The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-10-25
FROM SLEEP TO DEATH
New York Central Night Ex-
press PIunges Into the
Hudson River.
TWENTY-ElGHT LIVES were LOST
Retaining Wall Near GarrisOn's
Gave Way Causing Disaster.

Mt Work Searching for Bodies in Cars at
the Bottom of the River-At Least Eight
cen Persons Seriously Injured-Nine
Cinnamon Among the victims-Were
Imprisoned in Coach and We're
Drowned-Accident Happened Just Be-
fore Dawn-Why the Retaining Wall
Gave Way Not Clear-A Number of In
jured Passengers Taken to New York
Sunday-Engineer and Firemen in Their
Engine on the River Eed-Biggest Wreck
in the History of the Road.
Garrison's, N. Y, Oct. 24.-From the
sleep that means refreshment and rest
to the eternal sleep that knows no wax
ing, plunged in the twinkling of an eye
this morning, twenty-eight souls, men,
women and children. Into the Shiny
bed of the Hudson river a train, laden
with slumbering humanity, ploughed,
dragging through the waters the help
less passengers.
There was nothing to presage the
terrible accident which so suddenly de-
prived these unfortunates of life.
The New York Central train which
left Buffalo last night had pro-
gressed for nearly nine-tenths of the
distance towards it's destination, the
engineer and his fireman had just
noted the gray dawn breaking in the
east and the light streak Of red, be-
tokening the SUMS appearance, when
with the great engine a servant on the
rails, devil off, plunged into the
depths Of the river. Neither engineer
nor fireman will ever tell the story of
the terrible moment, for with his hand
on the throttle the engineer plunged
with his engine to the river bottom and
the fireman, too, was at his post. Be-
hind them came the express car, the
combination car and the sleepers and
these piled on top of the engine.
1t is known that it was little fog
gy and that the track was not visible,
but if there was any break in the lines
of steel, it must have been of very
recent happening, for only an hour be-
fore there had passed over it a heavy
passenger train laden with human
freight. Neither is there an explana-
tion ready. 1t is all conjecture.
The section of the road was supposed
to be the very best ON the entire divi-
sion. There was a great heavy retain
ing wall all along the bank and while
the tide was high yesterday, it was not
What tp houa
happened was that underneath the ties,
the heavy wall had given way and
when the great weight of the engine
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
railroad at any other time would have
caused disaster but now proved very
blessing. AS the train plunged over the
embankment the coupling that held the
last three of the six sleepers broke and
they remained on the broken track. In
that way some sixty lives were saved.
Of eye witnesses there were none ex-
cept the crew of a tug-boat passing
with a tow.
They saw the train with it's lights as
~SNi N'-tNN
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 it's hawser and started
to the rescue. A. porter jumped from
one of the cars that remained on the
track and ran into the yard of Au-
gustus Carr's house, near where the ac-
cident occurred and stood screaming
for help and moaning, 1.-THE train was
in the river"
Carr hastily dressed himself and get
ting a boat rowed with the porter to the
scene of the accident. AS they turned
a point in the bank they came upon the
express car floating about twenty feet
from shore, but sinking every minute.
One man was taken from the top of the
car and an effort was made to rescue
those inside. A few were gotten out,
the passengers left upon the track max
ing human bridge to the shore to take
the wounded over on.
The day coach and smoker had gone
down in the deeper water and rescue
was impossible In the latter coach
the conditions must have been horrible.
The car turned completely over, the
passenger emu OL IL was Ill tne deep Wa
ter, while the baggage end of it stood
I'D towards the surface. The men in
that lower end must have fought like
fends for a brief period for the bodies,
when taken out, were a mass of
wounds.
The closing scene of the first day of
this tragedyis drawn around a common
car as it stands near the scene of the
accident where nearly a score of badly
nutilated bodies, none of them yet
claimed by friends, are lying in a long
row. grewsome evidences of disaster,
the greatest that has ever occurred on
this railroad.
The wrecked train was known as the
State express. 1t left Buffalo at Z
o'clock this morning. The train was
hauled by engine S72 and consisted of
one American express, one composite
baggage and smoking car, one day
coach and six sleepers. This was the
makeup of the train when it left
Poughkeepsie, the last stopping place
4 before the disaster at $40 a. m