Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1891-11-12
THRILLING Ride TO DEATH
Train on the Mt. Penn Gravity
Line on a Runaway.
THE BRAKES FAILED TO TAKE HOLD
One Killed and Five People
Seriously Hurt.


READING, Pa, Nov. 5.-A most terrible
dash to death and destruction occurred on
the Mount Penn Gravity road here this
afternoon. A passenger train was dashed
ut headlong speed down the steep grade.
With frightful death staring them in the
face, the conductor and brakeman stood
by the brakes to the last But the brakes
proved of no avail; the train was hurled
on only the more rapidly at every revolu-
ton of the Wheels and from the splintered
wreck below the passengers, one dead and
four injured, three of them seriously, were
removed.
Conductor Irving Hauck was the one
killed The injured are
Frau flemmer,a a Philadelphia jeweler,
suffeTca compound fracture of the skull;
probably iatal.
Mary Beck of Philadelphia, was severely
bruised about head and face; will be able
to leave hospital tomorrow.
brakeman w. II. Keely had both legs
broken and will have to be amputated;
very dangerous.
Thomas Ganter, No. 421 Carpenter street,
Reading; not seriously injured.
The ill-fated train, the only one run over
the road to-day, left the station at Mineral
Spring Park at $50 p. M, with three pas
sengers. Conductor Irwin Hauck and
Brakeman W. H. Keely were in charge.
The train consisted of two cars, one open
and one closed. Shortly before 8 o'clock
the train was nearing Cemetery Curve. the
sharpest on the road, and the one where
the runaway car jumped the track on
August %, 1880. killing five and seriously
injuring u others. Brakeman Keely was
on the front platform of the first car, the
open one. Conductor Hauck was in the
closed car with the four passengers, one,
George Johnson, of this city, having
gotten on at the tower. Suddenly the cars
gave lurch forward Conductor Hauck
sprang to the assistance of his brakeman
while johnson jumped from the car unin-
jured.
Vacuum and hand-brakes were applied
by the conductor and brakeman, but the
cars ran all the faster around the sharp
curve. They dropped the safety pins and
emergency brake, but the cars still shot
ahead down the steep grade. Thomas
Ganter and Francis Clemmer two of the
passengers, put on the brakes on the rear
car. The tracks, however, were wet and
partially covered with dead leaves. and the
wheels slipped on them. The cars slid
down the grade like a toboggan. Quick
as flash the train sped into the deep cut
on the last curve above the station. The
front car leaped into the air. ground
along the embankment and fell back
upon the track crushed into thousands
of pieces. Under it lay the conductor and
brakeman. ss
Help arrived from the station below and
the injured were taken from the wreck.
Conductor Hauck died on the station plat
form within 15 minutes. The rear car, on
which were three passengers, the two men
tugging at the brakes and the woman
clinging to one of the seats and praying
for safe deliyerance from the accident,
was not badly damaged but simply thrown
from the track.
Francis clemmer and Miss Mary Beck,
his tiancee,S came up from Philadelphia
this morning to visit his brother-in-law,
Mr.. Ganter, and by him were being taken
over the road. Both are now in the Read
ing Hospital, where Brakeman Keely, who
came here from Kentucky, has also been
taken Conductor Hauck was only "a
years old, and was the most popular man
on the road.
IBy similar accident on this same death
slide railroad, Miss Bye and Miss Guthrie
of this city, were seriously injured q little
over year ago. The young ladies were
terribly hurt and narrowly escaped death,
while some of their fellow passengers were
less fortunate and were killed outright
Ed. e. E.