Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1899-09-21
Wreck on the B. & O.
THE DEAD.
VIM. Myers, engineer.
THE INJURED.

VIM Myers, engineer.
THE INJURED.
w. e. Dunseth, postal clerk, slightly
bruised.
G. II. Nelson, postal clerk, not SER
iously.
w Nutter, postal clerk, head cut.
Geo. Hartsell, express messenger,
Grafton, ankles sprained.
G. F. A. Back, express messenger,
Baltimore, head cut.
Dick Campbell, fireman, bruised
slightly.
Henry Kellar, baggage master, Cum
berland, bruised.
c. Warwick, Cumberland, brakeman,
bruised.
A disastrous wreck, attended with
loss of life, occurred on the B. & o. at
Petroleum about 1880 today.
No. 8, the west bound fast express,
due here at 1910 at noon, was the ill
fated train.
The train was composed of nine cars
and was in charge of Capt. Sim Taylor
and engineer VIM Myers, two old and
experienced men. 1t was the first day
in two weeks that this particular train
was running on time. 1t was coming
down off the steep grade east of Pc
troleum and through that village un-
der full headway when the terrible ac-
cldent occurred.
Several hundred feet west of r. H.
Rutherford's store, the ponderous en-
gne left the track. What caused it is
not defineitly known, but the SUPPOSE
ton is that something broke about the
engine.
The engine plunged forward over a
switch and sidetrack and down over a
steep embankment, falling on its side
The postal, express and baggage cars
also went over the embankment and
the smoker and coach were derailed
The tracks were torn upin aremark-
able manner. The rails and ties were
broken and twisted, and old railroad
men who have viewed it, state that in
all their experience they never have
seen anything like it.
A crowd soon gathered at the wreck
and as soon as possible efforts were
made to reach the injured and killed.
Engineer VIM Myers, of Grafton, was
found in the cab of his engine badly
crushed and dead, his death probably
being instantaneous. His fireman was
thrown headforemost from the engine
and alighted fully twenty feet ahead in
Oil Spring run, and strange to relate
he escaped without a scratch.
The postal car forged ahead of the
engine, crossing over the side track
The forward part went clear down ov-
er the hill while the rear is in the air
The front portion is badly wrecked
This car was occupied by postal clerks
w. B. Nutter, G. H. Nelson and w. e.
C.. Dunseth. All of these men received
painful injuries, but none were seri-
ously hurt and report that they will be
able to taNe out their run.
G. F. A. Black, the express messener
and Henry Keller the baggage master,
were painfully bruised, but escaped
serious injury.
As soon as the news of the wreck
reached here, a wreck train was made
up and sent from here and the accom-
modation train was sent out to trans
fer passengers, baggage and express.
This train is expected to reach here
about A o'clock this afternoon.
Neither of the three sleeping cars
wer derailed nor were any of the
injured. 1t was a fortunate
accident in this respect, considering
the nature of the wreck.
A special telephone message from
the scene of the wreck, sent by Sen
tinel reporter, says the train was
about ten minutes behind time and
rapidly. When on the curve
just west of Petroleum the engine
jumped the track and went over a
twenty-five foot embankment, carry
ing with it one baggage, one mail and
two express cars. They all turned
over and were badly wrecked. The
two day coaches also left the track, but
did not go over the bank. All the
were more or lessshaken up
but none of them were injured or
bruised.
Fireman Campbell had a miraculous
escape, being entirely buried in mud
and water when found.
VIM Myers, the engineer who was
killed, was As yers of age and leaves a
widow and one grown child.-Parkers-
burg Sentinel.