St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-09-12
The Awful Accident at West
Cambridge, in Which Nine
Persons We're Killed.
Terrible Results of a Rear
End Collision in a Dense
Massachusetts Fog.
A Freight Train Which Was
Too Heavy for Its Engin-
eer to Handle.
Heartrending Scenes During
the Recovery of the Bodies
Of the Dead.

VA C1AO OOoNs
BOSTON, Mass, Sept. 1.-THE horror
of the great Quincy accident was re-
called last night when the through
freight express train. west bound, on
the Fitchburg railroad, mentioned
briefly last night, ran into a passenger
train standing on the outbound track
at West Cambridge junction, telescop-
ing the rear car, killing six persons out
right and injuring nearly forty others,
complete list of the killed, as far as
known, follows:
S. j. SULLIVAN. aged fifty years, pawn
broker of No IL Norman street. Boston.
LEON G. RAYMOND. of Winehendon,
brakeman on the freight train.
JOHN HUDSON, aged fifty-one years, of
Watertown leaves a widow and eight chill
dren.
JAMES LANE, of East Watertown.
JOHN H. BARNES Maple street, Newton
Miss RETTA FEYLER. of Waltham.
BENJAMIN TUCK, an old man of Wal
than, died on the way to Cambridge hospi-
tai
Miss MARGERIE ADAMS, of Waltham. O
watch factory employe, died today at the hos
ipital.
H. MERRIFIELD, of Watertown, died to-
day at his home.
The Injured.
Of the forty others who were injured,
several are in serious condition, and
some may die. Passenger Train No.
131. due to leave Boston at 1915 p. M,
started On time. When West CAM
bridge junction was reached the en-
gineer found it necessary, owing to the
dense fog, to run close to the cross-over
in order to see if he had the right of
way from the signal tower, which is
located close by. The passenger train
was said to be five minutes
late, and about the same hour
the local passenger train from
Waltham. scheduled to leave there at
1880 O'Clock: was due at West Cam
bridge junction also. The west, bound
train which had left Boston had come
to.a full stop in order that the east
bound train from Waltham, which had
the right of way. could pass that point
before it crossed over to the Watertown
branch. While standing near the
cross-Over the express freight train,
which was bound west, came thunder
ing along, and just as the passenger
train started to cross to the Watertown
branch the freight train crashed
Into the Rear Car
of the passenger train. with the result
above described. The passenger train
engine and the forward truck of the
smoking car, No. 72, had crossed over
on the branch track. which left Passen-
ger Cars 80 and 15S on the cross-over
and SO, the fatal car, standing on the
main west-bound track. Engine 200, to
which the freight train was attached,
was powerful eight drive-wheeler of
the Mogul pattern. When the engine
struck the rear car it entered it like
a wedge, splitting it in two parts,
each of which fell outward upon
the tracks, while the roof of
the car lodged on top of the locomotive.
The recOil from the collision drove the
heavlly-loaded freight cars backward,
and, although the two cars nearest the
engine, which were a refrigerator car
and Burton stock car, were not in
jured, the ten or twelve cars behind
them were smashed into kindling wood.
Several Of these were loaded with lum-
Der, and it was Strewn all along the
track. The cars were piled up on one
another in indescribable confusion,
completely blocking both tracks for
fully $50 yards. AS soon as the accident
occurred, word was dispatched by tele-
phone to the various police stations in
Boston, Somerville and Cambridge, ask
ing them to send
Surgeons to the scene.
Among those who quickly responded
were Doctors Mccarthy and Dwyer, of
Cambridge. The train dispatcher's Of
flee in Boston was notified at once.
Supt. Adams was quickly on hand and
gave instructions to have ali the med
cial train. DR.. w. A. Dunn and DIR.
Collins, both of the North end, went out
ron special train which left at 1855 d.
m. Fifteen minutes later the wrecking
train, consisting of the tool car and
derrick car, was sent out, but
owing to the fact that
man was forced to run on
foot in advance to do flag duty, the re-
lief and wrecking trains were slow In
reaching their destination. On arriving
at the scene they found that six of the
bodies had been removed from the debris
and were LAID out in the West Cambridge
removed to the undertaking rooms of
a. f. Long, No. 23S North avenue, Cam
bridge, as were the bodies of two others
recovered later. By o'clock this morn
ing all visible bodies had been removed
from the wreck, and the wounded had
been cared for by willing hinds. The
pilot and cylinder boxes of the freight
engine are
POked Underneath
the forward truck of the rear passenger
ear. which made it almost impossible
forany human being who occupied seats
in that car to escape without injury, On
the rear end of the ill-fated car a mans
legs were dangling, the trunk being
found quarter Of mile down the
track. The prevailing impression was
that it was tramp stealing a ride on
the pilot of the freight engine or tucked.
away Oh the,s "a 4ell Of M ipeeg 4 gsy .
car. The reeo jra;kAna .8s ~ .a;fiep..1s
the accident, was sent back about
GOO feet to notify the engi-
neer of the freight train of
danger ahead, states that he went back
as directed and slgnaled the freight
train, and his signal was answered by
two whistles, which is the usual answer
that all signals have been seen and
noted. The reason for the collision, he
feels sure, was that the engineer of the
freight train could not control his train,
which was of thirty cars. the greater
part OF them containing lumber, all very
heavy. The train was the regular Sat
iurday western heavy freight, which was
unusually heavy last night. The train
is scheduled to leave Boston about
O'Clock. but last night did not Leave