The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1902-12-30
TWENTY.EIGHT KILLED
IN RAILROAD WRECK,
PACIFIC EXPRESS RUNS INTO FREIGHT
AT WANSTBAD, ONTARIO.
Believed to Have Been Due to Telegraph
Operators Error Heroic Work Of
the Uninjured Passengers to
Rescue the Wounded.

London, Ont, Dec. 27.-The
most frightful railroad accident IN
the 'nnals Of the past decade hap.
pened short distance from the little
station of Wenstead, on the Sarnis
branch of the Grand Trunk Rail.
way, last night. The trains in col.
lision were the Pacific express aud a
freight. The express was nearly
two hours late and was making fast
time The freight was endeavoring
to make siding to get clear of the
express, but failed by Il minute or
two
There was u dreadful crash, the
locomotives reared up and fell over
in ditch, the baggage car of the
express te(escoped the smoker and
in an instant the shrleks and cries
of the wounded and the dying filed
the air. The loss of life is twenty
eight. The injured will number
considerably more, and many of
these may die.
Many Of the dead we're terribly
mutilated. Heads were out off, legs
wrenohed from the bodies and the
level stretch Of snow became Grim
son with the blood Of the victims.
The responsibility for the accident
has not been definitely fixed, but it
is believed to have been due to tel.
egraph operators error.
There was not a house at hand to
which the injured could be carried.
Fortunately, however, the two Pull
man cars on the train did not sus
tain any damage. They were warm
and comfortable and we're converted
into temporary hospital. The in
jured we're placed in the berths and
everything possible to ease their snf-
ferings was done The dead and
wounded are nearly all from Onta-
rio, few being from Chicago and
places in Michigan.
The Pacific express, which was
late and endeavoring to make up
time, was made up of two Pullman
cars, two day coaches and two bag.
gage oars. The engineer opened
wide his throttle as he pulled out
of Watford at 9:58 O'Clock. A bliz
zard was raging and the air was
thick with swirling snow. The train
was crowded with people returning
from holiday trips.
No. 5 was running fully fifty
miles an hour through the blizzard,
when at the Wanstead siding the
headlight of the freight engine
loomed up through the snow. It
was impossible to see hundred feet
ahead because of tho snow, and the
trains crashed together almost be-
fore the engine crews realized that a
collision WAS imminent. The i'm
pact threw the two engines clear Of
the track on the right hand side.
The two day coaches of the OK.
press we're between the heavily
loaded baggage cars and the we,ghty
Pullmans. With terrific grinding
crash the roar baggage car WAS
driven into the front coach for three
fourths of its length and in a twink
ling SCORE Of the occupants we're
dead aud two score more we're pinned
down in the wreckage and mangled
The horror Of fire WAS meroifully
spared the suffering persons buried
in the wreck. A little flame broke
out, but the uninjured passengers
extinguished it with snow before it
could gain any Roadway. The ocou-
pants Of the two Pullman cars and
the second day coach swarmed out
of their cars to the rescue. A per.
feet bedlam of noises greeted them.
The hies Of escaping steam from the
wrecked engines mingled with the
piteous cries of the unforlunates
pinned down in tho ruins. The bit.
ter cold wind and snow added to
their sufferings, Volunteer rescue
parties were Immediately formed and
did heroic work.
Meanwhile brakeman had rushed
through the storm to the telegraph
office and notified both London and
Sarnia officials OF the accident. Re
lief trains with surgeons and wreck
ing cars were on their way to tn,