The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-12-16
.TRESTLE GAVE WAY.
A Train of Passenger Cars
Precipitated Into a
Raging Stream.
MANY PERSONS KILLED.
Pathetic Scenes as the Work Of
Rescue Was Carried On-The
i Conductors Awful Death.

DUNKIRK, N. Y, Dec. 1e, 1s93.-Five peo-
pie were killed and six injured by railroad
disaster on the Western New York &
Pennsylvania Railroad, three miles east of
this city last night.
The dead are:-
Jesse Hodge, conductor, Brocton
VIM. +. Mccain, baggageman, Buffalo.
Oscar Porter, passenger, Brocton
Mrs. ). N. Porter, mother of Oscar Porter,
passenger, Brocton.
George Ryman, passenger, Fredonia.
The injured are:-
Charlotte Friedholm, Dunkirk, scalp wound,
perhaps internal injuries.
Mabel Williams, daughter of J. 7. Will
lams, Dunkirk, not serious
Mrs. Oscar Porter, Brocton, severe cuts on
head and right ankle fractured
Byron R. Barton Mayyille, scalp wound
and cuts ON arms
A. w; McLane, Brocton, engineer, head
cut and bruised
Barney Moss, Brocton, fireman, left arm
nearly severed, seriously injured about
WENT THROUGH THE TRESTLE.
The train went through the trestle that
spans Herrlck Greeks, about three miles east
of here.
The creek is harmless little stream, but
OWING to the heavy rain of the past two
days, 1t rose rapidly, and yesterday after
noon 1t poured down a food of angry wafer
against the trestle. The force of the food
was SO great that the rocks supporting
the under sills were washed away
and the trestle's back was broken.
When the ill fated train dashed on the
structure at 6:45 o'clock, running forty miles
an hour, fhe trestle gave way and the cars
crashed into the gorge The train was
local to Brocton. 1t was made up of three
cars, baggage, smoker and day coach, and
earned not over dozen people.
FELL INTO THE STREAM
The engine had crossed the bridge when it
gave way. The tender broke its coupling
and with the cars fell TWENTY-FIVE feet into
the rushing torrent beneath. The engine
rolled over and over down the embankment
The baggage car stood almost on end,
It's lower end crushed into a distorted
mass OF iron work, and splintered
woodwork, with the tender, and smoking car
stretched across rhe stream. The day coach
was turned upward, its upper extremity
| resting on the tracks above, and its lower
end buried in the creek. There were seven
passengers in the coach, and all were either
killed or injured
THE WORK OF RESCUE.
when the wreck occurred assistance was
summoned and men with lanterns and crow
bars went to work reScuing those in the
cars. The dead and injured were taken
from the rear coach, the wounded being
carried to Mr.. Herrick's house near by and the
dead for the time laid out on the bank. Then
| the search for the missing was taken up At
midnight an arm was seen protruding from
the wreckage formed by the tender baggage
car and smoker. 1t was the body of Conduc-
| tor Hodge. His head was buried deep in the
debris, and tons of wreckage will have to be
lifted before it can be released The BODY
OF Baggageman Mccain has not Yet
been found It was either buried
deep in the wreck or washed
away by the food. The engineer and fire.
man do not know how they escaped alive.
McLans, the engineer, found himself lying
beside the engine at the bottom of the en-
banknient. Moss, the fireman, also went
down with the engine and came to his senses
not far away from it,
A Nickel Plate engine was run up from
Silver Greek with two doctors and a third
came from Dunkirk
DIED AFTER RESCUE.
They gave the wounded every attention.
but George Rydan, who was sexton of the
cemetery at Fredonia, died an hour after the
accident. The others are expected to re-
cover, though Moss, the fireman is in great
danger.
Houge, the dead conductor, leaves a widow
and five children. Oscar Porter was proini-
nent merchant of Brocton and Supervisor of
the town of Portland.
All Western New York and Pennsylyania
trains are running over the Nickel Plate
tracks between Silver Greek and Dunkirk
this morning. 1t will take some time to re-
pair the wrecked bridge.