The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-01-10
HEAD ON COLLISION
Thirteen Killed on the Lehigh
Valley Road.
TWENTY-FIVE INJURED
RESULT OF 4 FRIGHTFUL BLUM
DER IN ORDERS.
A SCENE OF IVDsscRI8A3LE HORROR
One of tie Worst Collisions Of Modern Times
One Wreck Leads to another. Road
Blocked with Tangled 2lO,d
Stained Masses.

New York, Jan. 9.-By head-on collis-
ion between two passenger trains on the
Lehigh Valley Railroad at West DuneI-
len, \. j., ut 12:47 p. nj. today thirteen
persons We're killed and over twenty five
were injured.
West Dunellen is three miles from
Bound Brook and about thirty miles from
New York city. At the spot where the
saster occurred there is n sharp curve
/ in the Lehigh Valley tracks and Il steep
cutting; but the accident was due in
the first place to some terrible mistake
in train orders and in the second place
to another accident that occurred at
Bound Brook earlier in the day The
scenes which accompanied the collision,
the sufferings of the injured and the
panic that reigned among the four hun
dred passengers were wen nigh indescri-
| bable. The bloOd-stained wreck of tam
| gled and twisted iron and wood that was
still on the railroad tracks tonight bore
witness to the truth Of the general verdict
of railroad men that this was one of the
worst collisions in recent years.
head-on collision on a double track
| road was made possible only by a freight
wreck which occurred at Bound Brook
| at & o'clock this morning, when the axle
of n freight car broke and nine ears were
| piled on top of each other. This COM
| pletely blocked the westbound track and
| all through the morning Lehigh Valley
| trains bound for New York switched
! from their own track to the westbound
! track. going over these rails from Bound
| Greek to New Market. Il distance Of six
miles, and changing at the latter place
! back to their right side of the read. To
| permit this mode of traffic, all westbound
| trains were held at South Plainfeld until
| their own line was clear of trains going
in the opposite direction.
An excursion train proceeding from
| New York was almost an hour late 1t
was moving on the west bound track
when the collision occurred
There had been waiting at New
Market a local train that plies reg
ularly between New York and Bound
Brook. It's number on the schedule is
No. II. and it was due in Bound Brook
| at 1859. Owing to the traffic all going
on one track it was almost an hour late
| At last the train dispatcher at South
Plainfield gave it permission to go. just
before reaching West Dunellen, Engin-
1
cause he stops for passengers if there
are any. Martin Brennan, the signal
man, threw up his arms and waved
them, as if to say there were no passen-
| gems, SO the local put on steam and head
ed round the curve, going at about y
miles an hour. There were only -four
| passengers on the local. In the cab OF
the excursion train was James Prender-
| tlo
George Cheshire They saw the local
MS 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 de-
struction. The passengers, alarmed at
| the continued whistle. opened the win
doWs, mothers snatched their children
in their arms. men started from their
seats, bat before they had time to find
out what was the matter they were
hurled headlong, knocked senseless and
many killed outright The two engines,
from which both crews jumped. came
! together with an awful crash. The ex-
| cursion train was probably going III
| about IL miles an hour. The local en-
CINE, as if tripped in its faster fight,
| turned Il complete Somersault and came
crashing down beside its now demolish-
ed 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 few
seats from the rear door. The car, or
what was left of it, rolled over, carry
ing with it the imbedded tender, the
fragments of dozen bodies and the
| wounded
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.