Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1892-09-16
Horrible Railroad Disaster.
Ten Persons Killed and 40 Injured at
West Cambridge, Mass.

Passenger Car split I'm Two by
Heavy Freight Engine on the Fitch
burg Road---The Engineer or Brake
man at Fault.
Six persons were killed outright, four
were fatally injured, and over 40 others
more or less seriously injured i'm an acct
dent on the WatertOwn branch of the Fitch
burg railroad at West Cambridge, Mass,
last Saturday night, between 10 and ii
O'Clock. The accident was caused by
westbound freight express train running
into passenger train on the outside track,
telescoping the rear car.
There was a dense fog at the time and
whether Brakeman Noon of the passen-
ger train failed to put out the proper sig
mails, or whether Engineer Goodwin of the
freight train was at fault in running at so
high a rate of speed in the vicinity of
station, will be determined later.
The passenger train from Boston had
come to stop, to allow the passenger train
from Waltham to pass on its way to Bos-
ton, as it had the right of way. The ill
fated train had just started when the heavy
freight, running at rate of from 20 to 30
miles an hour, dashed up. The engine of
the freight train, heavy eight. drive wheel
er of the mogul pattern, struck the rear
passenger car like wedge, splitting it in
two, the walls falling outward, and the
roof lodging on top of the locomotive.
The recoil from the collision drove the
heavily loaded freight cars backward, and
although the two cars nearest the engine,
which were refrigerator car and Bur
ton stock car were not injured, the 10 or
II cars behind them were smashed into
Ii M r
loaded with lumber and this was strewn all
along the track. The cars were piled upon
one another in ndescribable confusion,
completely blocking both tracks for fully
100 years.
The passenger cars, other than the rear
one, were not very much injured, but the
shock to their occupants was only little
less severe than that sustained by those i'm
the last car. 1t is believed that had all
the cars on the freight been as solidly con-
structed as the two forward ones, the loco
motive of the freight would haye been
forced through two or three of the passen-
ger coaches at least, but as it was, the
crushed freight cars acted as sort of
cushion and lessened the force of the
shock As soon as the crash came there
was at once a wild rush to get out of the
cars. Frantic men and women rushed
about in purposeless way, shriekiug and
groanng. Those who were in the station
and residents of the vicinity gathered with
surprising rapidity. All along the track
these people ran to and fro, scarcely know
ing what to do. But soon another source
of danger developed. Flames began to
burst from the wrecked freight cars Two
alarms on the fire bells were hurriedly
sounded, and the whole fire department of
Cambridge responded promptly and put
out the flames. Then the work of reScu-
ing the dead and injured was begun. The
windows of the rear car had to he broken
in, and a part of the side cut through in
order to reach them.
The station was turned into an emer-
gency hospital, to which those taken from
the wreck were removed and cared for.
One by one the dead bodies were brought
in and laid upon the floor Mangled by
the crash of the timber, scalded by steam
and blackened by fire, they presented a
sickening appearance. The groans of the
injured and the cries of those who were
searching for missing friends and relatives
added to the horror of the scene. Most of
those of the passenger train were residents
of Watham and WATERFOWL, and nearly
all were working people.
The brakeman of the passenger train,
who was sent back 600 feet to notify the
engineer of the freight train of danger
ahead, says he signaled the freight train,
and that his signal was answered by two
whistles. He thinks the reason for the
accident was that the engineer of the
freight train could not control the heavy
train. The engineer, a young man who
was running as a substitute, claims that he
saw no signals until those on the rear of
the passenger train were in sight. Then
he reversed his engine, but the momentum
of the freight carried it into the passenger.
The engineer and fireman stayed with the
engine, and were not seriously injured.
The property loss to the Fitchburg road
is estimated at S150,000.