Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1895-08-04

A very serious railroad accident oc-
Cured on the Trans-Ohio division OF
the Baltimore and Ohio, at siding
about ten miles east of GAINESVILLE, about
twenty minutes after one o'clock yes
terday morning, which resulted IN the
death of one man, the fatal injury or
another, and the loss of a large amount
of railroad property, not TO mention
the serious shaking up and cuts and
bruises inflicted upon a considerable
number of passengers.
The cause of the accident was col
lision between a west-bound freight
train and the east-bound through pas
senger train, due in this city at 400.
Of this latter train, nothing was LETT
after the accident but the sleeper, all
the remainder having been destroyed
by the fire which broke out immedi-
ately after the wreck.
The west-bound freight train was to
have taken side track at the siding
to await the passage Of the passenger
train, but just before the siding was
reached, the train crew found that
their train had broken In two. The
engineer, John May, ran the portion OF
the train still attached to the engine
upon the siding, sent out brakeman
to flag the approaching passenger,
which was known to be about due, and
then went back with the engine for the
remaining cars. He coupled on to the
missing portion of the train all right,
and was returning to the side track at
a very slow rate of speed, about five or
six miles an hour, when the passenger
train appeared on the scene, running
at the rate of forty miles an hour. The
flagman who had been sent out stood
in the middle of the track, waving his
lantern to attract the attention of the
passenger engineer, and the siding
switch light was also set with the red
light exposed towards the advancing
train, but all these efforts to attract
the attention of the passenger engineer
or his fireman failed. Seeing that
collision was inevitable, the crew Of
the freight stepped off, and the two
trains came together with great force
The two engines were damned together
up to the smoke-stacks, one tender was
thrown off the track 10 the right, and
the other to the left, the baggage car
Of the passenger train was smashed
into fragments, while the cars Of the
freight train were involved in a COM
mon wreck. The point where the col
lision occurred was on an embankment
about fifteen feet high.
John w. Kemple, Of this city, was
passenger on the train, and arrived in
the city yesterday afternoon. To
Register reporter Mr.. Kemple said
Il was in the car back Of the smoker,
and was asleep at the moment of the
collision. Our train consisted of bag
gage car, smoker, day coach and one
sleeper. There were only five passen-
gers in the sleeper, but there were
quite a number in the smoking car and
day coach. l was thrown around in
pretty lively manner, as were the other
passengers, and most of them were
bruised and scratched up. One of the
passengers had his nose broken. An
other was thrown out of the car and
against wire fence, but only received
slight scratches. The baggage master
had left his car a moment before the
collision, and was in the smoker getting
drink of water when the cars came
together. That is what saved his life.
as his car was reduced to kindling
wood. When l woke up l saw a pas
senger just ahead of me getting through
the car door in a lively manner, and |
lost no time in following. After we all
got out, | went forward towards the
remains of the baggage car to see about
my trunks, and as approached the en-
CINE | saw something move. 1t was
Fireman Louis Bolin. l stopped down
and said something to him. but there
was no answer. The wreck was on
fire, and | called to some other men,
who were back about the passenger
cars, and several of them came up and
we got the fireman out. He was dead,
and one leg was missing, it having
been cut off. We found the remains
of 1t afterwards about twenty-five feet
away. Engineer John May had one
arm broken, and was badly injured
about the breast. They took him
away, and the last l heard of him he
was in bad shape, and Is probably dead
by this time. The fire burned fiercely,
and the whole of the passenger train
was burned, with the exception Of the
sleeper. l lost my trunk, but saved
my valise. Why the engineer of the
passenger train did not slow down and
stop, at the signals, is mystery which
has not been explained. The passen-
gers came out of the smash-up in very
Sood shape, and all have reason to be
thankful that the casualty list was not
much longer"