The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-01-25

a Graphic Account of the Collision Of the
Florida Special with . Local Passenger
Train Near Charleston 8. c, Friday Morn

Florida Special With . Local Passenger
Train Near ChArlestou s. c, Friday Morn
ing
n Messenger published yesterday an
account of tie accident on rhe North
Eastern railroad. with the list OF those
killed ard wounded. The following is
taken from the report in The News and
| Courier OF yesterday.
y The men who could give the most
graphic account Of the terrible tragedy
enacted just beyond Ashley Junction yes
terday morning are either dead or too
baby injured 10 tell their story. The
simple fact known TO the public is that
the great Florida special swept through
a heavy mist that had settled down upon
Charleston Neck and plunged into the
| Northeastern roads local passenger
| train between this city and Columbia
| The engines reared high in air as though
battling for the right OF way and fell. one
on either side of Sne track. The baggage
cars were totally demolished. The fire
| man on each train was killed Instantly:
/ the engineers were badly injured. and
half a score of people. officials and pas
| sengers, were wounded. Some OF these
| We're severely hurt, while others escapes
/ with a bruise or two. Nearly al of the
/ passengers on the special escaped with
| out a scratch, and even on the local few
received more than a severe shaking up
| and d bad scare. II is miraculous that
| such should be the case. for the great
| flyer was making its schedule of nearly
fifty miles an hour, while the local had
4, slowed up for the siding. The former
| trains weight was several times that of
| the latter, and one would have expected
TO see the local split into kindling wood
| and every man aboard of il killed or
| mangled.
Train No. 81. the special. was slightly
| behind time as 1T drew out of Lanes,
| and it went down to the run for the june
| ton with the intention of regaining the
| lost ground. As the miles flew by time
was made up, moment by moment, and
when the flyer dashed by the Eight-mile
! Turnout it was ta1lying the schedule, ac-
1 cording to Conductor Bullock's watch.
Train No. 80, the No~rtheastern's local
passenger between here and Columbia,
/ left the Chapel street station on time.
Engineer Hall had the throttle and Cap
tain w. G.. Webb the bell cord. 1t drew
out of. the junction with the officials un-
| der the impression that they had ample
time to make the turnout, a mile and a
half distant and the schedule point fer
connection with the vestibule. When
brakes were whistled before the siding
Captain Webb, standing on the platform.
watch in hand. congratulated himself
that he still had several seconds to spare.
The thought had scarcely flashed
through his mind when the crash came.
| The great machines rose in the air with
their conflict, and death and destruction
followed the terrific impact
JUST A FATALITY.
II uut COul sc " lllIt lllC L oIll-
/ cials, as they are in duty bound to do,
will doubtless have an investigation of
the cause which led to the catastrophe.
The testimony will scarcely prove con-
elusive. A reporter for The News and
Courier, who arrived upon the scene early
yesterday morning, used every effort to
gather such details and re-
! garding the collision as the public might
desire to know, and the conclusion reach
ed was that the affair was one of those
unforeseen fatalities which happen peri
odically. Whether or not the collision
was the result Of a violation of some
| technical rule of the company a layman
cannot say. The men who were in au-
thority on both trains were yesterday
fully convinced that they We're acting
strictly within their orders. They at
tempted 40 explanation and they placed
no blame, but each was satisfied that he
could not be lneld responsible for the loss
Of life and property that had occurred.
1t is a rule that north-bound trains
have the light of way, but an exception
exists in favor of the Florida special.
That train has a hard schedule to make,
ard, the track is given to it from Rich
moTd to Ashley Junction in the effort
to make it. When Conductor Bullock
came out of Lanes he had the right of
way over everything until he reached
the junction. It was this knowledge that
sent Engineer Nicely by the Eight-mile
Turnout ait fifty miles an hour. He ex-
pected to find the Columbia local on that
siding, but it was not his place to be un-
easy because he did not do SO. Had there
been no mist he could have seen the
local, but a few hundred yards beyoEd
the switch, toiiing up the grade. and in
the very act Of slowing up for the turn
out. But the heavy fog of the early
morning enveloped the track. as it cover
ed the fields and the forest. The two en-
gines were almost in their death grapp!e
before the men in their pilot houses
knew that a collision was inevitable.
THE LOCAL ON TINE.
The local passenger train to Columbia
is due at the Eight-mile Turnout at III
o'clock, and due to leave it at 1922. The
special is due at the same point at 7:19
| o'clock. 1t is a close connection, but it is
one that is made again and again. Two
minute is a great deal to a train trav-
cling fifty miles an hour. Had the watches
of the two conductors been together the
special would have been over a mile
from the turnout as the local made the
switch. As brakes We're whistled for
| Conductor Webb was standing on the
platform of his passenger coach watch
in hand. As a trainman was in the very
act of commenting upon the fact that
they had time to spare the crash came.
Both conductors Webb and Bullock are
we'll known here. They are men of long
experience: careful Of the comfort, much
less the lives of their passengers, and
ever diligent IN the discharge of their
duties. Each of them evidently believes
that he was we'll within the rules laid
down for him when the collision oc-
CURED.
A BATTLE OF GIANTS.
The meeting of the engines must have
been an awful, but sublime spectacle.
Both of them were machines of modern
build and great power. Engine No. II had
all the advantage, however. 1t was
backed by the great weight of the Sesti-
bule train behind 1T, each car of which
was nearly as heavy as itself, and, in adj
dition to this. it had the impetus of fifty
miles an hour with it. On the other hand
ngine No. 20, of the local passenger. had
only three light coaches in its rear, and
was slowing up for the siding. While this
latter fact may appear a disadvantage at
first thought. it was probably the saliva
tfon of the passengers on the local. With
it's throttle closed and its brakes on No
80 offered comparatively small resistance
to its powerful opponent. The tension OF
the brakes operated to make of the train
a compac body, through which the eff
fects of the impact were distributed gen.
orally with great rapidity. Consequently.
when the engines met train No. 81 was
knocked back without the cars being tel
scope Had her brakes been off and a
full head of steam on. there Is little doubt
that the special would have gone through
L har fr0Dp 70 ronr n1nffnrv1 Il -