The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-07-12
IN COLLAPSE OF NICKEL PLATE
RAILROAD BRIDGE AT
SPRINGFIELD
CARS LOADED WITH sToNE
Crash Through Structure Upou
Mechanics and LabOrers at
Work in the Valley
Below
ONE MAN ONLY UNINJURED

CoNNBAUT, Ohio, July 11.-Just after
10 o'clock today three cars of the East
hiid local freight went through tba
NICKEL Plate bridge at Springfield pa
Ihe train left Conneaut only a few min
utes before the accident in charge or
Engineer William Griffith, of Bufralo.
ana conductor Phil A. Moore. of Buffalo
me latter was killed outright Tha
bridge gang was al work on the bridge
ana the ten men injured are mostly
working men. A fill was being made at
the bridge and about twenty-five work.
men were about the structure. The
Cohneaut wreck train with local officials
ana doctors left for the scene at II
o'clock. a.
The horrible affair occurred Just after
passenger train No. had pulled through.
Inc local. after the passing of the pas
senser train, pushed three cars heavily,
laden out on the structure to unload
stone for the masons working beneath
on the large stone abutments Tne un-
Ioadlng had hardly been begun when
without any warning the whole structure
and cars fell with an awful crash into
the valley. So sudden was the affair
mat only one man, a mason named
George Smith, had a chance TO lean in
time TO save himself from injury.
TEN ARE DEAD.
me list of dead includes:
,,,'oC't COHtDOCTOR PHIL A. MOORE, Cons
j. J. ZABoss, workman, Cleveland.
GEORGE swARTz, workman Spring.
HOMER BEcKwITH, foreman Con.
Five Italians. names as yet unknown.
RANDALL WEST, Springfield.
me men, as the train fell, had all
leaped as far as possible, so that only
two or three were buried beneath tha
e"rul mass of debris at the bottom OF
the ravine. These were easily pulled ONT
and carried to the top of the hlu and
placed on the lawn awaiting the arrival
OF medical assistance, which cams
promptly. AS soon as the news of tho
accident reached Conneaut, the wreck
ing train and hurriedly constructed
ambulance train were dispatched TO the
scene. The wounded were attended to-
the dead were placed in cots. and ali
were brought to Conneaut with the ex
ception of men named Randall, Beck
with and Swartz, who were taken charge
of by parents at Conneaut. The living
were conveyed to a hospital. The re-
mains of the dead were transferred 10
the morgue to await Identification.
SCENE OF THE WRECK.
The place where tho horror occurred
was at Crooked Creek, directly north Of
East Springfield, Pa. For many years
the creek has been spanned by a heavy
structural steel bridge. On Nav ] the
work of filing up the valley was com.
menced.
Down in the ravine, flfty-hve feet be-
low, masons were at work building
large stone abutment The scene pre-
sented horrible appearance. The steel
was wrenched and distorted into one
huge mass. The three cars containing
stone were broken to bits, and the rail-
way track obliterated in the pile
Beside the physicians who were pres
ent, Master Mechanic r. A. Miller. Supt.
Gorham, Of Cleveland, and Rev. Father
Murphy were on the ground assisting
in the removal Of the bodies. The acct
dent stopped all traffic on the line The
cause of the wreck can be laid only TO
accident For long time all trains
have been required to reduce their speed
to four miles an hour in passing over
the bridge. The railroad men regard IL
as little less than miraculous that It
Withstood the strain Of the heavily laden
Passenger Train No. 3, while moving
slowly over 1t, and five minutes later fell
while only the weight Of three uncoupled
cars was upon it,