The Portland daily press., 1901-01-30
Mistook Trainman For
Conductor.
Supposed That Order Had Been
Understood.


road commissioners met here at one
O'Clock this afternoon to make an investi-
CATION into the recent wreck on the
Grand Trunk railroad st Locke's Mills,
in which three trainmen lost their lives.
There were present large number OF
witnesses, including members OF the crew
of the two trains which met in collision,
the chief train dispatcher and assistant
train dispatcher or this portion of the
road from Island Pond, Vt. Richard l..
Flanagan, the operator at Shelburne,
n. H., ard many officials of the railroad
company.
The tirst witness called was J, W.
Sawyer, of Island Pond, chief train de-
spatoher of the division. He1 WAS OK
amined by Attorney q A, Hight, counsel
for the Grand Trunk.
In answer to a question by Mr.. Hight,
the witness said he engaged Richard l.
Flanagan, the operator at Shelburne.
n. Ii and after thorough examination
assigned him to the Shelburne office.
The next witness was Z. Ii. Mason, as
sIstant train dispatcher at Island Pond.
He testified that he gave the order to the
operator at Shelburne, N. H., for the
crossing of the wrecked trains, No. 90
east bound, 4. Foley, conductor, and No.
So west bound, b, Damon, oondu ctor, at
West Bethel. Train No. 90, he said, had
the right of way and was under orders to
cross special freight train at Shelburne.
While getting the 40 l<'' for the crossing
of No. 90 and the special, he asked the
operator. Flanagan II No. 90 was still
there. Flanagan replied Eyes, Mr.
Foley is right here now" Witness then
gave the order for No ~ to cross No. So
at West Bethel. He also gave an order to
Bryant Pond for No. IS to cross No. 81
at West Bethel A few minutes later he
received 30. X s." and also the sigma
lures of both conductors that they had
received the orders.
Having reesived the signatures of the
conductors, witness said he supposed
every thing was all right until Bethel re-
ported that train No 92 had passed there
1t was then evident that the conductor
must have misunderstood his orders, as
he had passed the point where he should
have passed No. IS. Witness at once
called Locke's siills to hold No. So. but
the answer came back that No. 50 was
then on its way to West Bethel.
There remained to him no way in
which to warn the trAinmen OF their
danger and the trains met.
Richard l.. Flanagan, the Shelburne
operator then was called. He said that
when he had 80 K'd.' the order for No
% to cross the special at his station he
took down the red light giving the train
the right to leave the station. A moment
later he received the order for No. % and
No. SO to pass at West Bethel and the red
light again was displayed. He was a
stranger on the road, he said, having
been at work only about ten days, and
did not know any of the trainmen by
sight. But as the order for crossing at
West Bethel came he saw a man standing
Just outside the station window. Witness
thought this man was Conductor Foley |
and raped on the window for him to |
come i'll. The man came In and bending !
over the operators shoulder Rad the |
order. The man thsn went out. AS soon |
as he had completed taxing the order ne
went out on the station platform and saw |
the train pull ling out of the station. Wit |
ness said he thought the train would be
brought to stop when the caboose
reached point opposite the depot and
that the conductor would get oil and sign |
the order.
The train did not stop, however, but In |
"A window at the top OF the oaboose he
saw a man he supposed to he the couduc-
tor, de displayed the order and yelled to
the man in the window, asking If he I'm
derstood the order, and II 1t would be all
right for him TO send in the signature
The man replied that 1t was "all right"
Conductor ToDi Foley OF train No. 81
testified that when he had signed the
order to cross the extra freight at Shell
burne he went toward the engine aud
got on the forward end OF the train. lie
did not again see the OPERATOR and knew
nothing of the second order. The only
person 10 the oaboose when 1t passed the
station, witness said, WAS Rear Brake
man Murphy. Witness denied that he
went into the station at Shelburne the
second time. He knew nothing whatever
No. 80 at West Bethel
Conductor Foley further stated that
having fulfilled a train order he Was
free togo on even II the red light was
not changed. This was oorroborated by
other railroad officials and apparently
confirmed by the remarks Of the commits
sioners. He testified further that the two
men supposed to be trAmps who were re-
ported killed in the collision, were young
men who said they worked at South
Paris and were stealing a ride. They
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