The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1900-09-07
Excursion Train Crashes Into
a Milk Train Standing on
Main Track.
WAS GOING AT A RAPID RATE
Former Running a Thirty-five
Mile Gait When the Wreck
Occurred.
Those Unhurt Go as Quickly
as Possible to Aid of the
Injured.

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. S.-Thirteen per.
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 railway at Hatfield, Pa, 81 miles
north of this city.
The killed are: Annie Sherry, Robert
Miller, Richard Bachmann, Ira Shret,
William Shret and Joseph Madaunt Of
South Bethlehem; Charlie McFonigle
and Thomas Day of Allentown; Mamie
Kalien and Godfrey Kalien of Bedford;
William Blackburn of Amber; Harold
Lands of Hatfield, and Mr.. Ackermann
of Philadelphia.
The wrecked train consisted of 10 day
coaches and was the first section of a
large excursion made up of people from
Bethlehem, Allentown and surround
ing towns to Atlantic City. This Sec
ton carried only those persons who
lived in Bethlehem and Allentown, and
left the Union depot at Bethlehem at
sos a. M, exactly 30 minutes behind
the milk train
Running Thirty-dve Miles an Hour.
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 Phil
adelphia. At 6:45 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
30 miles an hour, crashed into the rear
ploughed through the two passenger
coaches and crushed them as if they
were eggshells. The milk car imme-
diately in front was also badly wrecked.
Four personse, Godfrey Kalien, his
daughter Mamie, Harold Lands and
William Blackburn, on the passenger
Car of the milk train were almost in
stantly killed. Fortunately there were
very few persons on this train.
The excursion train was picture Of
indescribable terror. The locomotive
was mass of bent and broken iron,
and firmly held the bodies of it's engineer
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 their coaches were badly
manned. As soon as the crash came a
terrible cry arose from the smashed
cars, and those who had not been in
jured quickly crawled or jumped from
the cars and went to the assistance of
the injured. Many were pinned down
by the 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 Hat
field station and the dead were removed
to barn. Messengers were sent to
nearby villages for physicians and a re-
lief train was telegraphed for from
Bethlehem. With fifteen doctors and
half 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
special carrying nearly all the injured
had started for that place. On the run
from Hatfield to the hospital three of
the in iured died