The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-11-13
THE COMPLETE
DETAILS Of WRECK
The Fatal Smash-Up on The
Coast Line.
DR.. MESERVE PASSENGER
Or. MESERVE PASSENGER
He Tells a Graphic Story of the Fatal
Accident Near Fayetteville.
THE ENGINEER KILLED Ar HIS POST
The Wreck Was Caused by Some Miscreant,
who Fastened a Spike 10 the Track.
Consp cuous Bravery Of Engin-
Ger MCGOWAN.

eer MCGOWAN.
DR.. Chas. F.. Meserve, President of
Shaw University, was among the pas
seneers ON the Coast Line train that
was wrecked Saturday at Hope Mills,
near Fayetteville. He escaped unhurt
and arrived at home Sunday.
The engine was derailed by the
, placing of a spike on the track. The
spike was found tied around the rail
/ with a handkerchief, and was evident
| w placed there for the purpose of
wrecking the train. The engine ran
| at least 200 yards ON the cross ties,
| when it left the track, plunged up the
embankment at that point, and turn
ed completely around. The mail car
was thrown across the track. This
and the baggage car were completely
| wrecked. None of the tve passenger
coaches in the train left the track.
Engineer MCGOWAN and the colored
fireman were dangerously hurt, and
lMail Agents Sales and Croft were in
jured. A lady passenger in the rear
/ Pullman was slightly hurt.
! In conversation with a reporter of the
| News and Observer President Meserve
/ last night gave the following account of
the terrible disaster and the narrow es-
cape OF half hundred souls:
cat 1915 a. m. last Saturday I took the
| northbound Coast Line express train at
| Elrod en- route TO Raleigh. AS l entered
/ the passenger coach ] recognized Rev.
Porter, pastor of the First Baptist church
of Fayetteville, and took seat by his
side. We had been chatting about three
quarters of an hour when there came
succession of shocks, slackening of the
| speed of the train, and finally after
shock severer than the others our car
came to a standstil1. The few seconds
that elapsed between the first shock and
the stopping of the train seemed ages,
| There was heavy strain upon our car.
! and it seemed as though it would pc
snapped asunder and the heavy Pullman
| car in the rear come upon and crush us.
A kind Providence, however, was with
us, and no one in the car received even
the slightest injury.
| Just as soon as the car stopped j
rushed cut and ran forward, and saw at
! q g,ance it was a disaster of great mag
nitade The engine and the three forward
| cars were badly wrecked There was a
! terrible noise of escaping steam, and my
/ first thought was for the engineer and
| nrenen. The accident occurred on
1 ii
assistance Of any kind that could be rem
dered except by the train men and pas
sengers. The engine lay bottom up and
| turned so that the forward end OF the
boiler was lying towards the rear of the
4 train The pilot, both cylinders, head
! light, smoke stack sand-box, bell, steam
dome, whistle and cab were entirely
gone The forward car. which was pos
I.J ar11
! thrown up on the high banking The bag
! gage car, which came next, and then the
express car were also thrown from their
/ trucks and badly used up.
| Capt Howell, who has been for TWEEN
! ty-three years railroadng, and who never
before had a person injured on his train,
took charge of the relief party and was
calm. cool and self collected Rarely
would you find a man under the trying
circumstances so self-possessed. He was
not in the least ratified, and should re-
ceive from the railroad company a hearty
] testimonial for his coolness and good
! judgment Frank MCGOWAN was the en-
| gineer, and Marion Brockenton (colored),
| the fireman; both live in Florence, S. c.
! a glance at the wreck led us to feel
i very much in doubt about finding the
! engineer and fireman alive. Presently
there was discovered almost an indescrib-
able mass of humanity 1t was pulled out
of the ruins, and it proved to be the en-
gineer, who was terribly injured. There
were several cuts about the head, and
/ his collar bone left shoulder blade and
several ribs were broken. He was in
great agony and covered with sand, mud
+, and blood. AS no physician was on the
/, train he was placed by sympathetic
/ hands upon mattresses taken from the
Pullman car, and covered with blankets.
| The passengers did everything that could
possibly be done in dressing his wounds
: and trying to make him comfortable
| at was found that the fireman's head
was badly injured and his right leg
broken below the knee. He was also
/ tenderly cared for, and when the relief
train came from Fayetteville a few hours
/ later, both the engineer and fireman were
taken in charge by DR.. McGougan and re-
moved to Fayetteville. The engineer
died from his injuries at o'clock Sun
day morning. The fireman is doing well,
and in few weeks will entirely recover.
Much credit is due the local physicians
from Hone Mills who came as soon as they
1 were summoned.
1.-TWO of the mail clerks were injured
somewhat. and one OF the lady passen
gers in the Pullman car had her head
bruised by the sudden stopping of the
train. Had it not been for the coolness
and bravery of Engineer MCGOWAN it is
more than probable that the loss of life
would have been large, and those who es-
caped with their lives crippled for life.
s.The accident was caused by some mis-
creant tying with a handkerchief rail-
road spike to one of the rails. When the
engine struck the spike it was cut in
two and the engine derailed. The locomo-
tive ran five or six hundred feet along the
ties. then turned aside and plunged into
the bank and the cars detached from the
rm.