Morning journal and courier., 1891-02-21
WRECKED IN THE TUNNEL.

Takes Fire-Details of tho Trage.
dy The New Haven Trains
Passengers All Escape "A Few
Slightly Injured-Whose Fault Was
Ita Investigation Begun What
Railroad Omcials Say-The Mis-
placed Signal.I
Yesterday mornings accident in the tun-
mel at New York, the worst that has be-
fallen the New York Central railroad with
in the city's limits, except the wreck in
the Spuyten Duyvil cut in which Senator
Wagner was burned to death with COM
pany of friends in one of his own palace
cars, or the smashup in the same tunnel on
the identical spot of yesterday horror, six
or seven years ago.
The TOO New Haven accommodation
train that is due in New Haven at 1904
carried load of passengers out OF the
Grand Central depot exactly on time.
Ahead of it was a shop train of seven
sleeping cars that had come in during the
night before. 1t was going to the Spuy-
ten Duyvil shops to be cleaned up for the
nights trip eastward. 1t carried many
shop hands, in addition to its own crew of
porters, cleaners and newsboys. The two
trains were on the northbound track,
block apart The railroad block in the
tunnel is equal to almost ten or twelve
city blocks. Both were moving on the
northbound track, which, on the Central
railroad system within the city limits, is
the left, and not the right, as on other
roads. The usual order of things was re-
versed so as to allow the trains to enter the
yard without crossing each others tracks.
The shop train had gone as far
as Eighty-sixth street when, for
some reason at present unknown, it
slowed up and prepared , to stop
man in the tower at Seventy second street,
where the block in which the shop train
then was, ends, did not signal danger to
the accommodation train, but instead
showed clear, white light, which means
"Go ahead" No danger bell was rung, no
torpedo exploded on the Atrack. The &C
commodation train wentahead. At Eighty
fourth street it overlook the shop train then
past TIE Eighty-sixth street station.
The accommodation was under good head
way. Some say twenty, some twenty-five
miles an hour. Its engine crashed into
the last of the seven sleepers, and went
half through it, At the same moment
switch engine No. 8, coming down from
the yards to the depot, met the head of
the accommodation on the southbound
track. The wrecked sleeper was thrown
over against it, and the switch engine went
down in the general smash with the rest.
In a moment flames burst forth from the
wreck and clouds of smoke went up through
the air-vent in the tunnel that was almost
directly over the scene Of the accident.
Fearful cries for help were heard by those
who were passing in the street overh cad.
Citizens ran for the police and sent alarms
for the fremen, and in few minutes as
sistance came galloping. Burned and
breathless men, coal black with smoke and
with their clothes blazing, they began to
crawl up through the air-vent, when lad
ders had been hastily let down. When no
more came up fremen went down with
axes and hose and broke into the wreck
from which the flames were rising.
Out of tho broken window of the last car,
train had pinned him fast, hung a man,
crying wildly for help. No other cry rose
then from the awful pile. A dozen axes
smashed the woodwork that held him, and
he was taken out. He was fireman, and
said that his name was Hancke. He was
when found near the New Haven train,
and it was almost impossible to remove
him from the wreck. The fremen, Of
tenderly as possible. tried to pull him out.
The flames of the burning car had been
about him. The efforts of the fire.
men to rescue him caused Hancke intense
pain, and again and again requested them
to let him die where he was. When hi
was pulled out at last, it was found that
his legs had been burned off, and he wal
otherwise dreadfully injured. He wal
twenty eight years old, and lived at 34s
West Forty-ninth street. He died on hi
way to the hospital.
John Cuthbert, colored porter, wal
one of those who escaped up the ladder.
He, too, is in the hospital with interns
injuries that will cause his DEATH
The Rev. Father Walker of st. Law
rence's Catholic church, just opposite the
scene of the collision, went down the tun
mel as soon as he heard Of it, to render the
services of the church.
The burned bodies the dead were laid OF
the south-bound track and hoisted up te
the street through the air-vent on stretch
ers. Policemen at the head of the gaI
pulled them up and laid them down in the
little park that encloses the air-vents anc
covered them decently with horse blankets
AS one after another was brought up the
crowd in the street increased and the police
found difficulty in holding it back.
Down in the dark tunnel squads Of
fremen labored with hooks and axef
on the wrecked car. The rear end of il
had been fairly pulled to pieces before the
| first of the dead was reached. As the
| men worked further forward toward the
middle of the car, aided by policemen and
train hands, every now and then sudden
| "Hold on Easy" announced that the
hook or axe had struck another corpse.
| The light of dozen lanterns was flashed
| into the dark depths, when soon a shape
was brought forth, before which the ranks
of workmen and idlers alike gave way and
| fell back. It was carried out and laid up
on the track.
A more complete wreck than the tele-
| scoped car it would be impossible to i'm
agine. Even the massive trucks were
| shivered absolutely into splinters. Only
the middle of it preserved its original
| shape and external appearance, and upon
it the number 80 was to be read by the
dim light of the lanterns in the tunnel,
and by the still DINNER rays that strug
gled down through the gaps in the smoke
and darkness under the ground.
Stories of great loss of life to the 7:0S
New Haven accommodation train ran from
mouth to mouth about the uptown streets
in New York, while the dead were being
heisted up to daylight. They were al
alike untrue. No single passenger on thai
| train was hurt, and even the engineer
Louis Fowler, escaped with slight injuries
The passengers on his train were taker
back to the Grand Central depot on D..
Harlem train in the adjoining tunnel be-
fore they were hardly aware of the extern
of the accident.
| All those who were killed were employees
of the New York Central company. Eithel
they belonged to the crew of the shol
train, or they were cleaners or shop hands
going to the Spuyten Duyvil yards.
Engineer Lewis L. Fowler said that q
Seventy-second street he got the white sig
nal, which was a signal to gossahead. Their,
was no ringing of the bell, as is CUSTOMARY
when the danger signal is up. He wa
running at the rate of about twenty mile
an hour on the north-bound track and wa
SO close to the "shop train" before he wa
aware of it that he telescoped it before h
was hardly able to put on the air brakes
The 'sshop train" consisted of seven cars
including several sleepers, that had com,
into the Grand Central depot early in tn
morning and were on the way to the repai
shop, as is the custom after trip. On thu
telescoped "shop train" there were proba
bly, dozen or more employees, both of tn
road and of the Wagner company.
Charlie Wellington, train boy, wa
rescued. He was at first supposed to b.
dead but was only unconscious. He sool
rallied and told his name. He is terribl,
injured.
| n.1,;.1 NJ Ho-1L.al . oa1o..l ..1- -.