Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-05-31
COLLISION WAS FATAL
ENGINE DEMOLISHED AND MANY
CARS WRECKED.

North bound pa ssenger train No G6 over
the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac
railroad, which passes Alexandria at 9:13
pm, colidedwith a train of runaway freight
cars last night short distance north of
Four Mile Hun. The engine and many of
the cars were almost completely demol-
ished. An unknown man was found dead
in the toilet room of a mail car several
hours after the accident. The engineer and
fireman escaped without injurysas did the
passengers.
The passenger train left Alexandria about
on schedule time, presumably with a clear
track for Washington and without any
stops to make. 1t had been preceded
short time by long, heavy freight train,
which was SO heavily loaded that two large
engines Were required to pull it. While
this train was pulling up the steep grade
just north of Four Mile Run station one
Of the coupling pins broke, allowing
about dozen of the forty-two cars
attached, to start back down the track. At
first they moved slowly, but the grade
is long as well as steep the cars were
soon going at rapid rate. Near the bot
tom Of the stretch they plunged with ter
rifle force into the engine of the north
bound passenger train, smashing the en-
CINE. piling the tender upon the mail car,
crushing in that car and damaging the ex-
press and passenger coaches. The engineer
and fireman would surely have been injured
had they not the approaching col
unn OF frelSlC cars IN time 10 jump.
Remarkable Escape.
1t was considered very remarkable that
none Of the passengers was seriously In
jured. Many were greatly frightened. For
tunately the accident occurred near the
| station of the Washington, Alexandra and
Mount Vernon railway, and Conductor
Wright, who was In charge of the wrecked
passenger train.. soon made arrangements
for theHtransfer of the passengers to a
| special train over the electric road, which
| conveyedifhemhp Washington. Yrecking
| train was sent out from Washington to the
! scene ofahe accident The demolished en-
I CINE, broken gcars and tender, however,
! formed such a chaotic mass that the work
of clearing thestrack was not completed
until after;.E o'clock this morning. Many
! of the north-hound trains over both the
| Richmond. Fredericksburg and Potomac
and the Southern roads were detained here
| this moyn}ng, Mhile their passengers were
| transferred toselectries cars
| The two trains evidently were running
close to zach ptser, although it is stated
that man had been sent back to flag the
rear train. while the freight, which was
! somewhs t. delayed. pulled into a siding at
| the headuof the grade But the services of
| the fiagpaan were rendered useless by the
sudden parting of the freight cars.
After the cars were brought back to
Washington. Ellsworth Altman, a car clean
| er. found the body of the unknown man in
| the toilet room in the fore part of the
| car. This portion of the mail car was al
most shattered to splinters by being ram
| med by the tender, and it is thought that
| the man must have been killed instantly
Nothing was found on the body to make
| clear his identity. In one of his pockets
| the sum Of thirty cents was found, together
| with slip of paper on which was written
the name of Miss Norah Nash. 523 street.
An envelope was also found bearing the
| advertisement of Stevens drug store, 9th
| and Pennsylvania avenue. The train was
bound north from Richmond, and it is sup
| posed the man was making his way from
| that point and had gained admission from
| the platform to the toilet room. He wore
| 15h collar. on which were the Initials
| P. G.