The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-03-03
P. R. R. WRECK.
Susquehanna Train Ran Into
Empty Pullman Palace
Cars.
GAS TANK EXPLODED.
Passengers Escaped Just in
Time From the Flames
None Hurt, All
Scared.

A collision which resulted in the burn
| ing of one Pullman Palace car and Two
| passenger cars of the New YORK, sus-
ouehanna and Western Railroad and the
wrecking of an engine, but which hau
| no fatal consequences, occurred at o'oo
| O'Clock this morning on the eleValed
| structure of the Pennsylvania Ranroaa
/ between Monmouth and BrunsWlck
| streets. An investigation is on foot TO
! find out who is to blame for the accident.
| The Jersey City Fire Department ana
/ the fire department of the Pennsylvania
Railroad worked on the fire for over an
| hour before subduing it. 1t was marvel
| that no person was ln1ed.
| Engineer Charles Leslie, of the New
York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad
| train, and his fireman narrowly escaped
with their lives. They jumped just as the
| collision occurred
| The train which did the damage was
the New York, Susquehanna and Western
| Railroad train, which left Buffers, Pa,
| at 6:26 o'clock this morning. 1t was due
| in the Pennsylvania Railroad Depot at
| $3.50 O'clock AS it passed through the
| Waldo avenue railroad yard 1t was going
| at a pretty good speed. The block just
| west of the elevated structure, which be-
| gins at Brunswick street, was fixed-En-
| gineer Leslie asserts-to denote a clear
track. Leslie. therefore, did not slacken
| the speed of his engine, as he wanted to
| reach the depot on time.
| Just ahead of the Susquehanna train
| there ran out of the Waldo avenue yard,
| on the next track train of empty Pull
man Palace cars. They were being back
| ed into the depot by a drill engine to be
made up into an outgoing train. The
| Susquehanna train was but a short dis
tance behind the other train.
| Just east of signal station R. U. which
is at Brunswick street and Railroad ave-
lue, she Pullman train backed into an
open switch, which threw it directly into
| the track on which was the New York,
hSusquehanna and Western train. Engf-
neer Leslie of the latter train saw that a
| collision was imminent. His train was
too near the switch and was going too fast
| to prevent the collision. He applied the
air brakes as hard as he could and at
| tempted to bring his engine to stand
still. shutting off all the steam he could
| Do what he could however, he could not
stop his engine before the switch was
| reached
in his care and he made brave effort
| to prevent disaster. 1t is due to his
prompt action that loss of life was
averted. The engine had spent consider
able of its power when the crash came.
Three of the Pullman cars had passed on
to the track on which the Susquehanna
| train was running. The engine of that
train, No. %, struck the third car. 1t
~ nd 11tta To-
! molished it. 1t also smashed the rear
end of the second car.
| AS the collision occurred Engineer Les
| lie and his fireman jumped to the side of
the track The space between the track
their train was on and the rail of the ele-
waited structure was not very wide. They
hugged the rail to escape being hit by
hying bits of timber and iron. Engineer
John Mackenzie of the drill engine that
was attached to the Pullman cars also
Jumped. His engine was in the next
track. not having yet entered the switch
Engineer Leslie had barely jumped
when there was a terrific explosion. The
engine of the Susquehanna train in rum
ming into the Pullman car had forced the
end of the car up over the cab of the en-
gfne and had twisted the gas tank that
/ SuDDlleS
The gas tank exploded and the gas
igniting set fire to the woodwork OF the
demolished Pullman car. The fire spread
rapidly and soon the whole car was in
a blaze.
/ The collision but slightly affected the
! cars of the Susquehanna train. The sud
den stoppage and jolt of the collision
| threw the forward car upon the engine
| and damaged the front platform, but the
air brakes being on prevented the front
platform from being telescoped, as trains
| in such collisions usually are.
There was great excitement among the
| many passengers on the Susquehanna
train. Women shrieked and men turned
pale with excitement The explosion gave
( the Messengers more cause for terror than
the actual collision, as the latter merely
gave them bad shaking up, while the
| explosion made them fear the worst.
Those in the forward car of the train suf-
| fered the greatest anguish of mind
All the passengers got out of the
| Susouehanna trains as speedily as was
possible. They We're barely out when the
| forward car caught fire from the burning
| Pullman car. It was soon mass OF
| flames. The next car to it also sgnited
! and it looked for a time as ii the whole
| train would go up in flames. There also
| appeared to be danger of the elevated
structure burning up.
| Railroad avenue where the accident oc-
cured is lined on the south side by
number of wooden tenement houses. The
| flames licked the fronts of these houses
| and scorched them badly. The tenants
feared that the houses would be DESTROYED
| by fire and many of them fled to the
| street and removed their valuables to
places of safety.
! The Pennsylvania Railroad people were
! prompt to act The fire brigade was call
| ed without delay. An alarm was also
sent in summoning the local department.
An engine was sent out from the Waldo
! avenue round house and was attached to
the rear of the Susquelranna train.
| The train with the two burning cars
| was drawn off the elevated structure and
up the track almost to the railroad yard.
| This separated it from the burning Pull
man car, lessened the danger to the wood
work of the elevated tracks, removed the
| greatest danger to the adjoining houses
and gave the hremen an opportunity to
fight the two burning cars. The Pullman
| cars could not be pulled back, as the car
which had been struck by the engine had