the mangled body of
the engineer, John White. His head
was cut off and lost il the river. His
right arm was found floating in the
wreck. Twenty-one dead and thirty
| two injured is the record of the awful
plunge of the train after it mad struck
the coal train wreck at the curve.
TEN KILLED IN MEXICO.
CITY OF Mexico, via Galveston, Sept.
20-A terrible accident happened Fri
day on the Mexican railroad. Two
trains going in opposite directions ran
into each other at Rincenada. and the
cars were piled on one another and COM
pletely wrecked. Ten persons were
killed and several others wounded.
DISASTER NEAR CHICAGO.
CHICAGO, Sept. 22.-The Downer's
Grove Chicago. Burlington & Quincy
express train while running at top
speed at 7:1O o'clock Sunday evening
! plunged headlong into the rear coach of
an Illinois Central excursion train re-
turning from Addison Park and crowded
Cured just west of Kedzie avenue
on the o. tracks which the Illinois
Central uses for it's Western service.
The train consisted of fifteen cars, all
7 crowded. and the thirteenth and four
teenth cars were telescoped, killing four
people instantly and injuring score
more, several fatally. One of the lat
ter died soon after. The dead were all
residents of Chicago. Their names are
Lily Diener, Margaret Diener cousin
of Lily, Otto Schloeff, Theodore Boil
ger and an unidentified man. Three
young ladies were fatally injured and
nine other persons were badly hurt.
THREE MEN KILLED IN IOWA.
COUNCIL BLUFFS. Ia. Sept. ga dis
astrous wreck occurred ON the Wabash
railway eight miles southeast of this
city at 2:30 o'clock Sunday morning.
An incoming freight train from St.
| Louis, consisting of eighteen cars,
all loaded with merchandise, ran
into burning bridge or tres
| tle-work and the engine and thir-
teen cars went through to the ground,
forty feet below. The bridge is over
deep ravine. When the fire was sighted
by the engineer it was too late to pre-
vent wreck. The killed were: Martin
| Eskridge, the engineer; Joseph Burke,
| fireman; Robert Williamson. head
brakeman. Eskridge was buried under
his engine and was burned to,
death. All that could be found of his
remains was quantity of bones that
man could hold in his two hands. The
| fireman was caught under a car contain
| ing tank of oil and met horrible
death. His clothes were saturated with
| the stuff and when the fire reached him
he was literally roasted alive. When
discovered by the conductor and another
brakeman he was not yet dead and
! talked freely about his perilous situa-
| tion. His companions could do nothing
but console him. The head brakeman
was thrown about fifty feet He lived
two hours.