The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1894-01-19
DEATH WARRANTS
WERE TRAIN DISPATCHER ARCHER'S
CONFLICTING ORDERS.
An Express and Special Collide on the
Bennington and Rutland Road Near
South Shaftsbury--Enginee Smith and
Brakeman Madison Fatally Injured.

SNHt" H"itoOuI J--L"UiHOST Omltn anu
Brakeman Madison Fatally Injured.
Tuesday morning, at 945 o'clock. a
collision occurred about one mile north
of South SALISBURY station, whereby
two men lost their lives and three others
were badly injured. 1t might easily
have resulted in a more appalling calam
ity. The train leaving here at 9.10a.m..
connecting with that from Troy, No. "a,
on the B. & r. railway, received orders
to run to SALISBURY to meet special No.
3, wreck train returning from the &C.
cident of the night before at South
Wallingford, and in pursuance of that
order left South SALISBURY about ten
minutes late. Meantime special, No 8,
had got orders to run to South Shafts
bury to meet No. "a, and were running
to do So just above the latter station
the engineer of the passenger train saw
the special coming out of the fog, set the
airbrakes, reversed his engine, and both
he and the tiremen jumped. 1t is well
they did or both would have been killed.
The passenger train nearly stopped,
with brakes all solid, before the extra
rushed into it, else the passengers might
have been injured As it was none of
these was hurt. Train, No. 81, consisted
of Fitchburg locomotive, No. l46, in
charge of Engineer Fred Vandervoort
and Fireman Samuel Sturt. The train
of baggage car, smoker and coach is the
regular equipment Conductor John
Chaplin i'll charge on this occasion. The
baggageman was Geo. Harrington, and
express messenger Harry Benson All
escaped without injury, except Benson,
who had a rib fractured and otherwise
bruised; Harrington, who is injured
about the head. Anyone who saw the
wreck will wonder how either of these
two escaped, the tender case of iron hay
ing been torn into ribbons, and the whole
structure driven into the express end
of the baggage car The express bun
dies and baggage was thlown upon these
men.
Special, No. 3, was the old Glasten-
bury locomotive with one car backing
up, and coming down "Sbaftsburv Hip
at great speed. VIM. Smith was the
engineer, Ernest Whitman the fireman.
both in the cab at the time; while inside
the car was Earl j. Madison, brakeman,
and on the rear platform (the front back
ing DOWN, stood'Chas. Shufelt, conduct
or the outlook. Shufeit saw the passen-
ger train loom up out of the fog about
dozen rods ahead. He signaled Eugi-
neer Smi h and jumped. Evidently
Smith did not have time TO act because
the lever OF his engine was not reversed,
and the wreck train crashed into the pas
senger. The cabuose Car was made into
kindling wood in twiDkling, the tender
of No. 3, was demolished and as Engineer
VandervoOrt endeavured to get to place
of safety Engineer Smith was thrown
out of the ruin and dropped at his feet.
The work of rnCpua hpUan iVDyngIiato1v
Brakeman Matteson was rescued from
the ruins of the caboose, and help was
sent for. There was scarcely anything
left of the special, No. 3. Had it been a
heavy train more fearful consequences
would have ensued. As it was the pas
Seuger locomotive stood the shock and
demolished the wreck train as fast as it
reached it. Medical help was obtained
from South SALISBURY and Bennington
and the injured were cared for and re.
turned here. VIM. Smith was so badly
injured that be died soon after reaching
his home in this village. Earl Mattison
was brought here and taken to the hos
pital of the Soldiers Home, but died as
he reached it. Ernest Whitman, who
lives in one of Ed. Walbridge's tene-
ments, was reported fatally injured Tues
day evening, but is better and will prob
AMY I6CONSI, marry DeuSOn was Jdkeu
to his home in Troy, n. Y. The bodies
of the two men who died were terribly
mangled Engineer VandervOort says
that he certainly thought Smith was,
killed outright when he was thrown out
as stated, and when Shufelt told them
that his brakeman was in the ruins of
the caboose, they certainly expected no
one in there was alive-and so it proved
in fact.
The men who gave the fatal orders
was James Archer, who has been in the
employ of the Company number of
years. He is considered careful man,
and was one of the force who managed
the centennial traffic in 1891. Geo, Fl.
Burch, train dispatcher, is signed to the
orders, but Archer was in charge at the
time. He discovered his error and at
tempted to stop the trains, but it was
t o late, both had left their last stations.
Matteson's mother lives in SALISBURY
and thither the remains were taken. He
was a member of Hartford Lodge, No.
so, l. o. o. F., of Hartford, Conn, and
had been home here since he was in
iured, two years ago on the New York
and New England. After his hand,
which had been crushed, was restored,
he had worked about home, until an
opening offered with the b. & r.
The scene of the wreck was visited by
hundreds of people from the outlying
country and from Bennington and Hoo
sick. The railroad people began at once
to clear away the wreck and in the at
ternoon the track was clear and trains
running as usual. The wrecking crew,
who had just completed the job at South
Wallingford, came down and made short
work of the embargo. The Herald says;
1.-THE first tram to pass the scene of the
calamity was the train which left Rut-
land at 1850. This met the up trains at
South SALISBURY, and the first of the
after reached Rutland at 8 :25.
Superintendent Bennett is still con-
fined to his home by the illness which
has afflicted him all winter, and while
Director Colburn was experimenting the
work of clearing up the wreck at the
scene of the accident, General Passenger
Agent II. w. Spafford, who had come
down from Rutland, accompanied the
injured men to Bennington, and did
everything possible for their comfort.
This is the first 'head-on' collision
which the Bennington and Rutland road
ever had which resulted disastrously.
The road has ALWAYS been fortunate in