Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1899-05-18
A BLUNDER COST q LIVES.
Running 35 Miles an Hour a Train
Crashes Into Waiting Cars,
ONE WAITING ON A SIDING.

READING, Pa, May 1S,-Through
the absence OF signal light rear
end collision OF passenger trains oc-
Cured at 10 o'clock Friday night on
the Philadelphia &c Reading railroad
at Exeter, small station six miles
below Reading, resulting In the loss OF
twenty-nine lives Probably forty
others are badly injured and OF these
many may die. The express train for
Philadelphia scheduled to leave Read
ing at $3.50 o'clock was about half an
hour late in leaving. Meantime many
passengers on the train from Harris
burg went aboard the Philadelphia
express train while 1t stood In the
station at Reading, but rs the number
OF Harrisburg passengers was too
great 10 be accommodated on the eX-
press train, II was decided to send an
extra train to Philadelphia to run as
second section TO the express, The
extraordinary travel from Harris
burg was due to the number Of people
who went to the state capital to wit
ness the exercises connected with the
unwilling OF the Hartrauft monument
there yesterday, The second section
left here about twenty minutes after
the express train had departed.
At Exeter station the first train
stopped for orders and while backing
was crashed into by the second Sec
ton, which was running about thirty
Avo miles an hour. The locomotive
plowed through the two rear cars, re-
ducing them to splinters, and then
mounted the end of the third car from
the rear. The first car OF the second
train was also wrecked. Many OF the
passengers were crushed to death in
stantly. Norristown was the homo OF
the late General Hartranft, and from
that town many had gone to Harris
burg to do honor to his memory.
The first train consisted Of two ex-
press cars, a mail and baggage car, a
combination car, two day coaches, u
parlor car and day coach, in the
order mentioned. The second train
consisted OF six day coaches, one Of
which had aboard company OF the
Sixth regiment, national guards,
whose headquarters Is at Norristown,
and another contained the members
of the Montgomery hose company Of
Norristown. The other four cars had
regular passengers, including about
twenty survivors Of the Eifty-hrst
Pennsylvania volunteers, Hartranft's
old command.
The first section OF fast express train
No. 2, which ordinarily runs through
Reading to Pottsdam without q stop
was held up at Exeter by n coal train
which was using the 'cross over"
switch there.
While the first section was slowly
backing, according to orders, the sec
ond section, running from Harrisburg
to Philadelphia, and laden with ex-
cursionists who went to the capital to
see the Hartranft monument unveiled,
crashed into the rear car OF No. IL,
wrecking the two day coaches and a
Pullman parlor car and crushing the
lives out Of many Of the passengers
The second section was allowing the
first section about a minutes head
way and the engineer, it Is presumed,
did not see the red light which men
on the first section claim was displayed
at Exeter station.
At any rate the great engine came
along under full head OF steam aud
with the momentum which the weight
Of q heavily laden train behind it
would naturally impart, crashed into
the rear of the waiting train. The
rear day coach, the Pullman ahead
and the day coach forward of the
Pullman were smashed to splinters
The day coach behind the smoker and
the smoker itself escaped compare
lively uninjured and were later
brought into Philadelphia
The railroad at the scene OF the
accident runs over hollow and the
tracks are ON an embanlment about
6fty feet high, Several passengers
were hurled to the bottom OF the en-
bankment, but the cars all remained
on the roadbed. The dead and wound
cd were strewn in heaps in the wrecks
OF the two cars, Most OF the wound
ed were brought to Reading, but
many were sent to Norristown and
Pottsdam and some were taken to
Philadelphia.