The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1903-02-11
many PERISH IN COLLISION
4 Terrible Wreck on the Jersey Cen.
trail at GraceIand, N. J.
fHE TRAPPED VICTIMS BURNED

Fire Broks Out Almost Immediately Afte'
the Crash and . Number OF Those VIII
Were Pinned Down Died In Great
Agony - The Royal Blue Express
Smashed Into Q Local Train.
Westield. n. lone Of the most ap-
palling railroad wrecks that has oc-
Cured In the vicinity OF New York
City for many years. the estimated loss
Of life ranging from twenty to thirty
persons, took place at Graceland. on
the Central Railway Of New Jersey.
near here. when the Royal Blue Line
express plowed at top speed into the
rear Of q local train.
Immediately after the crash three OF
the shattered cars of the local train
took fire. rendering impossible the res
cue Of 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.
although badly shaken up. escaped un-
injured except for trihing bruises. The
identified dead are: .
Harvey Patterson, twenty-three. OF
Dunellen. N. j.: leg cut on: died ut
Muhlenberg Hospital. Plalnfield. Row.
land Grandor. seventeen. Plainfield. ~
]. Thomas Cumming. thirty. Putnam
avenue. Plainfield: leg cut on. Edgar
W. Williams. lawyer. East Sixth street.
New York. C. T. Thayer. Plalnfeld. n.
J.; Secretary In Senator Platt's office.
40 Broadway, New York. Hughes
Fawcett, Rockview avenue. Plainfield.
n. J., Ralph Phillips. nineteen. Madi.
son avenue, Plainfield, n. j. James
Beekman, twenty. Plainfeld. N. ].
This list does not include a number
OF charred bodies which were SEN to
Plainfeld.
:. The train which was run into left
New York City at 5.43 and runs ex.
press to Bound Brook. making stops at
Elizabeth, westfeld and Plainfeld. Be-
yond Bound Brook It runs as a local.
The Royal Blue train left fifteen min.
utes later. but travels at a higher speed
and makes no stops except at Eliz.
abeth, and Is scheduled to overtake
the slower train just beyond Grace
land, where the Inter switches from
truck 3 on to track 4 to permit the
Royal Blue to pass.
In the evening q freight train was
blocked on track 4 and the local re-
ceiyed orders to proceed on the express
track to Dunellen and there take the
outside Oh No. 4 track. Shortly after
receiving the orders the train had to
to stop for n hot box. which delayed
her so that when she got under way
again she was due ut Dunellen. She
had lust started and was moving slow
~ when the Royal Blue. travelling ap-
parently ut full speed. which at that
point usually approximates sixty-ive
miles an hour. crashed into the rear
end.
The heavy engine OF the Royal Blue
tore its way into the "a O and at
the same time drove the forward en-
of that car into the rear end OF he car
ahead, which In turn was driven Tito
the third car. and this In 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 ove on her side.
the engineer and fireman sticking to
their posts and going down in the
wreck. They are now In the Mullen.
berg Hospital. at Plainfield. and the en-.
Sineer was believed to be fatally hurt.
Passengers on the flyer say the en-
gineer applied the brakes hard a min.
ute or 80 before the wreck. The train
ahead had sent a nagman back. but II
seems he vas recalled when the train
got under way. and. although he left
torpedoes the Royal Blue did not heed
them or else was going too fast to stop
in the short distance remaining. The
man Who went back to f1ag the train
had lust swung into the rear end OF
his train and In among the dead.
The engine and the three worst
wrecked cars were piled into an awful
heap. containing ut least 100 dead and
injured. From the mass came fearful
cries for aid. A minute later the wreck
caught fire from the firebox Of the 10
connective. The screams Of the injured
in the heap Were intensified rs they
found themselves hemmed In by the
flames.
The passengers on the two forward
ears Of the first train and all the men
from the express and everyone in the
neighborhood went to work Mt once to
get out the injured before the flames
could reach them. At times while toll.
ing In the w~reckage the flames reached
the rescuers and their clothing took
FIRE. but they worked on through In
great danger to themselves.
The railroad officials G IN the sig
mails were In working oruer and that
they were properly set-that Is. the
express overran and into the block In
which the slower train already was
Railroad men here say the engineer
probably failed to notice the signal
and even when he saw the tail lights
Of the train ahead did not realize for a
minute or two that they were on the
same track as he was. instead Of being
on track 4. where they usually We're
Travelling " sixty miles IN hour
with a heavy train behind him. 1t was
utterly impossible to stop when he real
lied the truth.
Saxon Prince Shot Dead.
Prince Wolfgang. OF Stolberg-Sto
berg. Saxony. was found shot dead II
the park of his castle In Rottleberede
His rife was nearby. but II Is moi
49,, w-hhn. ha x-n rnxrryarnft nj