The evening times., 1899-06-08
FIVE MEN HURT IN A WRECK.
Brakemen's Car struck by q Heav.
Freight Train

/
Freight Train.
Philadelphia, June 8.-Five men were
seriously injured in a wreck on the Penn
syivania Railroad at Fortieth Street sta
tion last night. They are:
| Wesley r. Patterson, aged thirty one
! years. 42S5 Mantua Avenue, lef leg crush
ed.
John Carlin. twenty-five years, 800 South
Twenty-sixth Street. both legs fractured.
William McCarty, twenty-three years
1890 Melon Street left leg crushed.
| Christian Bowers, twenty five years, 744
North Thirty sixth Street, left arm crush
! ed
James Bowers. twenty-six years. s51
North Forty second Street, fractured
| shoulder.
They were all taken to the Presbyterian
| Hospital.
The injured men were riding a car
| known as the trolley" attached TO a
yard shifting engine, and were all brake
men employed in shifting cars in the
| freight yard extending from Fortieth TO
| Forty fourth Street The freight cars to
be made up into trains are drawn up at
the head of the yard at Forty-fourth
| Street. Each section is manned by one or
more brakemen. and after parting shove
from the shifting engine the cars Iun
! down the maze of tracks. propelled by
| gravity. the roadbed having slight in
cline toward the east. They are then
| brought to standstill by the brakeman.
when they reach the proper section.
small shifting engine attached to an open
| car carried the brakemen back to their
station at the head of the yard to bring
down additional cars. This car. which Is
| nothing more than a platform surrounded
by an iron rail. was one of the principals
In last nights collision. all of the injured
men being passengers on it.
The collision occurred shortly after 3
o'clock Just as a north bound passenger
train slowed up at Fortieth Street station.
The trolley" with its five passengers,
was moving west across switch from the
cutting track to the eastbound freight
track. Coming east on the cutting
a draft of sixteen cars speeded across the
| switches. The long line of heavily laden
coal cars manned by a number OF brake
men bore down on the little shifting en-
gne before the crew had time to realize
their danger. Engineer Mark Doencker
saw the swift approaching cars when they
were about a hundred feet distant.
without losing his nerve moment the
engineer grasped the throttle lever, throw
ing it wide open and jerking the light car
resounding crash warned the engineer
that he had been a moment too late. The
heavy ears bumped the little trolley"
car. overturniDg ii and hurling the crew
high in the air. Thrown in every direc-
tion by the shock. the five unfortunate
brakemen fell upon the roadbed, some OF
them beneath the wheels of the rushing
coal cars. In moment the swift moving
train OF cars was past, and the trainmen
rushed TO pick up their injured comrades.
McCarty and Bowers were found lying
groani1g upon the cutting track. The
coal cars had passed over them.
Patrol wagons of all the West Philadel
phia police stations were called and the
injured men were hurried to the PreSby-
terian Hospital Both Fortieth and Forty
first Street bridges were soon thronged
with curious crowds. the report of the ac-
eident spreading rapidly. Several of the
injured men had homes in the vicinity
and there were pathetic scenes as the in
jured railroaders were borne on stretchers
10 the patrol wagons. Lieutenant Taylor.
of the Sixteenth district. soon had detail
of men on the ground and kept a way clear
for the passage of the injured
Neither Engineer Doencker or Fireman
George Hagee could explain the cause of
the accident The switch engine. with
her passengers had the right of way. but
the crew of brakemen or the draught of
cars all claim TO have had the white light.
or signal of a clear track
The shifting engine, No. S36. was unin-
jured by the collision, but the trolley
was totally wrecked. Traffic on the
freight tracks was delayed for several
hours