The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-01-14

gathered about the tunnel entrance and
shafts and watched the rescue work.
Cornelius Vanderbilt was among
those who came to the n n but the
police denied him admission. despite the
fact that his family controls the rail-
way.
Responsibility for the disaster is un-
fixed. hut Superintendent Franklin sale
that so far he had been able discover.
]. Nj. Wischo. engineer of the White
Plains train, is to blame. 1t is decIar-
ed that when the South NorwaIk train
stopped a fiagman ran back into the
tunnel and. besides placing a torpedo
on the track. e~ndeavored to flag the on
coming train. The tunnel was becloud-
ed with steam and smoke While the
snow, which fell through the air shafts
tended to obscure the view. Engineer
Wischo and Fireman Christopher Flynn
were arrested. A signalman also was
detained for a time, but was released.
Superintendent Franklin has issued a
statement as to the accident, in which
he declares that the block signals at
~Fifty-ninth street were obeyed by the
New Haven train, while the engineer of
the White Plains train disregarded
them. THE torpedo on the track e
or" said the superintendent, but he
did not stop, even though the fireman
called to him to do so. The system of
block signals is such that ii is a plysi-
- Ava g. -
make his light declare the track free if
another train is on the block"
District Attorney Jerome visited the
wreck and personally examined many
witnesses. The state railroad commits
sion also announced its intention to
make an inveStigat ton and similar in
tent was expressed by the general Of
icers of both the New York Central and
Hudson River railroad and the New
York, New Haven and Hartford rail
roads Residents of Rochelle, contrib
uted the largest number to the casualty
list because The real car of the South
Norwalk local was reserved for them
and was kept locked until the train
reached that place.
Eugene Herald. of Rochelle Park,
one of the passengers on the Danbdry
train gave this account of the accident:
w were sitting quietly in the next
to the last car and there were only one
or two unoccupied seats. There was
the usual morning crowds. There were
five cars.
There were several women in my car
and also in the last car. We had been
stalled at FiftY-seventh street for some
time. Suddenly there came a terrific
crash. The lights in thu car went out.
There was a roar of grinding steel and
wood m a chorus of shrieks. l look
ed back and saw the a behind tele-
scoping over the rear of our car and
through that miX-up plunged a roaring
connective
Il was thrown on my face by the jolt
and / felt some blood splash over my
forehead. Sitting smoke and steam
seemed to arise from all sides and, look
ing back 1 could see mangled persons
crawling about through the mist.
Our one idea was to escape. 1 found
a friend of mine right in front of me.
He cried: Open the windows for Gods
Sake!!' l turned to the window n
found the glass had all been shattered
nv the collision. We climbed out. 1
saw several persons almost covered
with blood crawling about"
When nearly all of the dead and in
iured had been removed from the wreck
Father Smith. of the Church of st. Vim
cent de Paul., and Chaplain Walkley, of
Grace church. both chaDlains of the fire
department. crawled into the wrecked
car. over the hot boiler of the demolish-
Ell White Plains locomotive, n foun
two girls in the middle of the last
coach. They were sisters named Scott,
of New Rochelle. One sister lay on top
of the other, the sister underneath held
by wreckage which pinned down her
body below the waist. One leg was
crushed. The dead body of a man,
which was also pinned fast by the
~wreckage, lay across the chest of the
other sister and held her down. Slim
ulants were administered to the girls
by the chaDlain who remained with
them until they were removed.
Acting battalion chief Friel found in
the wreck a man who gave his name
as T. NJ. Murphy, n tried to move
him. Murphy said his leg was held
fast. n asked Chief Friel to free it.
The chief found that if he loosened the
timbers that held Murphy'S leg. he was
liable to let down more ~wreckeage on
the bodies of the two girls. He tod
Murphy this and Murphy said: "All
right. I'll wait. but please be as quick
as YOU can" The chief made Murphy
as comfortable as he could with a seat
cushion. With his badly smashed leg,
he Law there till the bodies of the anjur-
ell ones beside him were removed.
The tunnel in which the wreck occurr-
ed extends from Fifty-fifth street just
above the Grand Central station, and
is about two miles long. 1t is under
Park avenue and there is an air hole
in each block. Complaints have been
made for a long time. however, that its
ventilation was insufficient and the New
York Central has baCn consl1er. ng plans
for the use of electrical power in tha
subway SO as to do away with the
smoke and steam from locomotives.
J. II. Franklin. of the HaT-
lem division of the New York railroad.
made the following statement:
The engineer Of the rear train. tho
White Plains local. so far as I havC
been able TO learn, was responsible for
the accident. The NuTwa1k local " a
due in the depot at SIS O'Clock and the
White Plains local at S:17 O'Clock. The
Norwalk local was stopped by the dan
ger signal at Ffftv-ninth street. The
flagman got out with lantern and tor
pedoes and put the tor pedoes on tho
rail. The engineer of the incoming
train failed 10 recognize the signal anC
made no reseonse and the collision was
the result"
MIR. Franklin sale this is the third ac-
cident in the New York Central tunnel
The first took place in November. 1882
when twenty persons were killed. The
second occurred February 20. 1891
when six persons were killed and uIan-
injured,
Almost a riod was caused at a police
station by the arrest OF a man accused
by Coroner Scholler OF attempting to
rob the bodies of the DEAD as they lay
fn tho station hOnSa Iannlo had hpp,