The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1903-02-05
A FEARFUL. CRASH.
lhaty kiIIed aad Macy ltlsfed in .
Railroad Wreck.
ENGINE PLOwS THROUGH COACHES.
The Royal Blue Express Ruus Into .
Local Train At Full spsei sns Ter.
rible Consequences Follow

New oTk, SpFNiai-One Cf the most
appalling railroad wrecks that has o.
CURED In the vicinity OF New York for
many years. the estimate loas ot life
ranging from i2 TO 80 persons. took
place Tuesday nigh, at GfaSeland on
the Central Railway of New Jersey near
Westfeld. y. J.. ~h.n the Royal Blue
Line express ploughsd nj top speed In.
TO the rear CT a local train lfnmeii-
ately after the crash three Of TIE shat
tered cars of the local train took fire
| and IL WAS impossible TO rescue many
OF the wounded who were pinned fast
in the wreck. Many bodies are believed
TO have been consumed. On board the
| flyer all the passengers. althosyh
badly shaken up. escaped uninJured eS-
cept for trihing bruises
The dead taken 20 the morgue AZ
Plainfeld are: Edgar Williams. a New
York lawyer; C. G. Thayer. uf Plain
feld; II. G. hand. of New York city;
Harry Patterson. o: DUnellen: George
L. Reed. OF Scotch Plains; Thomas
Cumin. Of Plainheld: Rowland II.
Chandler. OF Plainacld; Edward Flynn.
OF Plainfeld. In addition to this list
there are many charred bodies. unidcn-
titled. still at the scene OF the wreck.
| The train. which was running fast.
left New York 1T 9:i5 D. M. and ran
as an express to Bound Brook. making
few stops. Beyond Bound Brook IL runs
as a local. The Royal Blue train left Is
minutes later but travelns at high
rate OF speed and makes no stop except
at Elizabeth and is scheduled TO over
take the slower train just beyond
Graceland. where the latter switches
from track 3 on To track TO permit
the Royal Blue 10 pass
In the evening a freight train was
blocked on track No. 4. and the local
received orders to proceed on the ex-
press track TO Dunellen and there take
the outside. or No. track. Shortly
after receiving orders the train had 10
stop for hot box, which delayed her
SO that when she got under way again
She was due at Duneilen She had Just
started and was moving slowly when
the Royal Blue. travelling apparently al
full speed which at that point usually
approximates Go miles an hour.
crashed into the rear end.
The heavy engine of the Royal Blue
tore Its way into the rear car and at
the came time drove the forward end
OF that car into the rear end OF the car
ahead. which in turn. was driven into
the third car and this I'm turn was
driven into the fourth car from the
rear. The fourth car was only partly
wrecked but the last three were torn
to pieces The engine OF the Royal
Blue left the rails and turned over on
her side, the engineer and fireman
: sticking 10 their posts and going down
J In the wreck. They are now in the hos
pital at Plainsfield and the engineer is
not believed to have a chance Of living
more than few bnurs.
Passengers on the flyer say the en-
gineer applied the brakes hard min
ute or so before the wreck. The train
ahead sent fagman back but II seems
/ he was recalled when the train got
under way and although he LEFT the
torpedioes. the Royal Blue did not heed
them or else was going too fast 10 stop
In the short distance remaining. The
; man who went back 10 flag the train
, had just swung into the rear end OF
his train and Is among the dead. The
, engine and three wrecked cars were
piled into an awful heap containing al
!, least 100 dead and injured. From the
:. mass came cries for aid. A minute later
the wreck caught fire from the fire box
Of the locomotive. The screams Of the
injured in the heap were intensified a:
: they found themselves hemmed In BY
the flames.
When the engine ploughed into thu
rear car 1t partly splt the car oper
: and at the same time lifted II up and
( onto Itself. The car was the first tC
n take fire and most OF those in II arr
, dead. Some of them are believed TO b'
r beneath the overturned engine. Thos'
: Ia The car ahead which was lifted owe
= the rear car suffered the most. Fo
some time before the flames reachet
: them from the car below and behil'
: them they were enveloped In smok
9 and steam and II was here that III
worst sights were witnessed.
The engineer OF the express. John {
Davis, was not the regular engineer
He was relief engineer 'nr the fas
e train and had been puf on in the ab
n sence OF the regular man who had
= day off. He WAS. however. per;ecu
;. familiar with the running OF the trail
as he ran II AT least once week.
Before tie wreckage had cooled. tn
work Of getting out the chsrred bodie
t began. Men attacked the heap wit
o poles and reds Of iron taken from th
y pile or debris aud raked oct severa
; arms, legs and heads Many OF tho-
r who died will never b rGc1gnizet. RI
bodies Being burned - a crisp.
i Is impossible 10 give aav aUthenl
Z list Ct the missing. Lst would i
cIuds scoEss OF .Wsa acd To-cs1 II
are nov ssfeiy AZ hQms.
n The railroad officials ssy the signal
e were n working order ani tGat the
- were properly set. That is. that the g
=. press oyerran ard dashed into IL
!, block in which was a slower t:aii
:. Railroad zen here say the eDgineS
:. probably failed to nitice the signal an
u even when he saw the tail lights or II
.e train ahead did not realize for No
ment that they were Oil the same rac
as he was, instead CT being on track
where they usually werc. He was TIL
ming over sixty miles an hour with
heavy train behind him. il was utter