The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-03-24
Bad Smash At Still
River.
TEN CARS DERAILED
Fire Breaks Out-Rolling
Stock Damaged $4,000.

A rear end collision at Still River on
the Worcester, Nashua & Portland di-
vision of the Boston g. Maine railroad
yesterday afternoon at 4.1O o'clock des-
troyed about $4,000 worth of rolling
stock and delayed traffic on that divis-
ion of the road for over five hours.
A through freight was struck By an
extra with sufficient force to derail 1C
cars and badly damage engine 52S on
the extra. A few minutes after tbs
wreck a car full of cotton on the rear
end of the through freight caught fire
and last night at o'clock six cars
were destroyed completely by the fire
and four others scorched. The engine.
is in bad shape and 1t was4 thought last
night it would take almost mora than
it was worth to repair it.
Wrecklng crews We're summoned from
Worcester and Nashua and worked
hard for six hours to get the road open
to traffic. The rails were torn UP for
about 100 feet, and the road bed badly
~ 1p LOl slpCuL ItsAl1 tAl6al OLStcIIlIts
Passenger traffic was delayed com
pletely last night and nothing in the
line of a through passenger arrived in
Worcester. The train due in Worcester
at sos o'clock from Nashua did not ar
rive until 10 o'clock, although the road
was far from being open up at that
hour. A special train was sent from
Sterling Junction to the wreck and tbs
passengers transferred from the
Nashua train ana sent to Worcester or
a special.
Fortunately no one was hurt, the en-.
slneer and firemen Of the extra jump.
ing before the collision. The cause Of
the wreck was not known last night, al.
though it is supposed that the wire!
along the road which were grounded
yesterday in several places refused L
work and the lack of orders made tho
conductor of the extra suppose tina
the track was clear. The 72S train ar
rived on time as it starts from Sterling
This is the second wreck on the Bos
ton& Maine road in g. week and the 10
cal officials were a little hot under tn
collar last night when they heart
about it,
The fire which started from the ca
loaded with cotton, gained q good star
on the depot platform, and for mo
liiEilG II IOOhtu do LAtbuSu Tic ucDOl Nd
doomed, but by quick work on tn
part Of the wrecking crews, the fir
was extinguished. The FIRE had gainet
such a good start that it was fount
| impossible to eXtinguish it, and on &C
count of the absence of water or ap
paratus to fight the fire, all that coult
be done was to let it burn.
The officials Of the road were put gu
more on account of the delay to traffi
than of the loss of stock, according t,
| their own statements last night. A
it is a single track at that place, tn,
work of getting the debris cleared ava,
will be harder than at any other sec
ton of the road where an acciden
might happen.
A special train viii arrive at the Union
station at o'clock this morning, thu
! first to come through, and another spe
cial left here last night for Nashua a
| II o'clock, so as to have both trainI
in shape to make regular runs to-
day.
Charles F. Aldrich and J. b. Nugent
| two well-known local statesmen, were
returning to the city from an extensive
tour of northern New England, and ow
ing to the wreck at Still River, they
were delayed in their return. Mr.. Al
drich upon his arrival in this city, gavt
very vivid description of the wreck
His train did not arrive in the Wor
cester depot until 9.54 o'clock, being dut
here several hours earlier. At Nash
ua he had to be transferred to anothel
passenger, which ran as an ex
ira from Still River to Worcester {,
transfer the passengers from the Nash
ia terminus.
The wreck as he beheld it by tn,
glare Of the lights, was a. weird seen.
Of ruin and desolation. Freight carr
were tossed about like match boxes
and scattered in every direction TIL
| freight depot was torn up, as the acct
dent took place at that point, AM
wreckage was split everywhere. Tn
giant locomotive on the extra freigh
was literally smashed to pieces, bein,
almost unacceptable as a locomotive
The guard rails were torn off as if the,
were tissue paper, and the smokestacl
was running an Independent route o
its own. The wreck had caught fir,
and was burning fiercely.