The Portland daily press., 1895-07-12
saw A COLLISION.
A Feature Of BostOn's Big Conven.
tiOn Not on the List.
A SLIGHT ACCIDENT THAT CAUSED
GREAT CONNECTION.

Heavy Express Train Struck Car in the
Union Station-The Brakes Were Re.
luctant About Doing Their Duty
People Excited by What They Thought
Was the Killing of Man.
Boston, July 1.-THE first accident in
the Union Station during the heavy
traffic of the week occurred at 1.16 this
afternoon The Chicago & St Louis
express over the Fitchburg arrived three
hours late. Hundreds, also thousands,
OF people were gathering around the train
as itFpulled into the station.
just as the engine passed under the
outer arched twall of the station the en-
gineer gave the sharp shrill whistles for
brakes, but long before anything could be
done, the long heavy train rushed into
pay car that was standing at the head
of the track.
Even the big bunters at the head of the
tracks We're powerless to prevent the
engines progress. The pay car was
crowded to the bunter, then the. end was
top, and the iron railing which separates
the tracks from the rest of the train
house fell, smashed, for a distance of 200
feet. The excitement for the moment
was intense. On the rear end of the pay
car was sitting colored porter named
Reed. His legs were hanging over the
couplings. Hundreds of people saw him
and believed he would be crushed before
their eyes. Inside the car could be seen
a number of people. All around the car,
seven or eight Deep were crowds of peo-
pie passing down the aisles between
the tracks.
Outside the iron railing were hosts of
people. The crowds that have been wait
ing all day for the Christian Endeavor
arrivals were largely augmented by
people who had come into the Union
station during the dinner hour.
People scrambled and Crowded to get
away from impending doom. The pay Car
was partly telescoped, and the tforward
running gear was smashed. The
standards of the engine and headlights
were lying on the ground and couple
of sections of the iron railing were broken
and twisted.
The people who got first to the entrance
OF the car saw three men rush out. AL
but one had escaped injury. A colored
porter named Abner Carrick had beer
| thrown to the floor, and some of the
broken pieces of the car fell on him. He
was injured in the back and on an arm
but was able to walk. Willis Whiting
another colored man, who is attached te
the presidents office, escaped unscratched.
Reed also managed to escape injury, al
though he was thrown to the floor wher
| the shock occurred.
| What is miracle is that all of the
hundreds of people surrounding the cal
escaped even the slightest injury.
The pay Car had been brought into the
station early in the morning preparatory
to receiving the funds for the employees ol
the Concord division. 1t was to have lef
for Concord this afternoon.
The express train consisted of twelve
cars, and among the six hundred OF sever
hundred people that it carried were many
Endeavorers from places in the West.
1t was due at 1920.
| Engineer Hallett, who was driving the
incoming engine, was seen Immediately
after the accident by reporter, and
said
81 was coming in at the usual rate of
speed, and I applied the air brakes at the
proper time, but for some reason un-
known to me they didn't hold the train
up, and there was no time to stop it with
the hand brakes
"Our train was heavy, and when the
brakes failed me it was impossible to stoI
before we struck the car. -