Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-09-01

Disaster en- the Boston and Albany
Railroad Near Chester, Mass.

Disaster en- the Boston and Albany
Railroad Near Chester, Mass.
The Chicago limited express train for
Boston broke through . crail iron bridge
on the Boston and Albany railroad. one and
| one-haf miles east OF Chester. Mass, about
1870 yesterday. and four Wagner cars were
crushed. killing at least thirteen persons,
fatally injuring several others. while at
least score are badly hurt.
The wreck 10 the worst ever known on
the railroad. The bridge was being
strengthened for the big locomotives, and
the workmen who were putting on the
plates were at dinner when the craAh came.
The locomotive passed over the structure,
put was wrecked. the water tank being
thrown long distance. The buffet, two
sieepers. and a dining car were smashed
| to kindling when they struck the stream
twenty feet below. but the two day coaches
track. There had been thirteen dead bodies
taken out at o'clock. and twelve Of them
were identified. The following Is a list Of
| killed and injured:
Dead.-J. E. Dewitt, Portland, Me-. presi-
dent of the Union Mutual Life Insurance
7. K. Kelly of Boston.
! Miss Susie Getting Of Boston
| Mrs. c. Bispham Of Philadelphia
| Miss Emma DeLorty of Columbus, Ohio.
n C. Ives Of Chicago
Frank Sedgwick Of Palmer
Springfield.
j. H. Murray. brakeman. of Greenbush,
George W. Morse. baggage master. of
j. G. stackpole. Wagner car conductor, Of
Hartford. Conn.
R. c. Hitchcock Of Bellows Falls, VT.
| Unidentified woman.
Intured.-MIs. Rev. DR.. Lewellyn Pratt of
Norwich. Conn. cut hand. right leg
Robert Grekson Of Boston. Wagner car
Murray Graves Of Boston; fracture Of
right thigh and broken forearm
Ethel Carson Of Dalton shoulder sprained
| John D. Carson Of Dalton bruised
Louis Buchanan Of Boston; badly bruised.
Rose z. stephen Of Springfield; bruised
John Platt of Riverton, N. j.; bruised
Mrs John Platt Of Riverton. N. j.;
Mrs. Or: Alice Littel of Brooklyn; bad
NJ, F. Leach of Rainfall: fractured left
Mrs. Jas. T. Eldredge Of Boston; broken
hip fractured shoulder
Mrs. H. E: Whitney Of Cleveland, Ohio;
badly bruised and scalp wound
| bruised
Sumner Cummings Of Worcester: bruised
| and sprained knee
Mrs. Sumner Cummings Of Worcester;
compound fracture OF the leg and bruised.
Wellesley Porter. Boston; fractured thigh.
Arthur Williams Of Lenox; bad scalp
wound.
Frank Lang Of Chicago: bruised chest and
back
Winthrop Wade Of Boston; fracture Of
left thigh.
Mrs. Helen Rich of Pittsfield; cut face.
Walter Hawkins Of Pittsield; bad scalp
wound and confusion of mouth and nose.
Lewis Mitchell Of Albany; badly bruised
and fractured ribs
William Horton Of Alhanv Jocop,otiva an
gineer; badly bruised. left hip broken and
internally injured, 1t il feared.
J; Waldroon johnson Of Boston; left eye
2: B. Adams Of Holyoke: head bruised.
Mrs. Avery of Holyoke; hip injured.
1t Is believed that there are more bodies In
the ruins.
The Disaster.
The train was seven minutes late at
Chester and the railroad hands say 1t was
going at the rate Of twenty miles an hour
when 1t struck the first Of the two spans
across the river.
The conductor was taking tickets in
DAY coach. and although thrown violently
down. escaped serious injury.
There are only few houses in the vicin-
ity. and a man driving by gave the alarm
through the village street
| In few moments hundreds were on the
scene. The shrieks Of the imprisoned were
most terrible and scores Of people looked
on completely unnerved. The heroes Of
the hour were DR.. George L. Wood of Col
linsville, who went to the train to meet
his wife. and the colored porters and watt
ers In the dining car. who, although their
faces were bruised and cut and covered
with blood, did splendid work.
| The village people soon recovered from
the shock and were hard at work. The
hospital was a group of apple trees in an
| adjoining orchard, where scores of injured
| were taken. Ok teams arrived with loads
| of straw. cushions. bedding and food.
| cd vyor nSoS 70 no
| houses Of N. A. Harwood, Washington
Moore ana ]. c. Croker and all that re-
manned on the apple strewn ground were
thirteen bodies covered with red blankets
from an adjoining stable.
Many Of the dead were horribly mutilat-
s, Their heads were crushed shed IN, their
able only from their clothing.
Some of the Killed.
Mr.. scull of Philadelphia was with his
sister, Mrs. Bispham, in Wagner car.
She was instantly killed and he was pin
ned down. but finally extricated.
]. F. Dewitt Of Portland, Me-, president
Of the Union Mutual Life Insurance Com
pany, was reading magazine. M. w.
Kirk of Chicago started to sit with him,
but. seeing that he was absorbed, excused
himself and went into the rear car, and
was thus saved.
Mrs John j. Howard Of Boston, whose
stage name Is Hattie Blanchard, was one
OF the nVe saved IN the sleeper next III
front of the dining car, which was the
worst wrecked. She left Albany, where the
John L. Sullivan Company had appeared
the night before.
She says that she felt the car going down,
and reached for her hat In the seat in front.
In an instant she was pinned down by a
beam across her waist. A chandelier had
crashed down overhead. She extricated
herslf and turned to Mrs Bispham, who
was crying for help. Her head was wedg-
| ed under a car seat arm.
When Mrs. Howard saw that 1t was I'M
| possible to extricate the woman the poor
: victim squeezed her hand with GOD
bless you, good bye"
She started out and stumbled over
| cook pinned down near the kitchen, and,
mounting the ruins Of the next car was
. taken of safely.
l. H Tabor. editor Of the Iron Age, was
on a day coach. His clothes were torn,
and he was badly bruised. but did splendid
| work in taking out the dead and injured.