The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1893-05-12
AWFUL ACCIDENT.
Shocking Railway Calamity at
Lafayettc, In6.
AIR BRAKES FAIL TO WORK.
An Engine and Cars Fly the Track and
Dash Into the Depot Filled
With Waiting Passen-
gers.

hAtn waiting PasSen-
gers.
LAFAYETTE, Ind, May s.-One of the
most horrible wrecks in the history of
railroading occurred on the Big Four
road in this city yesterday morning as
a result of which ten men are now
dead and many more injured. The
train was the eastbound passenger
leaving Chicago at p. IN. The acci-
dent was caused by the failure of the
air brakes to work. The engineer I'M
doubtedly discovered this before reach
ing the cut beyond the Wabash river,
as vigorous whistling of the engine for
brakes could be heard when the train
was still a mile west of the city. The
engineers desperate efforts to stop the
train was shown by the large amount
OF sand thrown by him on the bridge
through which the train came Just be-
fore the fatal crash.
The engine dashed out of the bridge
over the Wabash river at speed of not
less than sixty miles an hour, crashing
into the depot building and carrying
OFF portion of the depot and train
sheds several hundred feet. The en-
gine when it left the track, followed by
the baggage car, two postal cars and
express car, was piled in one promiscu-
Gus mass, total and complete wreck.
burying a score or more of victims in
the awful pile. The trucks of the first
day coach We're dragged out and the
side of the car knocked into fragments.
but no passengers in this car were in
Jured. The chair car and two Pullman
sleepers remained on the track. The
wreck was a most complete one, the
engine and cars being torn to pieces
and piled up together with their con-
tents. To add to the CONSERVATION
fire broke out from the stove in the
baggage car, but the city fire depart
ment speedily extinguished the flames.
A large crowd of citizens gathered
very quickly at the scene of the dis
aster and assisted in rescuing the vic
Tins, and large force of local phvsi-
clans gave the necessary attention to
the wounded. Several victims of the
wreck were persons standing in the
depot waiting for the train, among
them hackman, mail cart driver and
some passengers. The dead are:
Michael WEIGH, engineer, Indianapo-
lis.
Fireman Mclnnis, indianapolis.
Ed Myers, LOgansport, mail clerk.
VI. I. Mahon, Cincinnati. express mes
senger.
a. r. Chadwick, Cincinnati, mail
clerk.
Charles Meyers, Lafayette, haclman.
John Lennon, Lafayette, mail cart
driver.
Jesse Long. Lebanon. Ind. mail clerk.
Charles Schapill, passenger. Just
bought ticket to indianapolis.
Otto Gesselson, Alhambra hotel. Chi |
cago. passenger going to the train.
All We're frightfully crushed and
mangled, limbs being severed in several |
instances, and heads and bodies terri !
bly, disfgured. The injured are rs fol-
lows:
jefferson NJ. Reese, KemptOn, bruised
about head.
Richard Jones, Pontiac. Ill, cut about
head.
Louis Leffler. Fowler, cut by glass
from breaking windows.
Sophia Bergenhalee. Milwaukee. cut
about head and hand. badly bruised
William Place, living near Frankfort,
Ind, bruised and cut.
Charles Roush, Lafayette. le,y broken
in two places.
William Becatel, Lebanon, Ind. pas
senger in waiting, arm ard hand
lacerated.
c. \. Wissell, A. W. L. Carnahan, L.
Wetzler and j. y. Vicllcry. mail clerks.
al from Cincinnati. were more or less
injured, but not seriously.
The damage to abropertv DESTROYED |
Will be fully s51.OJo, while the subse-
Iuent losses, which will grow out of
the disaster. viii make the total very
large sum.
The accident, as has been stated. was
caused by the failure of air brakes TO
work properly. High bluffs rise on the
west bank of the Wabash just opposite
the city and there is long ard steep
grade at that point. The ill-fated train
must have been Il mile up the grade
from the river when the engineer made
the discovery that there was some
thing wrong with the air, for he began
TO shrilly whistle for hand brakes.
The speed had by that time in
creased so 'terrifcally. however, that
control of the train was beyond HUI
man agency With almost lightning
ike speed the engine dashed around
the curves and across the long bridge.
the man at the throttle had
the machinery and immense
streams of fire were being dashed off
the driving-wheels running in the op-
Dosite direction to that of tine swiftly
lying cars that followed just after
leaving the east end of the long bridge
over the Wabash the tracks describe a
at the midway point OF
which the Union station is located.
When the engine struck the SHARP
,urve il left the track. followed by the
,ars in an awful swirl, and they piled
lpon each other 700 feet away, after
crashing through the train sheds, and
down towns ot structural iron
70 add to the terrors Of the situation.
The bystanders went to work at once
md the police and fire departments
quickly responded, the latter rendering
7alua BILE service in quickly checking the
lngry flames which threatened the lives
u scores of others in addition 70 those
killed outright, who were imprisoned
n the mountain of debris Superin-
endcnt Bender arrived at an early
lour, and under the direction OF trained
vreckers the tracks We're soon cleared
md ready for the resumption of traffic