The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-12-28
Fiends Remove a Rail on a
High Bridge for the Purpose
of Robbery.
MANY PASSENGERS GO DOWN
To THEIR DEATH.
After Descending More Than 0ae
Hundred Feet the Cars Are Con.
Sume1 by Fire.

D1hn ALA, b6C At.-OnC Va
the most disastrous wrecks in the history
OF Southern railroads happened thirty-six
miles south of here this morning. in
which at least twenty-six persons were
killed outright and ten others injured,
TWO OF whom will die The ill-fateo train
was a Louisville and Nashville one which
runs from here to Blocton, distance Of
forty miles. The train left here at $50
A. NJ. in charge of Engineer Frank White
and Conductor A. ?. Connell. Four miles
north OF Blocton the entire train, made
up of an engine, haggage-car and two pas
senger coaches, crashed through a bridge
700 feet long and 10 feet high into the
Cahaba River,
a rail had been removed from the track
and when the engine struck this 800 feet
of the bridge gave way and went down
with the train. Immediately the wreck
took fire, the water being only about
three feet deep, and before efficient help
could be obtained the unfortunate passen-
gers and trainmen VINO were pinioned
under the debris were burned 10 death in
sight of other victims of the disaster.
Some of the passengers not so badly
hurt managed to crawl out and they did
little avail The dead are:
frank WHITE, engineer, of Birming
ham.
GEORGE CARNEY, fagman, of Birming
ham.
a P. CoNNELL, conductor, of Birming-
ham
Tom STREETER, coIored porter. of Bir-
mingnam.
JoRDAS POWELL, wife and eight clildreh
OF Blocton.
Mrs. HENRY HANBERRY and two chill
dren of Birmingham.
JAMES DooLIN, express messenger, OF
Guthrie, Ky.
L. w. MARTIN, Brookwood.
BRUCE EHILLIPs. Blocton.
s. w. TIBBs and wife, Campbelltown.
ANDREW BRYsoN, BIocton.
GEORGE GlENDALL, Helena, and four
others, unidentified.
Jae injured are: Edward Echols, slight
ly; Henry Hanberry, ribs broken; Powell
(chl.d), badly burned; Mrs. Walker OF
Blocton, internally, will die; Mrs. Walk
er's three children, slightly; Miss Booth
of Blocton. internally, will ole; Stan
Stewart, arm broken.
To add horror and fury to the event,
the flames from the stoves in the coaches
set fire to the wreckage, and the entire
mass was burned to the edge of the water.
The only one of the train crew that
escaped with his life from the wreck was
the colored fireman, Sam Spencer. He
Jumped from the engine while it was in
mIdair and falling into the river escaped,
almost by a miracle, with a broken arm.
Wild with fright, he fed for the nearest
station TO give the alarm, but before he
reached there farmer passing saw the
condition of affairs and drove to a tele-
graph station with his horse at full speed.
Messages we're sent to this city and relief
train went to the scene, but ere it reached
there the flames had done all their work.
The bridge was ponderous wooden
structure, with an iron span of 200 feet in
the center, and just at the beginning OF
the ironwork train wreckers had pulled
the spikes and removed one of the rails.
When the engineer discovered this, as
was apparent from the position of his
throttle and reverse lever, he Immediately
attempted 10 stop, but was running at
such a rate of speed as to carry down the
bridge. Every evidence showed that train
wreckers had been at work.
AS soon as news was received here both
the Louisville and Nashville and Southern
railways sent out relief trains loaded with
phvsicIans, and everything possible was
d.,ne for those who had been fortunate
enough to get away from reach of the
flames, which consumed all of the coaches
and a part of the bridge. Many OF the
dead were. charred com pIetely beyond
recognition.
The exact number that perished will
never be known, but it is believed it will
reach thirty-fye.
To cap the climax, one of the relief
trains which lett here ran into the rear
end of The wrecking- train, which was
stopped about 15O feet from the bridge, and
came near knocking it in on top of the
burning train. In this accident the fol
lowing were injured: Sam Eastis, will
die; William Rast, will die; Wood Camp
bell, leg broken; Charles L. Stone, legs
badly hurt; John Rittenbury, ankle
broken.