The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1902-12-05
freight and Merchandise
{ Scatteredsln PromIs-
. sr -cuousrRuIn.
STRING of.IHIRTEEN Cars DI1cHED
Train men Escaped Without In
jury Traffic Was Delayed
Several Hours and Pas
sensers Transferred.

Thirteen freight cars. loaded with
merchandise, were piled In a shapeless
mass at the Dueber avenue crossing
of the Pennsylvania railroad Wednes-
day morning as the result of broken
axle on one of the cars. The accident
happened about 7:15 o'clock. An
eastbound freight train consisting of
about .25 loaded cars was crossing Due
Der avenue when the burning Of a
journal on the second car behind the
engine caused the rear axle to break.
This spread the tracks and threw the
other 4 ears from the track.
The train was running at a fair rate
of speed as there is a long grade from
Buck hill to Market street. In a
gondola car near the front end Of the
train. was William Hemingway, of
Deerfeld, Ohio, brakeman. When
the cars left the track he stayed in
the gohdola until 1t started to over
turn and then leaped. He escaped un-
injured.-.al.a
Merchandise of all description was
scattered along the track. There were
couches, sleighs, trunks, window
shades, pig iron, pa1ed hay and many
other articles. None of the cars were
consigned to Canton merchants,
Both tracks were torn up for a long
distance. The eastbound track was
dragged down the embankment for a
distance of about a. hundred feet,
while for nearly a hundred yards 1t
was torn up from the road bed. The
cars were piled on top of one another,
some of them being Overturned COM
pletely, while others were forced up
into the air or down, the ,embankment
at the side of the track. Through the
car at .the step Of the mass projected
a rail which had been forced through
It, by the collision.
: The car which caused the smashup
was stopped about a hundred feet
from Dueber avenue. AS soon as pos
sible the engine of the wrecked train
was uncoupled and proceeded to Can
ton to inform the officials of the acci-
dent. The Alliance and Wooster
wrecking crews were summoned and
the former arrived, on the scene about
$50, The Wooster crew did not ar
rive until about 1880 o'clock.
Both freight and passenger trains
were held up for several hours. The
passengers on trains Nos. 232, east
bound, due In Canton at 8:24 and 80,
due at 9:06 and westbound trains Nos.
AZ. due, at 8:05, Al, due at 9:48 and 8,
due at 9:58 were transferred at the
scene of. the, disaster and thus were
delayed but about an hour.
Fefore the arrival of the wrecking
crews, section hands had been sum-
moned and were working to clear the
westbound track, which was the least
damaged 1t was long after noon,
however, before this was accomplish
ed. The eastbound track had to be
entirely relaid for about 80 yards.
Telegraph poles were smashed and II
was necessary to summon men to con-
meet the wires and put them in work
ing order. ..
Before the arrival of the police trou-
BILE was experienced In preventing
some Of the curious sightseers, who
thronged to the scene of the wreck
from carrying away valuable freight
as. souvenirs OF the occasion. 1t was
necessary to unload all the cars before
they could be removed from the track
and this caused q delay Of several
hours. The, freight was piled up In
an. empty field adjacent to the tracks
All. of the cars which figured In the
disaster were, smashed almost be-
yond repair. and were reduced to q
mass of twisted iron and steel.
Freight officials stated that It was
impossible, as yet, to estimate the
damage done, but that 1t was one OF
the most expensive which has occur