The Portland daily press., 1894-06-11
Especial to the Press, j

Biddeford, June 10.-The noon train from
Portland to Boston, on the Boston and
Maine, Eastern division, due here at 1.30
this afternoon. was wrecked by jumping
switch lust before reaching the depot on
upper Main street. No one was hurt, but
the engineer. who miraculously escaped
with only few slight cuts. although stick
ing to his post and going over with the en-
gine.
The switch is about one hundred yards
from the depot. AS the engine struck it
the wheels jumped the track and after
running close to it for fifty yards the en-
gine was piled upon it's side just at Main
street, being thrown some twenty feet
from the track The tender was thrown
on one side at right angles to thesengine.
The baggage car lost it's front truck, but
followed the track and plewed its forward
end two feet into the ground on Main street
nearly blocking the way. A few feet fur
ther and it would have plunged into the
depot platform.
The train had justscome off the old single
track iron bridge across Saco river when
it struck the switch. 1t was fortunate that
the engine followed .the track as far as it
did after going off, otherwise it would have
gone down a steep embankment. Although
steam had been shut off and brakes put
on when leaving the bridge the train was
under good headway and all happened so
quickly that neither engineer nor fireman
had time to jump. The engine went over on
the engineers side and the fireman was
piled on top of him at the top of the cab. 1t
was a wonderful escape for both. The fire.
man was little lame when seen by
PRESS representative, but was otherwise
uninjured. Both were Portland men. The
engineer was Clarence Dodge of Knight
vile, the fireman Charles L. Thomas of
Portland.
There were several in the derailed bag
gage car but none of them were injured
Passengers in the smoker were shaken up
some, but uninjured. The other cars were
a parlor car and three. passengers, all Maine
Central vestibuled. These did not leave
the rail, and the passengers hardly knew
that an accident had happened. Several
ladies' afterwards tainted in the depot, and
one had an attack of heart trouble. A
train was sent down from North Berwick
to take the passengers to Boston.
When the engine went over, the whistle
was opened and continued to blow for a
long time. The Biddeford fire alarm was
also rung in as the wreck caught fire. This
was soon put out, but the Biddeford fire
department lost it's hook and ladder and
truck. which broke apart answering the
alarm.
The train was in charge of Conductor
Barney. and was not carrying many passen-
gers. The engine was No. 536, and it was
really the veteran engineer. Waterman's
train. but he was taking day off at his
home here.
Two wrecking trains, one from Portland
and one from up the line, arrived here at
4 o'clock and the track was cleared late to-
night. The rails and sleepers were torn UP
for fifty feet. The baggage car can be fixed
I'M as good as new, and the engine seems to
he intact, but it will be quite a job getting
it back upon the rails.
The switch which derailed the train was
a tbree-way split switch. The split rail
for the switch is supposed to come to a
noint and to come fiat against the main rail,
The pointed end of this split rail had been
broken or worn off for few inches. SO that
the f1ange of the wheel did not slide off the
noint as intended, but mounted the rail in
stead. and so threw the engine off. The
nlace where the end of the split rail is
hrolen or worn off can be plainly seen, and
II is the same on both sides of the track
Eastern division trains were run over the
Western division.
people who were on that end of the depot
platform were rather startled when the
crash occurred. Witnesses say that the pile
nm was almost instantaneous.
A hack driver who was on his hack
iumned down and ran hundred yards
snrint. He said the baggage car vas head
ed directly for him and he thought it would
surely come through the depot. 1t probably