St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-02-23
An Express Crashes Into an
Accommodation at Phila-
delphia.
One Car Caught in the Middle
and Hurled Fifty
Feet.
Four People Killed Outright
and a Dozen Seriously
Injured.
Senator Washburn One Of the
Passengers on thu Ex-
press Train.

cIH express OIL Tile IenDSylVdllld. rdil-
road, which left Broad street station at
1920 this morning, coIlided with the
Morton, (Pa.) accommodation train near
South street station. West Philadelphia.
Three cars of the accommodation train
were wrecked and four persons killed.
Fifteen others were injured The
names of the killed aud wounded
wide circulation that the special
train bearing President Harrison
from Washington to New York
was one of the trains in
collision. This, however, was untrue.
The presidents special passed through
here for New York about on schedule
time. The accommodation train was
crossing a switch to pull! into South
street station. All the cars but the last
one had crossed when the Southern eX-
press came rushing down the track and
struck the local passenger car that was
upon the switch full in the middle. The
express was made up entirely of heavy
Pullmans, aud the light passenger car
was hurled fifty feet from the track,
broken and smashed by the terrible
force OF the blow. The express train
escaped injury, and the engineer imme
diately stopped his train.
The Crash
OF the colliding trains and the screams
and shrieks of the unfortunate people
pinned down beneath the broken tim
bers of the wrecked car speedily attract
ed an excited crowd to the scene. The
Twenty-frst district police station is
but few squares from the place where
the accident occurred, and squad OF
officers we're soon on the scene and the
work Of extricating the injured pas
sengerS was soon accomplished. The
hurt were hurried to the University
hospital. two blocks away, and their in
jurieS are being attended to.
The president was on a special train
following the express. His train was
delayed about half an hour and then
proceeded to New York. The accident
happened at 1875. The tracks of the
central division and the main line cross
this point, the former trains running
into the Thirty-sec0nd and Chestnut
street station and the latter running into
Broad street station. The accommo-
dation had the right of way, the express
being blocked, but owing to the slip
perry condition of the tracks the engineer
of the express was unable to control his
train, and the locomotive, No. 1915,
crashed into the third Car of the accom-
mOdatlOn. The engineer OF the express
was unhurt. as was also the fireman.
No one on the express was injured, and
the engine was damaged so slightly that
it proceeded to New York with the train
half an hour afterWard, when the tracks
had been cleared,
The Killed and Injured
were confined to the third car OF the &C
commUdatiOn, and this was completely
gerously hurt. The killed and injured
were:
Killed-Mr. and Mrs. E. l.. Miner, of
Media; Miss Maria Read, of Media, and
Rev. James W alker, of Lenni.
njured-George w. Haines, of Me- |
dia; Miss Geneyieve Zane, of Swartl-
more; Rev. Jacob Wiseman. Of Clifton
Heights; Miss Rachel w. Heilborn, Of |
Swarthmore; Mrs. James Walker, wife |
of the Mr.. Walker killed; Miss Kate |
Karcher, of Morton; Mrs. W. Ii. Lin
dermuth. of Morton; }. II. Guntrey, of
Swarthmore; Miss Lille NJ. Lewis. |
George Turner. Nearly all the hurt |
were injured about the head and face.
y
passengers on the express train. among |
them Congressman Dingley and Bel |
KNAPP, eX-Postmaster General Frank |
Hatton, Senator Washburn, Maj. John |
Nj. Carson and U. Ii. Painter, we'll |
known Washington correspondents. All |
rendered what aid they could to the in- |
jured passengers, but no one was more |
energetic than Congressman Charles E. |
Belknap, of Michigan. He grasped the |
awful situation at once and did splendid |
service in
Rescuing the Wounded
and caring for the dead. Mrs. Miners
head was severed from her body and |
left on the roadway. The very sight of
it frightened people away. Congressman
Belknap tenderly picked it up and
placed it by the body. Several of those |
on the express train who had left Wash |
ington for New York with the object of
witnessing the unfuring Of the Ameri |
can flag on the steamship New York |
were so overcome by the distressing |
scenes and terrible Suffering of the |
injured that they abandoned their trip |
to New York and returned tO. the capital |
this afternoon.
Several other names have been added |
to the list of injured, but their hurts |
are nOG SERIOUS. "A Hdll-uULtli ututIS, |
whose names cannot be learned, had |
their injuries dressed at the hospital,
and then departed. Congressman John |
Robinson, of Pennsylvania, was on the |
express train. He said it was miraculous
that so many escaped alive, considering
the force with which the trains collided.
After reversing his engine and apply
ing the brakes, the engineer OF the eX
press jumped, but the fireman stuck to
his post.
The responsibility for the accident
Jones, of the express. Charles Bckus,
towerman. says that he had the danger
signal up for the express to stop, but
that it was ignored and the crash fol-
lowed. Engineer Jones is one of tie
smost experienced engineers on the road