The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1901-02-22
FRIGHTFUL WRECK ON PENN
SYLVANIA ROAD.
fire ADDS ITS HORRORS
Trainmen's Mistake Responsible
for Long List Of Killed
and Wounded.

worst collisions in the history of the
Perth Amboy division of the Pennsyl-
vania railroad occurred this afternoon
at Rushing siding, near Bordentown,
and about eight miles south of Tren-
ton. The "Nellie Bly, express, from
New York for Atlantic CITY, collided
with passenger train No. $50, running
from Camden to Trenton.
The number Of dead so far known
is 10 and the injured upwards Of 25.
A special train at about 9 O'Clock
from the scene of the wreck brought
four dead bodies and IS wounded
persons to Trenton. The wounded
were distributed among the Trenton
hospitals. The other wounded pas
sengers were taken to Cooper hospital
at Camden.
Among the killed was Walter Earl,
engineer Of the express, and James
Birmingham, baggageman of the local
train. Most of the killed were Ital-
ians.
Frank Boland, a passenger on train
No. $50 and an employe Of the Penn
sylvania company, had both legs cut
off. The doctors say he will die.
The seem at the wreck is described
by those who were present as horri-
flying. The two trains collided at full
speed and both engines were COM
pletely demolished. The forward car
of each train, in both instances a COM
bination baggage and smoker, were
entirely demolished, and to add to the
horror, the w%reckage took fire.
The second car Of the "Nellie Bly,
turned over on it's side and the passen-
gers had to climb out through the
windows. In this they we're assisted
by passengers from the cars that did
not leave the track.
The track of the Pennsylvania is SO
close to the Delaware & Raritan canal
that the passengers in getting ont of
the overturned coach got into the
canal and many of the bodies of the
dead and injured had to be taken from
the water.
Thomas G. Lawrence of Trenton
said he saw one man buried beneath
the ruins and crying for assistance.
He tried to pry him out, but found
he could do nothing to help him. He
believes the man persisted in the
flames.
The scene of the wreck was far
from out side assistance and when the
wrecking train arrived from Trenton
it was after dark and the work of
clearing up the debris and removing
the bodies was necessarily slow.
The "Nellie Bly," was running in
three sections and it was the third Sec
tion with which No. $50 collided.
The local train had taken the siding
to permit the express to pass and it is
believed that through some misunder
standing or mistake the local came
out onto the main track after the
second section had passed, %mistaking
it for the third section.
The story Of the wreck as told by
passengers is as follows:
The Nellie Bly, express was made
up of a day coach containing, as far
as is known, about "a Italians, who
were en- route to Atlantic City to do
construction work, a baggage car, a
day coach, combination car and two
more day coaches. The car with the
Italians was directly behind the en-
CINE. The express had made frequent
stops on the run down from New York
and was slowing up just north of
b~ordentown, when the accident oc.
CURED. At this point there is a curve.
The first thing the passengers knew
was a sudden jolting of the train,
caused probably by the engineer gut
ting on the brakes, and the next mo-
ment a terrible crash. Both engines
were reduced to a confusion of broken
and twisted iron. The car containing
the Italians was crushed to splinters
and all its occupants were buried
under the mass OF wreckage. The
second car piled upon the first car and
the third car crashed into the mass
and tumbled into the dry canal along
side the railway.
The latter coach was filed with
passengers for New York and all went
down with the car, some of the mas
sengers being quite seriously injured.
The survivors said if the canal had
been filled with water many would
nave been drowned before they could
have escaped from their prison. The
remaining three cars did not turn
over.
The local train, which left Camden
at $3.50 p. M, did not fare as badly as
the express car. It was made up of
three cars and the first two were
oadiy splintered. AS far as the pas.
sengers knew O was killed on this
] train, but several badly usoa -,