The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-12-23
Engineer Bog EFT Killed at
His Post in a Serious
Accident on the
Erie.
HIS FIREMAN DIES WITH HIM
Through His Heroism No One is
Injured-Wrecked By q
Broken Down Freight
Train.

An accident occurred on the Erie Rail-
road last evening in every respect simi-
lar to that which occurred on the Penn
sylvania Railroad near New Brunswick
last month. In both cases a freight
train jumped the track throwing a car
in front of a passenger train rapidly APP
preaching on the opposite track. wreck
ing the passenger locomotive and killing
the engineer and fireman. The killed
last evening were-
Bogert. John w. engineer. forty-hve
years old, of Passaic.
Halleck, u. s.. fireman, of Waldwsck.
Train No. 50. a heavily laden fast
freight, was running east on the main
line. The last four cars of the train
were hats loaded with lumber. When
about two miles from Rutherford and
near the bridge over Berry's creek a tribu-
tary Of the Hackensack. the front truck
Of one of the cars broke and threw the
car and its load of lumber ~diagonally
across the west bound track, AT that
moment train No. 13S, known as the
Waidw.ck local, which left Jersey City at
TIA in charge of Conductor Davis, came
along at a rapid rate. The train CON
sisting of a combination baggage and
smoker and two passenger coaches was
filled with commuters and passengers
who had been in New York shopping.
The snow made it exceedingly difficult
to see far ahead, and both Engineer
Bogert and Fireman Halleck were keep
ing a sharp ookout on each side OF the
cab. Suddenly the glare Of the head
light struck the lumber car. Instantly
Engineer Bogert saw. his danger and shut
ting off the steam threw on the air
brakes, opened wide the sand box and re-
versed his engine. The speed Of the
tran began to slacken with a grinding
noise and again Bogert applied the air
brakes. A third time he put on the
brakes just as the nose Of his engine
struck the obstruction. The collision de-
a minute on the embankment and then
topping over malt way down to the nlea-
dows below burying Bogert and Halleck
beneath the iron mass.
Fortunately the couplings between the
engine and the smoker broke and the
train remained on the track except the
wheels OF the smokers front truck left
the track. All the passengers IN
seats and some of them We're bruised
and cut by flying glass. No one, however,
was seriously injured. Some of the won-
en- \ children in the next car. were
also hurt by. glass and splinters and
nearly all of them were thrown from their
seats IN this car there was almost a
panic when the crash came. Men and
women rushed for the doors and some
tried to climb out of the windows. Com
ductor Davis. however. treasured them
that there was no danger, and they soon.
quoted down. Almost as soon as the
crash came the train crew and some OF
the male passengers ran to the 1ocomo-
i've 70 see II they could be ofany as
slstance to the engineer and gfremen.
They soon saw that they were dead,
and started to get their bodies out from
under the wrecked engine. Bogert,s
head was crushed, his leg broken, and he
was so badly hurt Internally that he
lived only a few moments after being
carried up beside the track. He had
been unconscious from the moment of
the accident. Fireman HalIeck was
crushed and frlghtfully scalded. He
was dead when found.
When the account was first reported in
this city It was said that several had
been killed and all the patrol wagons
and ambulances in the city were ordered
to the station. Drs. McGill, Nevin and
Gray Were summoned and also four sur
geons from the Jersey City Hospital and
Christ Hospital. They hurried to the
scene of the wreck with Chief of Police
Benjamin F. Murphy, Captain McNulty
The bodies Of Bogert and Halleck were
under the direction of M. w. Magu.re.
Superintendent of the New York Divss-
ACd4 cOOA itliiO4Sd ~
fiat car and its load of lumber and the
injured smoking car. The freight engine
and the uninjured freight cars, went to
the Erie freight yard.
This IS the statement given out by the
Train Dispatcher of the road
The seven o'clock local main line
train, gong west, struck a pile of lum-
Der at Fish Greek. The passenger engine
was thrown from the track, detached
and rolled down an embankment. Engi-
neer John w. Bogert, of Passaic. and
ftTpn4n W. I1p11nT1- ~ yEr-T7-s-1-F
were killed. The passengers were thrown
from their seats. None was hurt. They
We're transferred to another train.s
yond was not much delayed as the main
line trains. Were run to Paterson on the
Newark Branch, Passengers for luther
ford and Passalc were carried to Home
stead on the New Jersey Northern Road
where they took the trolley to their des-
tination. No n is blamed for the ac-