The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1893-01-26
ACCIDENTS ON THE RAIL
WRECK IN ILLINOIS AND ENGINEER
KILLED AT HIS POST.
Fast Passenger Finds an Open Switch and
Dashes Into an Oil Tank Train-Fire
Consumes the Wreck-The
Perry Accident.

happened at 8 o'clock this morning at
Alton Junction, four miles from
here on the Cleveland, Cincin
natl, Columbus ana 81.
Louis railway. The southwestern
limited train from the east was thir-
teen minutes late, aud came into
Wann station at the junction at the
rate of forty miles an hour and ran
into an open switch, crashing into a
train of freight cars containing mum.
Der of oil tanks. Two of the oil tanks
were split open and caught fire,
which spread to the other tanks.
BOX and flat cars and the entire train
was consumed. Passenger Engineer
Webb Ross bravely remained on his
engine to put on the air brake and
was killed. He lived at Mat
toon, Ill. Fireman White es-
capped by jumping. The engine
and combination baggage car and
smoking car were damaged and eight
oil tanks, eight box cars and six flats
were burned. The loss will probably
reach 100000. The passengers were
greatly shaken up, but none of them
were seriously injured. A special
train with physicians on board has
gone from town to the wreck.
LATER ACCOUNT.
The train was due at Wann at $40,
but plunged by twelve minutes late at
Misunderstanding gait. There is no
side track at Wann, but half mile
beyond at the junction are several at
tended by r. Grattan, who also COM
bines the tonsorial art with railroad
ing. The theories are that upon him
lays the blame for the wreck, for one
of the switches under his care was
open unwarrantably, and he Is now
sought for having taken advantage OF
the confusion to flee. The train dash
ed through the open switches
upon the siding into the oil
cars at speed of forty-tive miles an
hour. OF seven cars lying there the
engine split two in half and rode
through, wrecking them and leaving
two whole ones upon the track. AS
soon as the engineer saw the switch
open he called to Fireman Dick White
to jump, which he later did. Then
Ross reversed his engine, applied the
air brakes and jumped himself just as
the engine split the first tank, only to
be surrounded by flames from the oil
ignited by the engines tiras. Throw
ing his hands to his face Ross stag
gered few steps and fell to the earth
q crisp and black corpse. The fire.
man whojumped earlier suffered only
q few bruises, and the passengers,
some sixty in number, were shaken
up by the shock, but none were badly
hurt.
In the baggage Car were the mails,
eleven pieces of baggage and the
corpse OF Mrs. Morrison en- route to
Boston from the southwest. The
flames OF oil spread to this car and con-
sumed their contents and then all the
other cars were burned. Five wreck
ed oil tanks as we'll as the engine and
tender were destroyed and the flames
from these were the cause of the worst
feature of the catastrophe.
AS soop as the news of the disaster
spread, hundreds from adjacent ham.
let's and towns gathered to look on
and help in succoriRg the injured.
About IL O'Clock as the great crowd
was watching the destruction of the
trains the two tank cars left on the
track, unable to longer stand the
pressure Of gas formed from confined
oil by the fire around it, exploded
with fearful force, throwing their iron
sides In pieces and burning oil far out
into he throng of sight-seers.
Just one second without sound
and then rose horrible confusion of
appeals for help, cries of terror and
walls OF the injured, and a panic in
describable reigned Almost without
exception the injured were burned
about the face and had their eyesight
temporarily or permanently destroy
ed. 1t was here all but engineer boss
received their death injuries. With
collected thoughts came relief work
and with willing hands carried the
wounded and dead to the depot until
a relief ain was secured by mes
senger sent to. Alton, all wires being
melted by the heat of the fire. The
train arrived a little after noon and
then, the wounded and dead except
those who lived near the scene of the
wreck, were taken to ST. Joseph's
hospital at Alton, where every effort
is being made to identify the I'm.
known dead and relieve the wants
and sufferings of the injured.
The financial loss to the road will be
very heavy. The engine, tender, four
coaches, seven tank cars and a consid-
cradle section of track we're destroyed
besides two small dwellings near the
road bed. This loss is probably $685.
600. Then will come damage suits,
though the company will resist the
claims for injuries resulting from the
asserting that sightseers
had been warned to keep away.
THE PERU WRECK.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind, Jan. GA
News special from Peru, Iud., says
Henry G. Griffith, engineer of the i'll
fated Erie express train, wrecked in
this city yesterday. died this morning
at the Wabash hospital. This makes
the second death. The other injured
are doing nicely, and will probably
recover. Gritfin's remains will be
shipped to Maine.
ON THE PENNSYLVANIA.
HARRISBURG, Pa, Jan. 2l.-The
second section of the fast line ON the
Pennsylvania railroad, due here at
$3.50, ran into the first section east of
here this morning Several persons