The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1892-12-14


A fine exhibition of piling baled-hay Pei
ion upon buckwheat O3sa materiaiZed on
the Central Vermont railroad about two
miles south of here last Monday afternoon,
when two heavy freight trains came to-
gether with crash that was heard a mile
away. The locality is known as No.
bridge, which spans Dog river Just south of
the highway and the blind and dangerous
railroad cut through the ledge. Browns
mill is a stone 's-throw away.
The M freight train, with thirty-one
cars, half of them loaded. pulled out of
Northiield about half-past twelve o'clock.
That train usually met the south-bound
freight at Mortified, but Engineer John
Cotter had received orders to meet No. II
at Montpelier junction. As they rolled
through No. bridge, Frank LYMAN, the
fireman, saw No. II shooting through the cut
and coming down the heavy grade at about
twenty miles an hour. He yelled, "some-
thing coming, john" and jumped landing
as lightly az cat. Cotter had just time to
throw the lever over and jump down the
bank, when the crash came and heavy car
door shot after the engineer. Cotter saw it
coming and jumped again, breaking both his
ankles. " Cash Kelly was engineer of
No. IL, and was running according to or
ders. His fireman. McGrath, jumped, but
Kelly had no opportunity to leave the cab
He was only slightly injured.
The wreck was a picturesque looking
mess. The engines were big six-wheel
mogus, and were badly smashed. They
were telescoped about foot and the cow
catchers and headlights were ground to
splinters. Three of the cars behind the
south bound engine had been loaded with
flour, oats, hay and buckwheat. The cars
were knocked to pieces, and their contents
were Showered all over the surrounding
country. Grain was piled knee-deep in the
highway. Two cars iammed together had
been separated by a car of oats before
the collision hut only the pou1f no
found. A car of manila paper had gone to
pieces, and reams of paper were stacked up
like vast pile of tirewood. Back of this
was car loaded with peas. The framework
held together, but was twisted sidewiSe
across the tracks. The uninjured cars in
the rear had been taken to Montpelier
Junction. The car back of the north
bound mogul, loaded with wire for the
worlds fair, had been completely tele-
scoped by the tender. Back of this to the
bridge was a miscellaneous mass of kind
ling wood and trucks. There were eleven
cars in the bridge, some on. some off, their
trucks, and all jammed together. Beyond
the bridge was the most picturesque view
of all. That part of the train had been
made up OF empty box and flat cars and
they had gone TO pieces like so much glass.
The car frames had been either crumbed or
hurled bodily into the river and piled on
either side of the track, and the rails were
strewn with tangled mass of trucks and
w
the bridge, that ancient structure would
have been knocked into trewood Back of
the broken cars twelve cars and the caboose
stood on the rails unchanged,
Engineer Cotter was taken to the house
of Thomas Ryan, a few rods from the scene
and was soon under the excellent care of
his sister, Mrs. Frank NJ. Cory of Mont
pelier. DR.. Chandler came down in a
hurry, and soon had the injured engine
driver wrapped in splints. Despite his
hrTl Ill. Anls
well, and talked cheerfully with his throng
of visitors. He is heavy weight, and
when he jumped he landed like a thousand
of brick. Like his fellow engineer Kelly
he is careful trainman. Frank LYMAN
has been on the road only few months
and this is his second attempt at train
mans grave. He cut figure in the Rich
mond disaster.
AS the shades of night closed in, a wreck
train came up from Northteld and began
work on the south end. Shortly afterward
Ell Nash and gang of workmen arrived
from st. Adams. Nash has Z" been there
before, and when he and his men got to
work, the debris flew in every direction. 1t
was interesting to stand on the hillside and
watch the myriad torches fitting in and out
of the vast pile of wreckage. A rope would
be hitched TO a battered car, the monster
wreck engine would move back a few yards
and the car would be snaked over the dump
in a twinkling. Upo the hill the Central
Vermont telegraphers had tapped the wires
and set up an Office on fiat rock. And so
for hours the work went on.
The wreck was cleared about midnight.
1t did not seem possible that such a mass
could be straightenedlout in that space of
time, but IL was. Cars that could not be
saved were tumbled down the dump in
short order, and will be picked up Sunday,
when the line is not in operation.
Thomas Larner, an experienced operator
in the train-dispatcher office. is the man
responsible for the disaster. The best OF
men will get careless. 1t is not known
what his negligence has cost the company,
but it will amount to many thousands of
dollars.