Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1891-02-21
MET IN A TUNNEL.
A TRIPLE COLLISION IN NEW YORK CITY
YESTERDAY
By Which Six Persons Were Killed-Ths Wreck
Takes Fire and Soms Of the Victims Are
Horribly Burnsd-All Of the Dead
Employees Of the Railroad.


NEW YORK. February eO.-A shop
train, consisting of empty cars, was
moving through the Fourth avenue
railroad tunnel at 7:l0 this morning,
when it stopped at Eighty-ffth street.
Behind il came train No. 10, the New
Haven local, that left the Grand Cen
tral depot at 1:O9 a. m. TIE New Ha-
ven train ran into the standing shop
train, wrecking itself and the rear cars
of the train with which 1t had come in
to collision. In a few moments flames
broke out and while everything was
still in terror and confusion third en-
CINE, running light that is, without
ears, crashed into the wreck. The fire
was soon extinguiShed and the work Of
rescue began. At 4:30 o'clock six bod
les had been found a nd seven persons
seriously injured had been sent to the
hospital. None Of the passengers is
known to be among the killed or injured
They are all believed to be employees Of
the road The passengers an the New
| Haven train were badly shaken up, but
beyond some slight cuts and bruises
none OF them was badly hurt.
Engineer Fowler, Of the New Haven
train, said that when at Seventy-SecOnd
street he got the white signal, which
was sign to go ahead. There was no
ringing of bells, either, as is customary
when the danger signal is up. He was
running at the rate of about twenty
miles an hour on the northward bound
track. lie was so close to the shop train
before he was aware of ii that he tele-
Scoped il before he was hardly able TO
put on the air brakes. The shop train
consisted of seven cars, including sew
eral Sleepers that had come into the
Grand Central depot early in the morn
ing and were on the way TO the repair
shop as is the custom after trip. On
the telescoped shop train there were
probably dozen or more employees both
of the road and of the Wagner Company.
One of the bodies is that Of woman.
She was probably scrub-woman. An
other is that OF a newSb0y, aged about
Is, name unknown. The firemen claim
that there are no more bodies in the
wreck and have abandoned the search.
During the first fifteen minutes after
the collision two explosions were heard,
caused by the blowing out Of the cylin-
der heads of locomotive. This was
the light" locomotive, which had no
cars attached. 1t was thrown from the
rails when il collided with the New
Haven train. Both engineers and fire.
men escaped without serious injury.
81 fro haI koat agtnra1 tho
fremen with axes tried TO clear away
the debris so as to be able to get at the
bodies. II was finally decided to pull
the two cars apart and the locomotive
Of the New Haven train, parted the two
cars. drawing one of them ten feet above
the other, In heap OF burned cush-
ions. wood and iron the bodies were
found and taken ont in blankets. They
were burned beyond recognition. Parts
of them were completely burned away.
The dead numbered five, consisting OF
three men, one women and one boy So
far as known the persons injured are:
Engineer Watson, both legs cut on,
will probably die; DaTid eul-
bride, colored. train cool, injured
internally; Wm. ID. Brown, brakeman,
internal injuries and horribly burned;
unknown car cleaner, cut about the
head and body and burned; John Har-
kips. car cleaner, foot and ankle broken
and burned. His body was severely
sdalded. Two unknown men taken out
unconscious, burned and bleeding. They
we're removed to the Presbyterian Hos
pital. Four more unrecognized bodies
Frn,,, no usrQrE and Sppf
to the morgue, by order Of Coroner Levy
These are all the bodies known to be in
the wreck. John Wanoke, one of the
injured, died this morning at the hos
pita.
At half past = o'clock this morning
the Police announced that the total
number of dead was six.
* j. Hellehen. of Boston, had brok-
en- arm and severe burns and bruises.
Alta point about halfway between
Eighty-fourth and Eighty-iifth streets.
the New Hcvcn engine hurled itself
against the rear of the Boston express
sleeper. wrccking the smoking car and
driving it partly through the palace
ear TO which it was coupled. Both
trains came TO a Standstill within
quarter of a minute. The engineer OF
the express did not know when
/ his train was struck. The tunnel
was filled with wrcckage by
the collision and the moment it occurred
light switch engine on the down track
ran into il, jumped the rails and turned
nartly across the tunnel. Six men were
on il. but none were hurt. The tele-
scoped ears took fire Immediately. and
the smoke attracted the attention OF
police in the ncighborhoOd. crowd
quickly collected and all possible assist
ance was given. The alarms brought
six engines. which soon began playing
on the flames. AS the water from their
hose branches put out the fire, they
were able to get inside the ears. The
nicture presented was fearful. Dead
and roasted aud broken bodies in all
sorts of pitiable attitudes were among
the debris of the interior. But one was
not dead. Between the head oi the
lloromotive and the end OF the car into
which il had smashed. was suspended
nv the shoulders the body of a man
whose legs had been torn of. His
clothing had been all burned of, and
the body partly roasted. He was nude
and swollen. but he was still alive.
A fireman touched him, and from the
head above the end Of the car that
iammed him against the locomotive
came moan and the words, "for
Gods sake leave me alone and let me
die" Ii took twenty minutes to eXtri-
cate the poor fellow and carry him to
the surface. He was still alive when
carried up to the light, but before he
could be examined he was dead.
Every fresh body brought out steam
ed as if it had been parboiled In addl-
tion TO being burned. The dead were
finally lifted up through the openings
in the tunnel and carried away. Inc
injured were sent to hospitals ana
after ten hours work the tracks were
cleared. The list of dead is as follows;
one man whose body is burned be-
yond recognition, supposed TO De y COZ
ored sleeping car porter. -u,-
4 woman. supposed to be Mrs. Nellie
Supple, car cleaner, 40 years old'
Harts Killian, a train boy 10 years
old 90 .
John Haucke, Il car cleaner, 10 years
old ala
John Murray, laborer. 30 years old'
burned to death. lie leaves a family
James b. Flynn, mechanic, 30 years
old.
List OF injured:
Daniel L. Culbreth. colored COOK ID