The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-01-10
BY AN OPEN SWITCH
SOUTHERN TRAIN NO. "a WAS
WRECKED AT M,INTOsH.
NEGRO MAIL CLERK INJURED.
WRECKING CREWS > HOURS
CLEARING TRACKS.

/ Engine Tender Turned Bottom Up
Enrds in Pool of Water Near
| Switch-MaiI Car Thrown over Ii
and Completely Crushed-CIerks
Were Rescued by n Hole Being Cut
Through It's RoOf-TwO Express
Cars Thrown Across Main Line.
| Day Coach. Dining Carsand sleeper
Torn From Trucks and Tipped
Over-PassenRers Brought to Sa-
vannah on A. G.. l.. No. 81 Last
Night-Injured Negro Taken 10
Jacksonville.
Six cars, the locomotive and the ten
| der of train No. "a of the Southern
| Railway lie scattered, smashed and cut
! TO pieces or the Atlantic Coast Line
track near Mcintosh station as the re-
| suit of a wreck that occurred there
yesterday morning. and which so far
as property is concerned, is the worst
that has happened in this vicinity in
a long time.
The train, north-bound, and due in
Savannah at $50 o'clock, ran into an
open switch and every part of it, ex-
cept the engine, left the track. A num-
Der of passengers were aboard, but
by miracle none of them were injured,
in fact, the only person at all injured
was a colOred mail clerk. He was Sc
verey bruised. but is not fatally in
jured. The mail car was demolished,
and it is a wonder that both the negro
| and a white mail clerk, who also was
in the car, were not instantly crushed
! to death. AS it was the car was so
badly smashed and left in such
position that the only way the men
could be rescued was by the train crew
cutting a hole through the top of the
car
story of an A. G. l.. Passenger.
One of the passengers of Atlantic
Coast Line No. 81, which was follow
ing closely behind No. 81 and which
| reached the scene of the wreck some
| fifteen minutes after it occurred, gave
| the information, and also de-
scribed the details of the scene. The
wreck, he said, was the most COM
plete he had ever seen. The engineer
and the fireman stuck to the engine,
| which did not leave the track, though
| the tender was torn away and turn
ed bottom upward in small pond of
water near the side of the switch. The
| engine cab also suffered considerable
| damage. The engine was stopped
about where the switch rejoins the
main line.
Mail Car in n Heap.
After the tender left the track the
| mail car was thrown completely over
| it, into the pond, and crushed a
| special express car loaded with yege-
| tables was thrown in the opposite di-
l Tection and landed across the main
| line, while the regular express and
| baggage car followed it, but rested at
q different angle. The day coach, in
| which were three passengers, the din
ing car and the sleeper were torn from
| their trucks and tipped over.
| Some members of the crew placed
| topedoes on the track to warn No. 80
| of the danger ahead, so that train
slowed up as it approached the wreck
| until it finally reached the scene. At
the same time notice of the accident
| was wired the railroad officials and
wrecking train and crews were sent
| out both from Savannah and Way
| GLOSS. Because of the two express cars
| across the main track it was impos-
sible for No. 80 or any other train to
| pass the scene until these had been
| removed and this took some time, so
much that it was nearly s O'Clock
| p. m, city time, when No. 80 finally
arrived, bringing with her most of the
| passengers of No. 81.
Express Car Cut i'm Two.
To clear the main line one of the ex-
| press cars had to be cut in two, while
the other proved easier to handle and
was simply slid off the track. There
was simply nothing of No "a left to
| he
badly damaged to make the trip, hav-
ing sustained some damage to her rear
trucks. The injured mail clerk, whose
| home is in Jacksonville, was taken to
that city last night.
The story by Wire.
Waycross, Jan. 9.-Southern Rail-
way passenger train "a, was
wrecked by running into an open switch
at Mcintosh at noon to-day The en-
CINE and the mail and express cars
were torn to splinters, and two pas
senger coaches turned over on side. The
train was running at the rate of forty
miles an hour at time of wreck, and
by miracle only one man was injured
He is the colored mail clerk. He was
severely bruised, but will recover. He
was carried to his home in Jackson
Vile tonight.
The engineer and fireman on train
saved themselves by jumping just be-
fore the train turned into the switch.
They landed in water and were unin-
jured. The engine left track and mail
car piled on top of engine cab and
tender. The express and baggage cars
turned over in pool of water by the
track side.
TWO passenger coaches also turned
over. and passengers escaped by crawl
ing outside through the windows. The
sleeper also left rails. but did not turn
over. A number of passengers were
on the train, and all were badly fright
ened. A wrecking crew from WavcToss
was five hours clearing the track. The
wrecked train was bound to Savannah
from Jacksonville.