Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1894-01-16
THE HOBOkEN HORROR.
List of Victims of the Railroad
Accident Increases.
A FEARFUL CRASH IN THE FOG,

A FEARFUL CRASH IN THE FOG.
The Express Train Had Slowed Up For the
Bridge, and the Local Train Crashed
Into It-smoking Car Cut In Two-Near-
ly Forty Injured.
HoBoKEN, N. j., Jan. 16-At poin
about two miles from Hoboken and few
hundred feet from the drawbridge across
the Hackensack river the Orange accom-
mediation crashed into the rear of the Do
yer express on the Morris and Essex
branch of the Delaware, Lackawanna and
Western railroad The scene of the acct
dent was on the long meadows which form
the bed of the Hackensack river and away
from the possibilities of any quick assist
ance. Ten or more lives paid the penalty
of perhaps some ones carelessness, and the
list of known injured is 81, some of whom
will probably die.
So far as can be learned the cause of the
accident is due to the heavy fog and many
claim the carelessness of the engineer of
the Orange accommodation caused it. AS
usual, in the morning both trains were
well filled, and it would seem miracle
that the death list was not increased many
fold
AAO COfOl CAp1SoS SlOWSo up W
make sure that the drawbridge was all
right and that they could go ahead. The
engineer of the Orange express, who should
have done likewise, failed to take this pre-
caution and crashed into the rear of the
preceding train.
The last car on the express was q combi-
nation baggage and smoker, and into this
plunged the huge engine, cutting through
the woodwork like a knife and sending
splinters in all directions with force that
showed the tremendous speed at which the
train was travelling. The coach ahead of
the smoker was telescoped, the roof torn
out and the seats torn and twisted as
though they were made of paper. The roof
was thrown ahead and partly telescoped
the third car.
A Terrible Moment.
For moment the passengers did not re-
l~alize the awful situation, but soon the
shrieks of the wounded and dying and the
noise Of escaping steam told them that an
awful calamity had occurred. Those who
were not injured were quickly at work res
cuing their less fortunate fellow passen-
gers. Along the tracks the dead dying
and wounded lay strewn, some of them
having rolled to the bottom of the Is foot
embankment ON which the accident oc-
Cured. A short distance from the scene
was a railroad telegraph Office, and to this
there was rush and call sent for assist
ance
Relief trains were Immediately started
from Hoboken, and almost before those On
the trains had realized the situation q
crowd had commenced to gather from the
city. Ambulances and physicians were
sent by the police from both Jersey City
and Hoboken. The train hands and men
from the neighborhood of the accident
grabbed crowbars and axes and helped to
pry out the dead and remove the dying
and injured. Six dead bodies were recov-
cred within half an hour, all Of whom
were men.
The engine of the Orange local, which
was known as No. 80, was hard and fast in
the debris of the rear car and had pinned
down several victims among the iron and
broken wood. These were the first to be
rescued. In the smoker every seat was
taken, and it was estimated that at least
40 passengers were in the car, not one of
whom escaped injury.
The Slaughter In the Smo lser.
A most graphic description of the acct
dent was given by the baggage master of
the Dover express, who was at the rear end
of the last car a moment before it occurred.
Happening to glance through the window,
he saw hardly 25 feet away q big engine
coming toward him at a terrific speed
Quickly jumping to the side door, he open
ed it and leaped out just as the crash came
In speaking of the wreck he said
II think the accident was due in part to
the recklessness of the engineer on the
South Orange accommodation. Our train
was moving at the rate of about five miles
an hour and was pushed 800 feet before it
came to a stop. The engine of the accom-.
the rear car of the Dover express about 20
feet. This last car, the combination bag
gage and sleeper, telescoped into the sec
ond car from the rear and split the roof of
that car completely from the sides and
ends. Four men were playing cards at the
last table of the smoker, and three of these
were among the killed. l saw some men
rushing through the aisle of the car.
had just looked up when the crash came.
The side of the car heaved in at an angle OF
about Is degrees, and the men who were
forward on the left caught the worst of it,
The side of the car plowed right through
them"
After a few minutes something like or
der was created in the work of rescue, and
the victims were rapidly taken out from
the twisted iron and splintered timbers.
The dead We're so covered with dust and
blood that it was almost impossible to
identify them. The cries and means of the
injured were terrible, and it seemed as if
no one had escaped. AS soon as the wreck
ing trains arrived such heavy parts as could
be easily moved were lifted from the track,
and the work of rescue was then soon COM
pleted. The wounded and dead were placed
ON the train and taken into Jersey City,
where many of them were met by friends
and relatives who had already heard of the
accident. Ambulances were there in re;adi-
ness, and those of the wounded who were
unable to go home were taken to the hos
pitfalls. The dead were taken to the differ
ent morgues, there to await Identification.
There seems to be some dispute in regard
TO the number of those Killed, but the most
authentic account shows but nine, while
the injured number 81.