The Newtown bee., 1891-10-02
The New England's Bad Wreck.

Once again has the New York and New England road demonstrated the fact that two trains, headed in opposite directions. cannot safely meet on the same track. Almost weekly accidents of greater or less magnitude have been reported on the main line of this over worked railroad; but few are more 0 be deplored than the latest, which occurred at HawleyVille, last week Thursday night. Not only was the loss thousands of dollars, but the lives of three of the faithful employees of the company were lost, while d fourth man was so serious ly injured that his life was all but des- paired of when he was taken to the Danbury hospital. Shortly before 8 o'clock in the evening, west bound freight, drawn by engine l45, pulled out of lIawleyville, in charge of Engi- neer fIcancy and Conductor Conrad, the latter being on his first trip over the road. Though they should have rcceiv- ed orders here, they waited not. The train had passed the Ilousatonic cross over and was nearing the steam shovel cut, some distance west of the signal tower, when train was seen rapidly approaching. The men sounded the alarm and then jumped, the train running at perhaps 20 miles an hour. None of the crew were hurt The east bound train, with engine l42, Engineer Day, Conductor Bolger, was making much faster time, nearly 30 miles an hour, and the men had no time to jump before the engines met with terrific crash The cars immediately behind were piled up in wild confusion, four cars being utterly demolished and several others leaving the tracks. The people were reused by the shrll and long whistle from one of the wrecked locomotives apprised of the disaster. Wreckers were sent out from Hartford and every effort made by Superintend- ent Williams to recover the bodies of the dead. Fireman James Larner, who was sutfocated under pile of oats, was first removed, then Gilbert Sprague, the brakeman, buried in the wreckage of the first car. It was several hours before the ruins of the locomotive could be lifted away to allow the body of Engineer William Day to be taken out. All these men, as well as Charles Stephens, the brakeman who was badly injured, were employed on the east bound train, which had the right of way. Day, who resid- ed in East Hartford, was 8 years old and leaves Il bride of four months Brake man Sprague, 30, leaves wife and five children at East Hartford; Fireman Lar ner was 24 and lived at Pomperaug Valley, but was former reside mt of New town, a charter member of Putnam council, K. of C., but had been trans ferred to the Hartford council and work ed under Section Boss Brennan before he began firing on the New England, about two years ago. His body was talk en to Pomperaug on the o'clock train, Sunday. He was unmarried. AS Friday night, the funeral being there, soon as possible, the wreckage was cleared from the long siding and this was used as the main track during the day. At night, the main track was once more free and the battered engines were run in on the siding. Nothing but wheels and boilers remained of either, but the expenditure of few thousand dollars will put them in good shape again. The four cars demolished and burned contained granulated sugar, ,oats, leather, ,dogwood. As to the responsibili- ty for the accident, all agree in placing it upon the conductor and engineer of the west bound train in leaving Hawley- vile without orders, although the rail- road officials on the grounds would say little. A significant fact is that, with the exception of Fireman McDonigle, members of the crew of this train disap- peared after the collision and could not be found to testify before Coroner Doten at Danbury, Friday.