The Butler weekly times., 1896-12-31
WAS WORK OF FIENDS.
Twenty-Five People Killed in
Alabama Railroad Wreck.
TRAIN FELL uNEHUNDKED FEET
FIRE ADDS TO THE HORROR OF THE
SCENE.

Men, Women ard Children Caught Between
Burning Timbers. Rail Had Been
Removed.
Birmin ham. Ala, Dec. 27.-
Twenty people killed, five fatally in
juled ard two badly wounded is the
frightful result of wreck which oc-
Cured at 7:30 o'clock this morning
on the Birmingham Mineral road,
twenty seven miles from this city.
The wreck is regarded as almost !
certainly accomplished by the re-
moval of rail on the middle span |
OF the trestle. This derailed the
train, which caused it to fall between
two spans and precipitated it into
the river, ITO feet below. The
wreck was the worst that has ever
occurred in the state, and the sur
vivors are so few and SO badly hurt
that they are unable to give any de
scription of how it all happened. 1t
is not known and may never be as
certained just how many passengers
were On the train. Most of them
were miners aud residents of mining
towns in the district, who had round
trip tickets and were returning to
their homes along the line of the
Birmingham Mineral road.
Conductor Connell, who probably
knew better than anybody else as to
how many passengers were aboard,
is dead, It is thought. howevor,
that there were not exceeding
twenty five or thirty. But one pas
senger purchased ticket at Birm-
ingham
| WHERE THE WRECK OCCURRED.
The Mineral trains operate over
the Southern railways Briar6eld,
Bloeton and Birmingham branch
under contract arrangement Six
miles south of Gluerney is the
Cahaba river, shallow mountain
stream, which hae a depth at this
time of only about three or four feet.
This river is spanned by an iron
bridge with wooden trestles on each
side. Its entire length is 500 feet,
and the length of the main span,
where the wreck occurred, is 1lO
feet. The bridge was built only
. four years ago. and was regarded as
very safe structure. The main
span just beyond it, both made oI
iron, gave way and precipitated the
entire train into the river.
Meanwhile few country people
gathered at the scene to render what
aid they could. but it was too late
to DO much. Nine people had got
, ten out, and the others had beer
burned up in the wreckage. Wher
the relief train from Birmingham
l arrived there was little need for th.
: army of physicians that had gon'
| along. The wounded were quickl
> attended to and then sent to BloctoI
for further attention. The work o
! getting the dead was entered upon
: Nothing was left of the wreckagt
5 but the smouldering remains, which
! had buried to the waters edge
Charred corpses were packed in be
tween the iron framework where th'
4 seats had been Most of the bodie!
!, had been burned beyond recogni
ton. Some had their heads burned
, off, and of others nothing was lef
but mere skeletons. As rapidly Al
possible the remains were taken ou
and laid in q row on the river bank
At four o'clock twenty bodies hat
+. been found, sud no more were j,
r sight 1t is possible, however, tha
|. there are others under the wreckag,
e and also that some may be hid b,
a the water. OF the survivors. San
q Spencer was the only one .of th
: train crew that escaped alive. q
4 was the colored fireman He jump
= ed from the engine while it was il
e midair and landedin in tbs water som
distance from where the engine fei