The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-10-26
THROUGH A BURNING TRESTLE.
FOURTEEN CARS OF FREIGHT
BURNED At WHEAT HILL.

started Across a AFeNite-i ne Asp-
connective Passed over safely. But
the Tender and Middle section OF
the Train Went Down aud Were
Burned-A CoIored Brakeman and
a Tramp the Only Iniured-The Es-
tfuated Loss on Freight. $4,000.
Four Hundred Bales of Cotton
Burned.
The wreck on the Florida Central and
PENINSULA railroad az Wheat Hill, west
of Savannah. night before last was the
most serious since the extension Of the
road 10 Savannah. Nine carloads OF cot
ton and one Of grain were totally de
stroyed. and three cars containing lum-
Der and one containing brick We're par
tally burned some OF the lumber was
saved
The wreck occurred a few minutes be-
fore II o'clock. Train Il from Columbia
Engineer Mansfield and Conductor Angel,
was two hours behind time and was run
ming al the rate OF eighteen or twenty
miles an hour. When it started across the
tresue over Pipemaker creek. the engi-
neer noticed light or the around about
the middle Of the trestle, but thought il
was the campfire of some tramp, which
is a common sight along the road at night.
When the engine reached the middle sec
ton of the trestle it jumped the rails and
the engineer heard a sound which told
him palmer than words that the trestle
was giving away. He pulled open the
throttle. and let the engine 20 with all
speed, with the result that il broke loose
from the tender and ran along the cross
ties entirely across the trestle for some
distance beyond.
The tender fell with the trestle, which
gave way for a considerable distance,
Fourteen cars followed in rapid success
sion, piling on top of each other and crash
ing into the bed of the creek with a noise
like thunder. There We're eight cars and
the caboose which did not go into the
crevasse for the simple reason that the
other fourteen cars had filled il to the top
and prevented any more following. The
uestle is only about ten feet high.
Both Conductor Angel and Engineer
Mansfield played in big luck, the latter
escaping with his engine across the burned
trestle. and the conductor being safe in
his caboose in the rear. The fireman
jumped from the engine as it crossed the
trestle but was not hurt. John Nelson,
the colored brakeman was the chief suf-
ferer. He was on the fourth car from the
engine and went down in the wreck with
the car. lie was in luck, too. in being
thrown some distance. Had he been
caught in the ruins he would have been
burned TO death and nothing could posi-
bly, have been done to save him.
The wreck caught fire at once from the
burning trestle and in a few minutes
the whole pile of fourteen cars and their
amaze nnInTnn 40 r.
uement of Wheat Hill is near the Pipe
maker creek crossing, and in a short
Whlie large crowd OF negroes gathered
al the wreck. They were put TO work by
me trainmen lighting the fire with buck
cts, but water was scarce, the bed OF
the creek being almost dry and nothing
couia De accomplished against such IA
confiagration.
Supervisor J. A. Robertson was aboard
the train, having been up the road with
the supply car, distributing groceries to
the section gangs. He took charge of
the work, assisted by Conductor Angel
OF hghting the fire. All the buckets
aboard the train and all that could be
gathered in the neighbOrhood We're made
use OF, and the negroes who gathered
70 the scene were impressed into service
MT Robertson directed his efforts to pre-
venting the total destruction of the tres
9le, succeeding In saving about half of
u. lie also managed to save over hair
burned slowly
As soon as the extent Of the damage
was ascertained Engineer Mansfield
started to the city to notify Trainmaster
Williams. He walked to the Charleston
ana Savannah crossing, where he met
ths night passenger train, No. &C. which
leIt the depot at 1850 O'Clock on its way
10 Columbia. He Informed the conductor
of the train of the accident, and the
train was az once run back TO the yard
outside the city. From there Engineer
Mansfield telephOned the trainlnaster's
office information of the accident Train
master Williams Immediately went out
to the scene with such force as he could
gather, and remained on the scene the
rest Of the night, all day yesterday and
all last night, clearing away the wreck
age and restoring the trestle. The fire
was bad one to contend with, the cot
ton continuing TO burn for a long time
anu making a very hot fire. IT was some
time before the wreckage was entirely
cleared away, ana the work Of rebuild
ing the trestle could begin. Mr. Will
Jams had q Wrecking train with a large
force of hands at work Work was go
ing steadily ahead last night, and the
expectation was that the trestle would
be sufficiently completed this morning
TO allow of the passage of trains.
Freight traffic on the road beyond Sa-
Nannah was entirely stopped by the acct
dent. The passenger service was con-
tnued by transferring passengers across
the break. The regular schedules are be-
ing run and the delay is very slight. The
road Will be open to freight traffic by to-
night, if not earlier.
The wreck is a pretty costly one to the
road the nine cars of cotton contained
400 bales which is practically a total loss
there being very little saved and that in
a damaged condition. The car of grain
is also a total loss, and there will be con-
siderable loss on the lumber and bricks
The damage 20 the freight will not fall
short of $4,000 The loss of the fourteen
burned cars and the cost of restoring the
trestle will be al least half as much more.
Al the same time il was a lucky accident
as railroad men regard these things None
OF the train crew were killed.
Had the freight been half an hour later
II would have waited at the next crossing
beyond and the passenger train would
nave crashed into the burning
trestle instead. Or had the
freight been on time IL would
nave probably passed the trestle before the
nre had progressed to a noticeable extent
and the passenger train would have gone
on TO its fate. The holocaust that would
have resulted had ii been a passenger
train that crashed into the burning trestle
instead of a freight is terrible to contem.
plate.
The opinion of the railroad men is thai
the hre was incendiary. They think thai
u was set IRE to by parties who calculated
lhat II would burn into in time to ditcf
the night passenger train and rob the pas
Sengers.
No train had passed over the trestl,
lor several hours previous to the arriva
OF the freight train, and the railroad
men found their belief that the fire wa.