The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-03-24
Work Train Plunges Through an I'm
dermIned TrestIe, and Employees
MaDgIed and Drowned.
MUCH DAMAGE In THE STATE
CONNERsVILLE, RICHMOND, RUSH
WILLIE AND OTHERS SUFFER.
Bridges Washed Out on Big Four,
The Lake Erie and Panhandle, and
Many Cities Water-BOund.
sneolal % the Indianapolls journal.

Special to the indianapolis Journal.
COLUMBUS, Ind, March pa work
train, consisting of locomotive and two
cars, containing forty-one men, went
through trestle one mile south of Column
bus shortly before o'clock this afternoon,
resulting in instant death for perhaps TWEEN
ty employees of the road and fatally injur-
ing several others, while none escaped
without injuries more or less severe. The
men on the train were sent out repairing
the food-damaged track on the Louisville
division of the Panhandle. otherwise the old
J.. M. e. /. Railroad. The train had left
Columbus few minutes before the acct
dent. The high water had weakened the
trestIe, and the engine went to the bottom
and the two cars piled on top and sank in
the water before all could escape. None of
the bodies has been recovered. Those sup
posed to. be killed are:
JOHN CONNELL, engineer, of Logans-
port; buried in the bottom under his engine.
NINETEEN OTHERS, missing employees,
whose names the railroad officials refuse to
give, all supposed to be drowned in the
cars or after crawling from the wreck.
The railroad officials admit only five men
missing, but survivors say there were thir
ty-seven employees in the car and only
fatally injured
WILLIAM WHITSON, fireman, of Mem
phis, Ind: badly burned and crushed about
the hips and body
FRANK LIZENBY, section foreman, of
Underwood, Ind; internally injured and leg
crushed.
HARRISON LIzENBY brother of above,
section foreman, of Underwood; body
crushed and back injured.
One of the injured men was located in
tree, but the current of the river was so
swift it was impossible to rescue him.
List of injured:
SAMUEL TALKINGTON, supervisor of
the Louisville division of the Pennsylvania
lines, OF New. Albany; internally injured
and limbs crushed; possibly fatally hurt.
JOHN CRAVENS, laborer. Jeffersonville;
shoulder broken, internally injured, will
probably die;vtaken to hospital.
LEBERT MCLELLAND. foreman, JEFF
fersonville; cut on face and head.
c. W. FIELDS, laborer,. Sellersburg; hand
cut. ~
LEWIS DIEDERICK, laborer, Sellers
burg back injured.
Bush COLE, laborer Sellersburg, slight
ly injured.
HENRY KENNEDY, laborer, Jefferson
VILE, badly hurt.
JOSEPH SCOTT, foreman. Austin, Ind.
back badly injured.
JAMES SMITH, foreman, Henryville,
Ind. slight injury.
GEORGE KEENAN,, laborer, Henryville,
slightly injured
GEORGE FERRIS. Iaborer, Jefferson
vile; slightly hurt.
WILLIAM OWENS, laborer, Scottsburg,
slight injury
LEO CUNNINGHAM, laborer, Jefferson
VILE badly hurt
After the work train crossed the railroad
bridge just south of Columbus the
engineer opened the throttle wide He
thought the danger was past Following
the engine was combination coach with
seats in each end with the middle used for
baggage. Behind this was a caboose The
men We're all in the coach. Just a mile from
the railroad brioge was a frame trestIe
which had been weakened by the high
water. When the train struck this structure
the Orders gave way and engine No. 1893
plunged into the water. The coach came on
top and the caboose in thu rear jammed
into the coach, imprisoning the workmen.
The work of rescue was under the greatest
difnculties. The town is cut off by a river
from the scene of the accident and long
made their escape through the broken win
dows. The engineer crawled to the top of
his boiler and lay there until rescued with
both legs broken. The fireman William
Whitson, caught in tree on the river bank
near the railroad bridge. Soon as the news
reached Columbus everybody rushed to the
station for particulars. Every physician in
the city was called to assist in caring for
the injured and dying Boats were loaded
on fiat cars and hurried to the scene of
the wreck. William Owens, of Scottsburg.
was one of thee first of the injured men
10 reach the city His. face was badly .cut
ny glass and he was suffering from other
INJURIES he told how he knocked out a
window and crawled from the coach as il
was sinking.
LebeEt McClelland, the injured section
foreman, was one of the first who We're
Drought back to Columbus. He said TT
MAS careiessness that caused the wreck
Inc track was soft and we were running
100 lasI Ihere ~ no telling how many
poor felloWS We're caught in the car and
S .,ias IKE rats in cage. The train
was running at the rate of forty miles an
hour When 1t reached the trestle the
abutments of which had been undermined
py the water. The engine and coaches be-
hlnd plunged into the stream. There was
not a moments warning. The drop TO the
bottom was twenty feet. The two coaches
plled one on top of another, but held so
mat lhey did not sink into the water rapid
y. Many OF the men were able to yet out
Tie wreck then dropped to the bottom
ne hreman was caught in the wreckage.
The whole surrounding country was "A sea
OF water and no help was at hand Those
Dut slightly hurt made all efforts TO assist
just few minutes before the wreck oc-
Cured a trainload of Madison teachers
passed over the trestle on their way