The Savannah morning news., 1902-12-28
WORST IN A DECADE
WAS THE TERRIBLE WRECK ON
THE GRAND TRUNK.
TWENTY-EIGHT WERE KILLED
AND MANY OF THE INJURED WILL
DIE.

nm Operator Caused the wreck.
Attempt to Correct the Error Was
Made Too Late-After the Terrible
Crash of the Meeting With the
Freight Train, Pullman Cars Were
Used az IA Hospital.
London, Ont, Dec. 27.-The most
frightful railroad accident in the an
nails of the past decade happened a
short distance from the little station
of Wanstead on the Sarnia branch of
the Grand Trunk Railway last night.
The trains in collision were the Pa
cific express and a freight. The ex-
press was running nearly two hours
late. and was making fast time. The
freight was endeavoring to make a
failed by minute or two.
There was a dreadful crash. The
locomotives reared UP and fell over
into a ditch. the baggage car of the
express telescoped the smoker. and in
an instant the shrieks and cries Of the
wounded and the dying filed the air.
The loss of life is twenty eight. The in
jured will number considerably more.
and many of these may die.
Many of the dead were terribly mu-
tilated. Heads were cut off, legs
wrenched from the bodies and the
level stretch of snow became crimson
with the blood of the victims.
The responsibility for the accident
has not been definitely fixed. but 1t is
believed to have been due to tele-
ono Of the stations where the two
trains slammed gave an order IN tha
FREIGHT m nass number Ave The pacific
exnress at wanstead
,rr,ea 10 ston 7, Too Int.
Tn tho svster, or Tho cronA rr,,rl,
this order should have been duplicated.
a copy being given to the conductor
and engineer of the express. Instead
of this. the conductor of the express
received a clearance order, telling him
to run right through. The freight
train meantime had stopped at Wan
stead to sidetrack. and was telescoped
by the express. The binding storm
which was raging rendered objects in
visible at the distance of a few feet.
The operator at Wanstead Is not
usually on duty at night, but last even
ing he happened to be In the Office for
the door when he heard the telegraph
instrument click repeatedly the mes
sage, stop NO. 3! stop NO. 5:
Selling lantern the operator dashed
Tor the door. and as ne closed II be-
hlnd MIN. ne neard the crash OF the
colllsion up the track.
There was not a mouse at hand TO
wnich the injured could be carried.
fortunately however, the Two Pullman
cars on the train did not sustain any
Damage. They were warm and conn
Iortaple ana We're converted into
temporary hospitai. Inc injured were
placed IN the perths ana everything
posSioie uone 10 ease tneir suiierinss'
List of the Killed.
Following is the list of killed:
Alexander Stewart Petrolia, Ont. /;
Mrs. Alexander Stewart, Petrolia, Ont. (;
A. Ricketts,, Sarnia Tunnel. fireman
No. ): ]. Gillies Sarnia Tunnel, en-
gineer freight: Mrs. ]. Trotter. Petro-
liza. Ont; IT. r. Lawrence. Watford.
ont: r. s. Freeman. OH sprinps or
HensaIl. Ont. Nicholas Jeffrey Lon
don rnt CIV da panier ticlreted a
G Go. Nv Wasb n pan,ya .a IT, la
etad patroIia ONT ,vo,nan s,,nnosad
- he VIC 20 ~ pao,,,asso,s III
prooI, p,,,ooaoid o 10 ,., =.
I5,t Irrro,, Nil, 1.Io, r,e',,' u' D.
- ~, Nieiii 'o.Aiey' ~
aaulon' -, whooi MOI .oIi. III -
easo, ~. Ai ,, t Ndlherop'
Selatiroy, ont'. MISS oeaues, Sarnia,
Oht., Eu ue Iseaus, FrescotI, ont, dled
az nospitai, Mrs. bouley' Fort huron,
Mich., louie Lynch, Fort huron
Mlch.' George Burkholder, sarnia,
Ont-s q: Douglas' Alvlnston, ont; VIII
nam John Lucas, Strathroy, ont; Rob-
ert stevenson, OF wyoming: usddenti-
fled man, about 40, well dressed; Violet
BROCK, aged II, of Chicago, formerly
of Brucefeld, Ont: unidentified wom-
an, about 30 years old; Mrs. Julia
Barnes, Woodstock, Ont, so years old
List of the Injured.
rro,,o,,,,o. J.. ,a4 20 - =.
49, ~ ne ~ a,dn se u passeusef ~ IN
~ tn,, nc SI.. zoo 3AlsA NJ. o.ew-
me- Ch1naaTa saoa Svg oachson ave
so,,s S ha,'a pIulseu, mas
3D. 3D. i m', o. cutppsrlsoil,
henas hr,,ts5 nen n;,,,, naee, neau ana
nf,., 2yulseu' Possroiy Injured Il lnterh-
bruised and sbocl1s aip' Ms i ssOa,,o;
C,,,,,,est,,o,a D.. rI.s " oai 111
1uiiiillliss, fort huron; Mich., snght
patarhoro o.st ,.sat.s;., 1917 HoIeney,
p Nortbao ~. 8 tettsinl.y yan1Ss
h,.,,,sad rsS, ..l'..s, poiv, on.., pauiy
90 .t ~. osts,, "Is. Cole, I'M
i~red 1 ErarI, Ros Ely, iIieeIilahy IN
gu1 tI' pIaiih -. bahef, LONDON uisio-
ne Ndo snou, ,.issa anu osnss inJuries' "
Morse, fractured arm. chest Injured.
not serious; Mrs Morse, shock, not Sc
rious; child, slightly injured; Thomas
Coole, London, business address. Chi
cago, hip injured; George Stacey.
Wanstead, Ont, slightly injured, went