The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-01-10

| latter place back to their right side of the
| road. To permit this mode of traffic all
| west-bound trains were held at South Plain
field until their own line was clear of trains
going in the opposite direction.
Train No. 20, which left Shamokin, Pa, at
a. m, was so heavy with human freight
/ that it had to be broken into three sec
| tions The first two sections arrived at
| Boundbrook, switched over to the other
track switched back at New Market and
reached New York in safety The third
section Of this train was almost an hour
! late. It's seven cars were crowded with
four hundred excursionists. most of them
! from Mount Carmel and Shamokin, Maha-
/ noy City, Hazelton, Ashland and Pottsville,
| Pa. The party was travelling under the
/ auspices Of the business mems excursion,
an annual event which many patronize for
three days visit to New York Not a few
OF the excursionists were coming to witness
the McCoy-Sharkey fight. Their train
switched over at BoIndbrook and proceeded,
f, like the preceding sections on the west
| bound track
| LOCAL TRAIN AN HOUR LATE.
| Meanwhile there had been waiting at
! New Market local train that plies regular
/ ~ between New York and Boundbrook It's
! number on the schedule is II, and it was
| due in Boundbrook at II SO a. m. Owing
| TO the traffic all going on one track it was
almost an hour late. At last the train dis
| patcher at South Plainfied gave it permis-
sion to go. Just before reaching West Dun
nellen Engineer Rick slowed his train down,
| because he stops for passengers if there
| are any. Martin Brennan, the signal man,
I threw UP his arms and waved them, as if
to say there We're no passengers so the To-
| cal put steam and headed round the
curve, going at about twenty-five miles
hour. There were only four passengers on
the local.
In the cab of the excursion train was
James Prendergast, the engineer with his
fireman, George Cheshire. They saw the To-
cal as it started on the curve With Shrek
| ing whistle and brakes grinding sparks from
the wheels the excursion train bore down
to what seemed certain destruction. The
| passengers, alarmed at the continued whis-
| tie opened the windows, mothers snatched
their children in their arms, men started
/ from their seats, but before they had time
| to find out what was the matter they were
| hurled headong knocked senseless and
| many killed outright. The two engines,
| from which both crews had jumped, came
| together with an awful crash. The excur-
sion train was probably going at about fif-
| teen miles hour. The local engine, as if
/ tripped in Its faster flight, turned a COM
| plete somersault and came crashing down
/ beside its now demolished obstruction. But
| its career was not ended before it had
| jammed the tender of the excursion train
| almost from one end to the other of the
first car from Shamokin. The tender
stopped a few seats from the rear door.
| The car, or what was left of it, rolled over,
| carrying with it the imbedded tender the
/ fragments of a dozen bodies and the i'm
| prisoned wounded, who had been carried
| with the jagged iron on it's relentless course
through the coach.
| 1t was in the first car of the excursion
train that all the deaths and most of the
casualties occurred. The other cars, though
their occupants were badly shaken, stayed
on the track and were in condition to be
hauled off. The baggage car in the front of
the local train was rather badly smashed
up.
THE CRASH WAS TERRIFIC.
| A few minutes before the trains crashed
| George Weidman, of Dunnellen, had teth-
! cred his coal wagon TO a post at the crossing
| a few yards from where the engines met Il
| saw them coming" he said, 'the east-bound
! whistling for mad and the local coming
| around the corner. 1 waved my arms, but
| before he saw me the engineer of the local
| saw what he was up against. People were
| sticking their heads out of the windows
/ The engineers and fremen jumped. The
| trains banged into each other and the local
| climbed over the other as if she was going
| right on. Then she turned clean over and
| came down on her smokestack. 1t was an
awful crash. Then the other passengers and
trainmen came running up
From Dunnellen, Boundbrook and other
places doctors were quickly summoned
| They came over the Central Railroad of
! New Jersey, whose tracks run parallel with
the Lehigh at this point about four hundred
yards distant Relief and wrecklng trains
were quickly on hand. AS the dead were
taken from the demolished car they were
put in the rear cars of the excursion train
and taken to Boundbrook, where a coro-
ner's inquest was held tonight. The. in
jured were put in the cars of the local
| train Twenty-one were taken to Plainfeld
| Hospital while the less seriously injured
went on to Jersey City and New York
Engineer Prendergast, who weighs almost
| 800 pounds, jumped too late. He was caught
under his engine and for three hours lay
| pinioned in frightful agony When at last
| a huge crane lifted the iron off his body he
was found so badly injured that he is ex-
| pected to die. The loss Of life inflicted upoa
his train would probably have been nothing
| like what it was had it not been for the
| fact that at Mauch Chunk the baggage car
| of the excursion train was found to have
a hot box and was taken off, thus leaving
the crowded day coach next to the engine
| If this coach had retained the position it
held when the train left ShamolSin probably
only few lives would have been lost.
Engineer Rick, of the local, was found on
| the tracks so badly injured that little hope
was entertained of his recovery. Despite
| the blood that flowed from his mouth Rick
gurged out: Some one gave wrong or
ders 1 know how it happened, but 1 can't
| speak now"
BLUNDER IN ORDERS.
In this connection w. O. Sprigg the su-
perintendent of the Easton and Amboy di-
vision of the Lehigh Valley, said: THE ac-
| cident is evidently due to a blunder in or
ders"
General Passenger Agent Lee had no ex-
PLANTATION to make. On this section of the
Iehigh Valley the block system is not in
use. The train dispatcher at Easton who
has charge of the territory, is said to have
wired to the operator at South Plainfeld to
let No. Il, the local, come through, but later
there came a message from Easton to hold
all west-bound traffic 1t is alleged that the
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