Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1899-01-16
HEAD END COLLISION,
TWO FREIGHT TRAINS
CRASH INTO EACH OH
Err WITH TERRIFIC
FORCE,

t"faiiIna Loss Of Many Thousan,
Of Ooiiars-Ons Of the Wor
Wrecks In the History Of the Ind
anapoiis Dvision-Ooourred Ju
Wsst oft asYium-Ths Particular
Fault Sssms 10 lie With ths Enol
nssr and Condu otor Of the Yves,
Bound Notes.
What will prove to be the most .,
pensive wreck in the history of tb
Anoianape lis division of the Panhandl
occurred yesterday morning at
O'Clock, about one halt mile west O
the asylum. and in the space of a few
minutes many thousands of dollar,
worm OF propt rty was totally DESTROYED
or damaged to such an extent as 10
make 1T almost impossible to attemn,
TO repair 1t. In the remarkable time
or fifteen minutes after the wreck wss
reported to this city
THE WRECK TRAIN
OF the Richmond division was ON ;ta
way from this city to the scene of the
wreck. When it arrived the crew
found an indescribable mass of wreck
age heaped up III every shape and
manner conceivable and what they
mad tLonEht would be a day OF rest.
was turned into day of the hardest
KIND OF work. Tney found thirteen
w h,rrxa
into space of three or four hundred
yards. They we're at fl st impeded in |
their work by being enveloped in |
clouds of steam from the kissing en-
gines and smoke from the wrecked |
cars which
TOOK FIRE
few minutes after the coll sion, and
for four or five hours burned furi usIv.
One or two of the ears near the loco
motive unfortunately were loaded with
Daied cotton and this COM J
bustible material caught fire i'm {
mediately. adding greater horror
TO the situation. Another ear WAS v
loaded with china, packed in straw and d
excelsior and this was not long in be- O
Ing licked up by the flames which were G
spreading to the other cars with re- T
markabie rapidity. The caboose and .
the ears of the west bound freight. =
winch were rot derailed by the force .
OF the collision, were soon uncoupled a.
and taken to the siding near the asy- :,
Ium and were thus saved from further >,
loss by fire. The ends Of some of :,
these ears were cayed in, but aside =
from this little damage was doae. The q,
wrecking crew then proceeded back to .,
the wreck and began the work of h.
cleaning the mass of debris from the 70
annapolis was also feierr7r;aipnsde FOR aha n
responded in short time, remarka b
bly, fast run being made from Indian W.
apolis to this city. With wrecking cc
crew of experienced men on both b
sides. the work of clearing the track ca
was begun in earnest, but 1t was st on lie
discovered thst it was an all day job in
and that all trains over this division b,
would have to be detoured via Hagers-
town and Cambridge City over the Big
Four and the Richmond division of the %
Panhandle. Orders were accordingly La
issued that ~
STOPPED ALL RAFFIC Ia,
over this part of the road and nassen- cl
ger Il aims numbers Is, 3, u. II, II, 20 Al
and | were detoured over the above s
named route, making them several d
hours late in each direction. lin
1t wasa %
HEAp-END COLLISION e'
pure and simple, and the marvellous o'
feature of the whole thing was that 81
not man was seriously injured on
either train, the engineers and tiremen :
humping in time to save their G
lives from what would have been "
an awful death. The east bound .
freight. according TO the rules of all q =
railroads, had the right of way over II
the west bound and was going at the
rate of forty miles an hour when the
collision occurred. The track Is down
grade and good time was being made Y
in order to meet the west bound tram 5,
at the siding in West Richmond. where ri
the two trains had orders to pass. v
THE POINT WHERE THE WRECK OCCUR Il
is about two miles from the station and r,
about a half mile the other side of the N
asylum. The two trains came togeth- V
er on the curve Just after leaving the e
asylum and it has always been con- b
sidered dangerous spot for wreck q
as the curve is sharp and trains COM b
ing in either direction cannot be seen o
or heard until too late to avert Just
such an accident IS took place
yesterday morning.
THE STORY OF THE COLLISION.
As far as can be learped at the pres
ant time. the west bound train had or
dsrs TO wait on the siding in West .
Richmond for the east-bo uud freight.
hut for some uraecountaole reason lg v
nored the orders and proceeded up the y
GRADE westward st coed rate OF :
speed. Near the asylum. the grade
aese.nds as far as the curve. when 1t =
AGAR. goes upward. 1t was IN this de-
cI;vitv Of the track that third number
81 the west bound train as it's known
in railroad circles. met tram number
'S4. east bound and with deatening
crash plowed into each other with ter
r;hIs ,asutts. Almost imediately after c
the crash
ruE EAST BOUND ENGINE EXPLODED
with 4 roar that was heard IN that s
vicinity for miles around. many per-
sons in West Richmond and some ON I
the east side of the river being awak- 1
arad nv the noise The force of the
axnlos,on blew ont the side of the boil
o. on the north side and scattered bits {,
oe the wreck over the adjoining held !
for many hundred feet. The telegraph '
S;ra. we're broken and the service
h.alv crippled for several hours.
L .4, ~