The Portland daily press., 1899-12-28
On the Accident on The Portland and
Rochester.
An Empty Car Collided
With Train.
An Threw the Four Coal Cars
From the Track.

|
Board of Railroad Commissioners com
posed OF Chairman Joseph Ii. Peakef,
Hon. Frederic Danforth and Hon. Benja-
min y. Chadbourne met ut the Portland
and Rochester railroad station to give q
hearing on the accident which had hap
psned on this road Sunday evening when
Conductor Swan was killed and Brak,-
man Dennett serio usly injured. Stephen
q. Perry, one of the attorneys Of the rail-
Attorney Libby and Coroner Perry. Ths
hearing began at few minutes before
two O'Clock and was In session for about
two hours. Six witnesses were sworn.
The first witness was william A. Fergu.
son who was the engineer Of the train
on which the aocident had occurred. He
testified that he was in charge OF engine
four on Sunday evening and was hauling
coal from the pen of the road to the GOAL
wharf, a distance Of about two miles.
Tie train consisted Of eight cars with
Frank W. Swan AS conductor, Eugene v.
bennett as brakeman and Frank Lane as
fireman. The work Of hauling the GOAL
was begun at seven O'Clock in the morn
ing and the accident occurred at about
nine O'Clock that night. At that time the
train was breaking up, pushing eight
cars. five flats and three dumps. Ths
dumps were behind and thefats::were next
to the engine. The first that witness
knew that there were two slight jars as II
the brakes were being set up. At this the
engineer applied the brakes. He had air
on three cars and dropped the emergency
and reversed the engine. Then he ut once
looked the train over. He found the cars
piled up. Brakeman bennett was under
the end Of one CT the flats, the fifth one
from the engine. The dump cars were of
tho iron. After coming back In a few
minutes tine conductor was found under
meath the wheels OF one car, the wheels
having probably run over him. He was
laying alongside the track and was cut In
the face pretty badly.
II looked around" said Engineer Fer
guson, "but could see no cause for the
accident. didn't think that We had run
into anything is there had been only two
sight shocks. We were running between
five ard six miles an hour and were on u
1
known Conductor Swan ever since he
had Teen boy. He had been an employe
OF the Portland and Rochester for more
than ten or dozen years. A part of the
time he had run work trains and for the
last four or five years had worked In the
yard. From tine transfer station to
Tukey's bridge the grade is little down
towards the coal wharf. saw nothing Of
any car standing on the track between
the wreck and the ceal shuts. We moved
none of the cars after tine wreck that
night. The coal shute is on the siding
and the main line runs five or six feet
from the siding. After the wreck the
dump cars laid nearly at right angles to
the Fat cars and were standing on their
sides, separated from the trucks. To-
wards the engine another dump car was
standing on Its side. notio0d that the
draw bar was broken on the Car next to
the engine and found IL under the fat
car, the third one from the engine. The
weather was cloudy and rainy and the
wind was blowing 80 hard that q man
could hardly keep his lace out. We had
left the siding about fifteen or twenty
minutes before this. The bridge nearest
the siding Is the Washington street
bridge, which IL west OF the siding.
There IL a curve from the Washington
street bridge around by the coal wharf
The distance from the switch to the
Washington street bridge Is about loo
feet. No one had been left In the charge
of the car on the night before.
~ have no idea OF how the accident
4 occurred continued Engineer Ferguson.
Frank Lane the fireman said that be
was on the train at the time Of the acci-
dent. After 1t stopped ran back on the
track and found bennett, the brakeman.
under the p. s. X. fiat car, the fifth one
from the engine. Talked with BENNETT
who told witness he knew nothing about
the cause OF ths accident. Witness did
not investigate the cause Of the ac,idsnt.
The conductor and brakeman on the
last trip ware riding on the last dump,
on the car fnrthsst from the engine.
About seven dump Gals on the last trip
were left on the siding near the GOAL
shute. Went TO the scsne Of the accident
the next morning. Did not examine the
car to see II the brake was set. The sngi-
neer at the time Of the accident was
running slowly and was careful.
Jsdsdiah Morrill,. the roadmastsr. said
that hs went to the wreck at two O'Clock
on the afternoon Of the day after the aoci'
dnt. -Four cars were ,if the track. The
four cars next to the engine were on the
track. Saw q shaokle which had bsen
broken. Beyond the wreck. about SOC
feet on the bridge was another dump car
whioh was on the track. The cars left
the track about 800 feet from the switch
near the Washington street bridge. The
track under the train was In good shape