Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1903-04-24
A FATAL COLLISION.
Eight People Killed on Erie
Road at Red House, n. Y.
Ten Persons Were Injured, Three OF
Them SeriousIy-Three Sleeping
Cars, Two Coaches ana
Number of Freight
Cars Burned.

jamestown, n. Y, April 21.-Eight
persons are dead and ten injured,
three of them seriously, as the re-
suit of collision between passen-
ger train and a freight train on the
Erie railroad at an early hour Mon
day near Red House. N. Y.
OF the dead only one, Robert n.
Hotchkiss, of Meadville, brakeman,
has been identified. Seven bodies,
apparently those of three men, three
women and a child, were burned be-
yond recognition in the fierce fire
which followed the wreck. The wo-
men are said to have boarded the
train at Youngstown and to have
come from Pittsburp.
r. S. McCready, a mail weigher, of
Meadville, Pa, and Frank Barhite, of
jamestown, a travelling salesman, are
missing, and it is likely two of the
unidentified bodies are those of the
two men. The injured are:
C. w. Mesick. 226 Adams street, Chi
cago, back badly injured.
Anna st. Sci, Brooklyn, N. Y,
shocked and very sick.
II. F. Cleminger, mail clerk, Gerry,
n. Y, ribs fractured and body
bruised.
John Drougouan, Duluth, bruised
and badly cut.
Mrs. Foote, so years odd, st. Paul,
Mimi, bruised and shocked.
S. A. Cooke. negro porter, New
York City, back and ribs injured.
c. S. Johnson, negro porter, Somer-
vile, N. J., leg fractured.
II. c. Gabler. express messenger,
Marion, o., leg cut off, probably fa-
tally injured.
R. T. Bell, fireman, head and back
bruised.
The wrecked passenger train was
known as No. 4, running from Chica-
go to New York, and was made up of
engine No. 545 in charge of Engineer
Samuel Cook, and Fireman Fred Bell,
of Meadville, one combination car,
two day coaches, three sleepers and
two private cars. 1t was derailed by
striking a freight train which was
taking a siding at Red House. The
wreck at once took fire and the COM
bination car, two day coaches and
two sleepers, together with several
freight cars, were consumed. There
is some dispute as to the cause of the
wreck. The passenger train was run
ming east and the freight, which was
westbound, had orders to go into the
siding at Red House and wait for the
passenger train to go by. The siding
is about mile and half long and
there is a tower of the block system
near the west end
The freight was drawn by two en-
| gines. Some trouble was experienced
at the siding and the foremost en-
gine of the freight was sent in along
the siding with a flagman to hold the
express. 1t is alleged that the oper-
ator in the tower, Lawrence Hale, a
boy II years old, saw the light engine
of the freight which was bringing up
the flag and supposed the freight was
on the siding behind it. Hale then
displayed a white signal toward the
passenger train, indicating to the en-.
gineer that he had a clear track.
The engineer on the passenger
train failed to see the fagman sent
out from the forward engine of the
freight train and saw only the clear.
ance signal from the tower. The
train ran toward the east end of the
siding at high speed and collided
with the second engine of the freight
train just as it was about to clear
the main line. The passenger engine
and some of the coaches crashed into
small wooden structure used as a
feed store and school house. The
first half dozen cars of the freight
were wrecked. They We're box cars
loaded with coal The coal filtered il
amongst the wreckage, creating ar
intense heat. All but three cars fol
lowed the engine and the whole mass
of wreckage was soon in flames. The
tracks were strewn for rods witt
burning wood and coal, and heaps OF
twisted iron work.