Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1900-09-06

REAR-END COLLISION.
Thirteen Persons Killed and Over
Thirty Others Injured.
EXCURSION TRAIN 4 HORRIBLE SIGHT
Six Of Its Ten Cars DemoIished-The MILF
Train In Front Ala" BADLY wrecsed-
Conflicting Stories ~ to Cause
Of Accident.


Philadelphia, Sept. 3.-Thirteen per
sons killed and over 30 Others injured
is the appalling record of a rear-ent
col'sion between an excursion trair
and a milk train on the Bethlehem
branch of the Philadelphia e. Reading
railway yesterday morning at Hat
field, Pa, " miles north of this city
The wrecked train consisted of ter
day coaches, which was the first sec.
ton of large excursion made up OF
people from Bethlehem, Allentown
and surrounding towns to Atlantic
City. This section carried only those
persons who lived in Bethlehem and
Allentown, and left the union depot
in Bethlehem at sos a. M, exactly
81 minutes behind the milk train.
The latter train consisted of two milk
cars and two passenger coaches and
had stopped at every station on the
road from Bethlehem en- route to
Philadelphia. At 1854 the milk train
drew up at the milk platform at Hat
field and in less than two minutes the
special excursion train, running at
the rate of So 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, God
fray Kaelin, his daughter Mamie,
Harold Lands and William Black
burn on the passenger car of the
milk train, were almost instantly
killed. Fortunately there were very
few persons on this train.
The excursion train was picture
of Undesirable horror. The locomo-
tive was a mass of bent and broken
iron and firmly held the bodies of
its engineer and fireman beneath its
great weight. Behind the engine six
of the ten cars were also mass of
wreckage. First car was broken in
twain and the other five ears were
thrown on their sides, completely de-
molished.
Nine persons were killed in the first
two cars and the others in those
coaches were badly MANNED. As soon
as the crash came terrible cry rose
from the smashed cars and those who
had not been injured quickly crawled
or jumped from the cars and went to
the assistance 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 hos.
pitfalls. All the injured were first
taken to a shed at the Hatfield sta
ton 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 Is doctors and half
a dozen nurses special train was
sent from Bethlehem, but before it
reached the scene of the wreck it was
signaled to return to Bethlehem as
a special carrying nearly all the in
jured had started for that place. On
the run from Hatfield to the hospi-
tai three of the injured died. Great
trouble was experienced in keeping
the relatives away from the injured
on the train so that the doctors gath
cred from near Hatfield could attend
to the wounded.
The special train arrived at Beth
lehem at 1880, and was met by fully |
5000 persons, all clamoring to get a
bit of news of the wreck or trying to
learn whether loved ones were among
the victims. The news of the wreck
reached Bethlehem ut eight o'clock
and spread like wildfre. All the po-
litemen in town were gathered at the
station, and 1t was with great diff
Guilty 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, Catasauqua and
other places came pouring into Beth
lehem, and confusion reigned
throughout the day. There was great
rejoicing at the narrow escape of
the occupants of the second section
from the catastrophe.
The coroner of Montgomery coun-
ty visited the wreck early and spent
the entire day at the scene. He at
ol,ce directed the removal of the dead
to Lansdale, short distance south
o. Hatfield. He promises rigorous
investigation into the horror.
There are conflicting stories as to
the responsibility for the accident.
One version is that the engineer of
the excursion train had been warned
at Souderton, the station above Hat
field, that the milk train was a few
minutes ahead of him. Another story
is that the train dispatchers office in
Philadelphia was at fault.
A Train Strikes = Carriage.
Syracuse, N. Y, Sept. 3.-The fast