The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-10-26
TWENTY-EIGHT KILLED
PEOPLE WERE DROWNED IN
THE PASSENGER CARS.
THE CENTRAL ROADS WORST DISASTER
Some Say the Bed of the Road was Washed Gut
In Some UnexpIicsbie Manner, Others T at
Qucksani Before the Water
Line Was Responsible.
Line Was Responsible.

! of an embankment on the Hudson river
about six miles from Peeksville this
morning at TAO, a New York Central
train was thrown into the river and %
persons killed. The New York Central
train left Buffalo last night and had pro-
crossed for nearly nine-tenths Of this
distance towards its destinat ton. The
engineer and his fireman had just
noted the gray dawn breaking in the
least, and the light streak betokening the
suns appearance, when the great en-
lgine-a servant on the rails, devil off
plunged into the depths of the river.
Neither engineer nor fireman will ever
tell the story of that terrible moment,
for with his hand upon the throttle, the
lengineer plunged with his engine to the
river bottom. and the fireman, too, was
at his post Behind them came the ex-
press car, the combination car and the
sleepers, and these piled on top of the
engine.
| 1t is known that it was a trihe foggy
and the track was not visible, but if
there was any break in the lines of steel
it must have been of very recent hap
pening, for only an hour before there
passed over it a heavy passenger
train, laden with human freight. Neither
lis there an explanation ready. All is
conjecture. The section of road was sup
lposed be to be the very best on the en-
tire division. There was a heavy re-
Itaining wall all along the bank, and
while the tide was high yesterday, it
was not unprecedented. What seems to
have happened was that underneath the
tracks and ties the heavy wall had given
way and when the great weight of the
tengine struck the unsupported tracks it
went crashing through the rest of the
wall and toppled over into the river.
Then there happened, what on the rail
lroad at any other time would have
icaused disaster, but now proved very
Ihlessing. AS the train plunged over the
iembankment the coupling that held the
last three sleepers parted and they MI
Iraculously remained on the broken track.
lin that way some sixty lives were saved.
! OF eyewitness there were none eX-
lcept the crew of a tug boat passing with
la tow. They saw the train with its light
las it came flashing about the curves and
then saw the greater part of it go into
the river. Some of the cars with closed
windows foated and the tug whistling
for help, cast off its hawser and started
Ito the rescue. A porter jumped from one
"
and ran into the yard Of Augustus Cars
house, near which the accident occurred,
and stood screaming for help and moan
ling: 1.-The train is in the river, all our
passengers are drowned" In few
minutes Carr had dressed himself and
getting a boat, rowed with the porter to
THE scene. As they turned point in the
bank they came upon the express car
land the combination car floating about
twenty feet from shore, but sinking ev-
cry minute. One man was taken from
the top of the ear and efforts were made
to rescue those inside. A few were got
ten out, the passengers left upon the
| track making human bridge to the
shore to take the wounded out. The day
coach and smoker had gone down IN
deeper water and rescue was Impossible.
In the latter coach the conditions must
have been horrible. The car turned COM
pletely over and the passenger end was
In the deep water, while the baggage end
stood up towards the surface. The men
in the lower end must have fought like
,fiends for a brief period, for the bodies,
when taken out, were mass or
wounds.
The closing scene of the first day OF
this tragedy is drawn around common
car that stands near the scene or the ac-
cident, where nearly, a. score OF badly
mutilated bodies, none Of them yet
claimed by friends, are lying in long
row, grewsome evidences Of a disaster,
the greatest that has ever occurred on
this railroad.
The wrecked train was known as the
State express. 1t left Buffalo at
O'Clock last night and was due in New
York at Z o'clock this morning. The
train was hauled by engine No. S72 ant
4 consisted of one American express car
i one composite baggage and smoking
car, one day coach and six sleepers
Poughkeepsie was the last stoppin,
i place for the train before the disaster
at $40 a. m. At this time there was il
= the smoker, in addition to the baggag
3 man, Herman Acker, Of Peekskill, VIII
q was in his compartment, eight China
n men en- route from the Canadian horde
z to New York, and a middle-aged ma
q supposed to be Thomas Reilly, Of 2S6
p Wisconsin avenue, St. Louis. All Q
= these, except the baggage master, pei
shed. The day coach contained Is @
20 passengers, many Of whom were W.
men and children. How many of thes