The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-09-03
4 RAILROAD DISASTER An Excursion Train on Read- ing Road Crashes Into
 a Milk Train.
IS KILLED, OVER 30 INJURED
TRAIN W4S RUNNING TRIRTY-FIVS
 MILES AN HOUR.

AAbiAAV " f LC JNN b HI HL TT Lt ~
 MILES AN HOUR.
 Collision Occu rred at Hatfield, Twenty
 sengcrs Bound for an Outing at Att
 lantic City-scene After the Wreck One
 of 1ndescribabIe Horror The Dead
 and Injured
 Philadelphia, Sept. 2.-Thirteen per- sons killed and over thirty others in- jured is the appalling record of rear end collision between an excursion train and milk train on the Bethlehem branch of the Philadelphia and Read ing railroad this morning at Hatfield, Pa., twenty-seven miles north of this city.
 The wrecked train consisted of ten day coaches and was the first section of large excursion, made up of people from Bethlehem, Allentown and sur rounding towns. to Atlantic City.
 This section carried only those per sons who lived in Bethlehem and Allen town, and left the Union depot in Beth lehem at six o'clock this morning, ex- actly thirty-fve minutes behind the milk train. The latter train consisted of two milk cars and two passenger coaches, and had stopped at every sta tion on the road from Bethlehem en route to Philadelphia. At 6:54 the milk train drew up at the milk platform at Hatfield, and in less than two minutes the special excursion train, running at the rate of thirty-five miles an hour, crashed into the rear of the milk train. The locomotive plowed through the two passenger coaches and crushed them as if they were eggshells. The milk car immediately in front was also badly wrecked. Four persons-Godfrey Kae- lin, his daughter Mamie, Horald Landis and William Blackburn-on the passen- ger car of the milk train were almost instantly killed. Fortunately there were very few persons on this train.
 The excursion train was a picture of indescribable horror. The locomotive was mass of bent and broken iron, and firmly held the bodies of It's engi neer and fireman beneath its great weight. Behind the engine six of the ten cars were also a mass of wreckage. The first car was broken in twain, and the other five cars were thrown on their sides, completely demolished.
 Nine persons were killed in the first two cars and the others In these coach- es were badly maimed As soon as the crash came a terrible cry rose from the smashed cars, and those who had not been injured quickly crawled or jumped +o ho occiG ct ance of the injured Many were pinned down by wreckage and had to be freed by the liberal use of axes. With three or four exceptions the dead were killed instantly, the others dying on their way to the hospitals All the injured were first taken to shed at the Hatfield sta tion and the dead were removed to a barn. Messengers were sent to the nearby villages for physicians and a relief train was telegraphed for from Bethlehem. With fifteen doctors and half dozen nurses a special train was sent from Bethlehem, but before it reached the scene of the wreck it was signalled to return to Bethlehem, as a special carrying nearly all the injured had started for the hospital at that | place. On the run to the hospital three | of the injured died.
 The special train arrived at Bethle hem at 11.30 and was met by fully five | thousand persons all clamoring to get | bit of news of the wreck or trying to | learn whether loved ones were among | the victims. The news of the wreck | had reached Bethlehem at 8 o'clock and spread like wildfire. All the people of | the town were gathered at the station and 1t was with great difficulty that the injured were removed to the waiting ambulances and other vehicles which conveyed them to the hospitals All during the day people from Allentown. Catasaqua and other places came pouring into Bethlehem and confusion reigned throughout the day. The sec ond section of the excursion was made up of persons froms towns other than Bethlehem and Allentown and left soon after the first section, but was Jagged before 1t reached Hatfield. AS 1t could not get by owing to the blocked tracks 1t was returned to Bethlehem and there was great rejoicing at the narrow es- cape of its occupants from the catas- trophe.
 The coroner of Montgomery countyvis- ited the wreck early and spent the en-
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