The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1895-03-02
THREE COACHES CROWDED WITH
PILGRIMS HURLED INTO A
CANYON.
SCENES OF GREAT HORROR.
AN ENGINEER WHOSE CARELESS
NESS CAUSED THE DISASTER
ALSO PERISHES.

| CITY OF MEXICO, March 1.-One of the
most frightful accidents in The history of
Mexican railroads, resulting in the killing
OF 104 persons and the serious if not fatal
injury of nearly 100 others, occurred on the
1nteroceanic Railroad at point about
| twenty-five miles from this city, a few
days ago great number of persons left the
capital and towns in the vicinity to go on
pilgrimage to the Catholic shrine at Sacre
Monte. Tickets were sold at reduced rates
over the Interoceanic line and this road
carried the bulk of the pilgrims. Yester-
day long train, aboard of which there
were 1000 passengers, was returning from
the place of the pilgrimage. 1t went well
until point on the line about midway be-
tween Timautla and Tenango was reached.
On this part of the road there is a steep
| incline, the line at one place having a
sharp curve where it runs close to the edge
of high precipice. This is one of the
most dangerous places on the road, and
was rendered more so by the fact that the
track here was not in the best of con-
dition.
| As the train began to run down the in
cline many of the passengers were laugh
ing and joking, while others were looking
scenery. Soon the speed of the train be-
gan to increase, and it was soon running at
q frightful rate. The passengers ceased
! their joking and looked at each other with
strange fear depicted in their faces.
Steadily the momentum of the train,
which was now swaying and bounding
/ fearfully, increased and soon the danger
Gus high curve was struck.
+ho fo+ e Al
the curve the locomotive swayed outward
| and then back. AS the drivers went on
the curve the engine again swayed heavily
and then either jumped the track or
turned rail. 1t dashed across the scanty
space between the rails and the edge of
| the chasm and then plunged downward
One after another three coaches filled with
passengers dashed after it and piled up in
mass OF wreckage at the foot of the
precipice. The next two coaches also
jumped the track, but most fortunately
did not go over the edge of the precipice.
AS the fifth coach left the track it twisted
and broke the coupling connecting it with
the coaches behind it. These coaches
kept the rails and passed safely around
the curve. After running a considerable
distance they were stopped by the hand
brakes.
When the engine and three coaches fell
to the bottom of the ravine there was a
fearful crash, and mingled with it were the
shrieks of the affrighted passengers which
could be heard above the shrieking of the
escaping steam from the engine, which
was knocked to pieces by the fall.
The passengers in the two derailed
coaches at the edge of the precipice got out
as quickly as possible, and many of them
fell on their knees and thanked God for
their escape from most awful death.
In the meantime number of passengers
In the other coaches had returned to the
scene of the wreck and devoted themselves
to the work of rescuing those imprisoned
in the wreck. The sight there was a most
gruesome one. The carriages were shat
tered, and majority of the occupants
were lying beneath the debris. The shrieks
and groans of the wounded were heart
rending, while many of the unhurt women