Evening journal., 1902-12-29
TNENTY-EIGHT
KILLED IN WRECK
Two Locomotives on the Ca
madam Railroad Meet
Head-on
ElPRESSWAS RUNNING FULL SPEED


London, Ont, Dec. 29.--The COLI.
sion on the Grand Trunk Railway ear
ly Saturday morning at Wanstcal. 40
miles from this city, has proven to be
the most terrible railroad disas-
ter ever known in Canada
Twenty-eight persons We're killed ana
about 35 were injured. The cause OF
the wreck was a mistake in tclczrapaic
orders. Express train No. 8, known as
the Pacific express, while flying west
ward at the rate of so miles an hour,
collided head on with an east-bound
freight train. which was about to take
a siding. The express was crowded
with passengers returning to their
homes from holiday visits, and the
scene that followed the collision was
most frightful. The darkness OF night
and the raging OF a blizzard added
horrors to the wreck
The Pacific express Is fast train.
Friday night It was delayed two hours
by the heavy travel, and at Wanstead
it was speeding to make mp time. The
freight was working slowly east un-
der orders to take the switch at Wan
stead and allow the express TO pass.
In the binding snow storm neither en-.
gineer say the other train approach.
ing, apparently. and the freight had
just commenced 10 pull In on the sid
ing Shen the passenger train came up
The trains came together squarely
head-on. In a second the baggage and
express cars OF the passenger train
telescoped into the day coach. This
day coach was reduced to splinters
and fragments back to the last three
windows. AS II was crowded the re-
suits were terrible. Fire that broke
out was quickly smothered. but the
fire was scarcely worse danger than
the cold, however. For three hours or
more wounded and manned passengers
were pinned underneath wreckage.
crying piteously for help while they
suffered from exposure to the ele-
ments. Exposure undoubtedly FASTENED
the death OF some OF the seriously IN
jured and caused the death Of some
OF those who might has been saved II
It had been only a question OF extricat-
ing them from the wreckage
The work OF removing the dead and
injured was AZ once begun. Half a
dozen bodies were recovered within a
short time and e number Of wounded
removed from the wrecknge Trains
were made up TO send the wounded
TO London hospitals.
Efforts to identify the wounded and
dead we're attended with difficulty
The dead bodies taken from the wreck
were frightfuIiy mangled, some OF
them almost beyond recognition. Tho
scenes attending the removal OF the
bodies from the wreckage were pitt
ful In the extreme. Several families
were on the train, and the Dir was
dlled With the anxious cries Of those
separated from their loved ones, not
knowing whether they were killed or
saved.
The responsibility for the disaster
has not been definitely hxed, but II is
believed TO have been due to tele-
graph operators error. The company
officials say Andrew Carson, the op-
orator at Watford caused the wreck.
He says he received the order for
No. 5, the express. 10 pass the freight
at Wanstead, but declares positively
that q few minutes later Dispatcher J.
G. Kerr, at London, called him and
ordered him TO bust" or cancel the
order. Dispatcher Kerr will not mako
o statement until the coroners In
quest.