St. Paul daily globe., 1891-04-19
Collision of the Lake Shore
Fast Mail and the Toledo
Express.
Engines and Cars Knocked
Into Splinters, but No Pas
sengers Injured.
The Collision Said to Have Re-
suited From Disobedienee
of Orders.

CLEVELAND. o., April lS.-A fright
fnl wreck occurred on the Lake Shore
railroad at Kipton station, about FORTY
miles west of Cleveland, early this even.
ing, in which six postal clerks, two en-
glneers and fireman were killed. The
fast mail. No. IA, bound east, collided
with No. 81, the Toledo express. lust as
The latter train was about to pull on The
slde-track to let the fast mail pass The
fast mail was running at full speed, and
the force of collision was so great that
both engines, three mail ears and ons
baggage car were completely wrecked
Following is a list of the dead:
EDWARD BROWN, engineer Of No. 2L
Toledo, 0.
CHARLES A. TOPLIFF, engineer of No.
A. Toledo, o.
F. J. NUGENT. postal clerk. Toledo, O.
CHARLES HAMMIL. postal clerk, Ely.
ria, o.
F. F. CLEMENS, postal clerk, Cleveland, O..
JOHN j. BOWERFINE, postal clerk,
Elyria, o.
JAMES MKINLEY, postal clerk, Con-
neaut. o.
FIREMAN STALEY. of No /
G. ii. MCDOWELL, postal clerk, Elyria, o.
Injured: - Danzis, son of section fore.
man; struck by wreckage and badly hurt.
None of the passenger cars left the
track, and none of the passengers re-
ceived serious injuries. 1t was the GUS
tom for these two trains to pass at Kips
ton, the Toledo express taking the side
track for the fast mail, which usually
went through Kipton without slacken-
ing its speed. The Toledo express was
% fnNx min, Lot h,
had just come TO stop at the switch
when the fast mail came in sight
There is
Scarcely Any Curve
at the station, but on one side of the
track was line OF freight cars, and on
the other side the station. These might
have obstruced the vision of the engin-
eer Of the fast mail He applied the
air brakes when he saw that a collision
was inevitable. but the speed of the
train was not checked materially. The
engine of the Toledo express was
knocked sQuarely across the track and
that of the fast mail reared in the air,
resting on top of the other. The fast
mail consisted of three mail cars and
two parlor cars, and the Toledo express
Of five coaches aud two baggage cars.
T.he first and second mail cars were tel.
eScOped and smashed to kindling wood,
and the third crashed into the first two
and rolled over OH the station platform,
breaking the windows of the building.
The two baggage cars of the Toledo eX-
press were knocked from the track, but
did not turn over. The force of the
collision was SO great that Of the sixty
four revolving chairs in the two parlor
cars only four remained attached
to the floors, all the others
being broken and hurled about
in confusion. The passengers were
thrown to the floors and badly shaken,
but none were seriously hurt. The
passengers of the two trains at
once began the work of rescue, and
with corps of physicians from the
town, ministered to the few who were.
injured. ALI but one OF the dead were
beyond human assistance as soon as the
collision occurred. The bodies were all
Horribly Crushed
and mutilated, arms and legs being torn
off, and the cOrpSeS were almost beyond
recognition. Charles Topliff, the ems
gineer of the fast mail, remained bravely
at his post aud was found with his hand
on the throttle, dead. His hands
and face were so badly scalded
that the blackened flesh dropped
from InG zones when Ills DOuy
was taken out. Fireman Staley,
of the fast mail, jumped from the train.
The Door postal clerks had not a chance
to escape. They were Gagged like rats,
and the telescoping of the cars crushed
the life out of them without a moments
warning. Passengers who were on the
fast mail arrived here at 10:30 tonight,
and brought the first authentic news Of
the wreck, there being no correspond
ents or other facilities for getting the
news from Kipton, which is mere
hamlet. These passengers say that tha
cars and locomotives were piled in a
heap higher than the station. 1t is diff
fcult to locate the blame for the acci.
dent, as both the engineers are dead.
1t is said, however, that No. 21 was Or
dered to stop at Oberlin, but went Oh to
Kipton, which is six miles further west,
and had not sufficient time 70 make the
side track