St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-10-14

| injuries were slight, were sent on to
| Chicago after a short delay. Mayor
| Clarence II. Bennett and Sheriff Peck
| took charge of the work of the towns
| people at the wreck, and credit is due
10 them, and to the citizens generally as
well, for their efficient services and for
| the attentions bestowed upon the sui
| ferers. Prosecutor Elmer Kirby made
| personal examination OF the wreck
and satisfied himself that all the bodies
had been removed before he allowed
| the
RAILROAD OFFICIALS
to have the cars dragged away. Though
thousands of Splinters from the tele-
| Scoped cars were scattered for rods
| about, bull few remain on the sod: they
have been carried away as relics of the
| catastrophe. Cushions despatched with
| the blood of the killed have been torn
| to shreds, and carried away by women
and men. SplinterS hanging to the
| coaches have likewise been borne away.
| The accident had scarcely happened be-
| fore the news was flashed over the wires
| to the company'S general office at De-
! trolt.
President H. B. Ledyard at once or
| dered out his special car, and was soon
on his way hither With him were
| Henry Russell, general attorney for the
assistant attorney; Chief Engineer a.
Nj. Daley, superintendent of tracks
and bridges; DR.. a. B. Tibbals,
assistant surgeon, aud j. II. Des-
rosters, special agent, The car
was run as a special train nearly all the
| way, and was picked up by the paSsen-
| ger tram which arrived here at II 80
| O'Clock this morning. Tho car was side
tracked and the officials Immediately
| joined the throng OF people who sur
rounded the wreck. DR.. TibbalS was
active i'll assisting the local physicians
| in caring for the wounded. President
| Ledyard did not remain in Jackson
| long. After learning the extent OF the
| wreck, he left this afternoon for De-
troit. The other officers OF the road are
here looking after the interests of the
company. The blame, if any attaches
to the active agents of the railroad COM
pany, belongs to Engineer Whalen, who
was hauling the rear train. None of
the officials, however, Will say that he
can be fairly be held responsible for the
accident. 1t is one oil those occurrences
which offers a field for scientific specu-
lation. The air brakes would not work,
and nobody feels competent to explain
why they would not. The two traius
were delivered to the Michigan Central
railroad at Buffalo. One came from the
New York Central and the other from
the Delaware d LackaWanna road.
They were both excursions. The pas
sengers were picked up at local points
in New York and Pennsylvania. Both
trains were run as specials over the
Michigan Central.
THE SECOND TRAIN
was in charge of Conductor Webb and,
according to o. A. JOrdon, the division
superintendent at jackson, it Was held
at Grass Lake, a station ten miles east
| of Jackson, until the first train was re-
parted as having arrived at Jackson.
| The same authority also states that the
| records show that the second special
| left Grass Lake forty minutes behind
| the first section, and that the latter had
| been standing in front of the jackson
station. protected by the semaphore or
| block signal when it was struck.
Master Mechanic Smart, who is 10
Gated at Jackson junction, twelve miles
east OF the city, reports that Engineer
Whalen's train was running about TWEEN
ty-three miles an hour when it passed
his Office. This is not considered aneX
| cessive rate of speed at this point. From
there in the unwritten rules of the COM
pany are to slow down, and when within
sight of the semaphore to come in not
| faster than five miles an hour. There is
a straight stretch of track for half a mile
| east of the Jackson station. Beyond this
| there is slight chrve. The semaphore
which protected the first special stand
| inS at the station is three-QuarterS Of
| mile east of the station. Engineer
| Whalen acknowledged that he saw that
| the signal was against him from half
mile away. Conductor Webb heard the
| engineers whistle for brakes when ap-
| preaching jackson. He claims he turned
I,,.o IN,.ol- HHrit hnr
| effect. The same cause that operated
| against the engineers lever made the
| automatic car brakes impotent. 1t is
claimed by the trainmen that there was
| no time then to apply the hand brakes
etfectually before the crash occurred.
WILLIAM WHALEN,
engineer of the engine which crashed
into the other, was able to see an AS
ISOLATED Press reporter tonight, to
whom he gave the following account of
the accident:
we left Detroit at 6:55 with one of
the best engines on the road and a train
of twelve coaches. The engine worked
remarkably smoothly for new one and
| was cOngratulating myself upon the
fine manner iii which it was working.
We stopped at LiyenOiS Ovenur, slowed
up at Wayne junction and stopped at
Ypsilanti. The air worked all right at
these points. At Ypsilanti there was
large crowd about the train and around
the engine. This is the hardest point
on the line 10 stop as it is down grade, but
we had no difficulty. We made no other
stop until we reached jackson. Just
east of jackson junction tried the air
brake and finding it worked all
right | shut it off. AS we
crossed Elmor avenue | applied the
brakes again when found they did not
work On the train, although they did on
the engine. l then whistled for brakes
two or three times and reversed my en-
CINE. l spoke to the fireman, Joseph
Kindling, and told him the brakes did
not work and to look out himself. and
at the same time pulled the lever.
held the throttle until we were within
three car lengths Of the rear of the other
train, when | went through the cab
window, as | could not get to the gang
way before the engine would strike
My fireman jumped first. l fell on
rail on my chest, injuring me severely,
ami was whirled around several times
by the nome mum, nearly falling under
a train on the next track. L think
a truck box struck me in the shoulder
as l fell. l was dazed for a
few minutes, but recovered, and found
both of my legs badly injured. The
doctors think the right one is fractured
and the other is badly bruised from the
| plapation as TO the cause of the air
| brake refusing 10 work. The only
possible reason Lean think Of is that
| while stopping at Ypsilanti some one
might have turned the shut-off cock on
| the rear of the tender or front of the
! THIS IG