Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1891-01-18
CAME TOGETHER.
SERIOUS WRECK on THE OHIO RIVER ROAD
LAST NIGHT.
A Passenger and Freight Engine Collide Near
Twenty-Eighth Street-A Mans Leg
Crushed OF.

About ten minutes of o'clock last even
ing, two trains, freight and a passenger,
came together on the Ohio River railroad,
between Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh
streets, partially wrecking both engines,
tanning a tender into a cattle car filled
with cattle, and disfguring, to consider
able extent, a passenger car or two.
The scene of the accident was on the
curve, lust below the casting house OF the
Belmont blast furnace, a locality partlcu-
larlv dark, lonely and dangerous, and from
what could be ascertained last nlgnt, was
the result of gross carelessness on Inc part
of some of the employees OF the company.
THE casualty resulted in MASKING the right
leo of Fireman James Way, of the freight
train. and he was removed to the hospital
in the patrol wagon, where his leg was am
nutated lust below the knee by Drs. Bran
non, Schwinn and Shearer.
The north-bound evening passenger
train on the road, arrived here last nlght,
little late. after passing the north-bound
local freight at New Martlnsvllle. Ihe
passenger train, after stopping at the
station AT the foot of Eleventh street, as
usual, started back down TO the rouhu
house and shops. in the upper END OF the
EIGHTH ward. The freight train pulled out
of New Martinsville soon after the passen-
ger train left that place, and followed
along after it. gaining on its schedule time
as IN ran. according to the statements oil
nersons ut the scene of the accident last
night. Ii thus reached Wheeling IN
advance of the time il was expected, and
coming up through the city at rate oil
speed described as about fifteen miles an
hour. ran into the passenger train, as sta
ted. at point between Twenty-siXth ana
TWenty-seVenth streets. Both engines were
badly shaken up, the freight engine getting
decidedly the worst OF IL. Inc tehuer ol
that engine was lifted from the trucks, or
rather the trucks were partially lifted with
il and the body of the tender was damned
into the front of the forward freight ear,
being telescOped almost its entire lenth.
The car was filled with live stock, and from
the glance which could be obtained OF ITS
load. through the cracks in the side OF the
car. bv the fitful light of lantern, several
of the cattle were killed by the shock.
Neither the engineer or fireman OF the
passenger train were hurt, beyond shak-
Ing up, but the crew OF the freight engine
did not fare so well. Fireman James Way,
of Parkersburg was caught between the
rear end of the cab and the foreward end OF
the tender, as he was trying TO jump clear
of the wreck. in the wake of Engineer
Neal. and had his right leg horrible man
gled inst below the knee Assistance soon
arrived from other train men and from
workmen about the mill, and the wounded
man was released, aud the patrol wagon
summoned. While awaiting its arrival
DIR. Brannon said something about the leg
having TO be amputated, and Way, who
showed great nerve, said: why, It's am
putated already, isn't it,"
An employe of the railroad company,
who was in the cab of the passenger en-
cine. but who declined to give his name.
said after the accident:
''In nv opinion, the fault lies with the
crew of the freight engine, as they were
running too fast, and anyway, they ought
to have had fiagman out, as they know 1t
is the custom of the passenger engineer TO
back down through the yard TO the round
house, after the passengers get out we
heard the freight coming, although we had
been ringing our bell right along, as it IS a
nasty piece of track down past the mills,
and as soon as we heard her, we whisued,
but the freight people did not answer, and
banged right into us We were running
nearly as slow as we could, or there would
have been bad wreck, and probably sew
eral men killed.
A force of men was put to work clearing
away the stuff on the track, about ten
o'clock. and the broken freight engine and
the stock car, with the tender damned
into it, were lowed off up the track by an
engine.