The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1896-08-05
BEING JUDlCIAALY pRoBED.
Testimony of Railroad Men at Inquest OF
Atlantic City Disaster.

Atlantlc C1ty DisHster.
| Atlantic City, N. j., Aug. AT the
railroad disaster inquest Fireman Hol-
ahan resumed the stand after recess.
He did not jump when he got on the
engine steps. as he intended, because
he thought Farr would succeed in slow
ing up as he was trying to. The train
was going 40 or As miles an hour when
| it passed the distance signal. Hola-
han said that on the evening two weeks
ago, when the signals were against
| them, Farr slowed down to four or five
miles. Holahan gave 1t as his opinion
| that Farr did his best to stop his train
on the night of the accident.
| Albert W. Pinkerton, conductor of
the Reading train, testified that when
| they passed Pleasantville they were
running about go miles an hour. When
| he heard the engineer whistle twice he
knew something was wrong, and going
out on the platform he saw the danger
| signal and the other train. He felt
that collision was inevitable and was
| preparing to jump when they struck.
The express had by this time been
slowed down to IA or Is miles an hour.
Pinkerton said an express train was
always given the right of way over a
special like the excursion train, and he
considered it a violation of orders for
it to have been given the clear track
over his train.
| Pinkerton was Of opinion that Farr
made every effort to stop his train, but
could not in the distance he had to CO.
| Pinkerton asked would it be reas-
enable to suppose a man who run his
train at full speed up to signals he
could see mile away, if they had been
against him ?'
I'VE have other signals on the road"
he said, "and at every one his train
was under control"
From the regular signals blown by
Farr on his whistle as he approached
the signal poles and a subsequent whis-
tie Pinkerton, although not asserting
| that it was so, said that at the time he
| thought the signals had been suddenly
changed on Farr. Pinkerton further as
serted that If the excursion train engin-
eer when he saw that a collision was
inevitable he put on his air brakes
| 1t is probable that only the engines
would have collided and not passen-
ger been hurt
Brakeman Costello of the express tes-
titled that he heard the signals blown
by the engineer and then the sudden
pulling of teh air brakes threw him to
the floor of the car. The time he re-
| gained his feet the accident had oc-
Cured.
4 John Greiner, engineer Of the excur-
sion train, testified that as he APP
\ preached the crossing he got the clear
signal and went ahead, keeping his eye
on the home" signal Iookink upshe
| saw the express almost upon him. Call
| ing out to his fireman he ran to the lat
| ter's side of the engine and was about
to jump, but something restrained him
and he remained on the engine The
! engine went across in safety and the
express struck the passenger coaches.
| Greiner said he was running at the
rate Of thirty miles an hour at the time
and had no time to stop his train when
| he saw the express was not going to
| stop. He was watching for his signals,
and when he got clear track" he went
4 ahead without considering the express,
as he supposed it would stop. AS the
| Reading engine bore down upon him,
| Greiner noticed that it was reversed
and the wheels turning backwards.
Greiner stated that it had happened to
him to have the signals suddenly
changed on him at this crossing, but no
such occurrence had come under his
| attention this summer.
George MARI, the Wilmington boy
who was thought to have been in the
tower the night of the accident, testi-
fled that he had slept in the tower at
night on several occasions, but was not
there on the day Of the accident.
Arthur Stiles of Atlantic City testi-
fled that on the evening of the accident
he was riding on the turnpike near the
signal towers. Stiles directly CONTRA
| dicted Engineer Greiner's and Fireman
| Newelps estimate of the speed of the
| excursion train. He said it was run
ming slowly and by riding parallel
| with it on the turnpike he beat the ex-
cursion train from the distance pole to
the crossing by 400 or 500 feet and pass
| ed over the track He saw the express
| coming, and asserted that at that time
| it was only 400 or 500 feet from the
crossing, and that the excursion train
had not yet come on the crossing. Ad-
journed.