The sun., 1903-10-19
Fly. CARS IN THE POTOMAC.
GO THROUGH A DRAW IN LONG
BRIDGE, WASHINGTON.


Car Tumble Into the Riyer-Puil'
man Cars Escape by Hairs Breadth
--Washington Cut on From the South.
WASHINGTON, Oct. ls.-A part OF the
Chesapeake and Ohio F. F. v. train which
left New York at ass this afternoon and
Washington at ll:l5 o'clock tonight Tor
Louisville and Chicago, went through the
draw of the historic Long Bridge across the
Potomac half an hour later Passengers
in the seven Pullman cars attached to the
train escaped death by what railroad men
call hairs breadth.
The train left the station here with every
berth taken. Many Of the passengers
were from New York. The train was not
as heavy as many that are run over the
Long Bridge daily. When the draw was
reached the engine passed over. Just
as il reached the other side the framework
and timbers Of the draw crumpled up,
dropping the tender. the empty express
car and one baggage car into the channel
Of the Potomac, which is about eighteen
feet deep at that point, The front wheel
trucks Of the leading Pullman came to
stop about two feet from the edge OF the
broken draw.
The engineer was in his cab and was not
hurt, the coupling OF the tender breaking at
the smash Of the draw and leaving the
engine safe on the opposite side. The fire.
man was in the tender, but jumped when
he felt the bridge give. He escaped with
a cut on the head,
The noise OF the crash started the sleepers
in the Pullmans and most OF them fed
from the cars in their night clothes. Sew
eral women passengers tainted when they
saw the wreck. and there was considerable
excitement for time.
The police reserves were turned out on
telephone message from policeman sta
toned at the bridge, who thought the entire
train had gone through. and every hospi-
tai ambulance in the city arrived on the
scene within half an hour after the acci
dent. They were not needed, however
The only person believed to have been
killed in the wreck is tramp who jumped
on the front platform Of the empty express
car as the train reached the Washington
end OF the bridge. As this car is submerged
and the tramp has not been seen since
The fact that the train was running at a
very slow rate OF speed when the accident
occurred is accountable for the failure Of
at least one or two Of the passenger cars
to follow the tender and express and bag
gage cars into the river.
Congress last spring. in passing the bill
providing for a model union station in
Washington, included a provision for the
construction OF new bridge to take the
place of the historic structure that since
the civil war has been the only railroad
outlet to the south from Washington.
This bridge is at present in course Of
construction but will not be completed for
some months. There is daily great amount
of railroad traffic across the Long Bridge
and until the structure has been repaired
sufficiently to permit the passage Of trains
the railroad communication with the South
is tied up. 1t is thought that il will take at
least a week to accomplish this, and in the
meantime river navigation for the great
number of vessels that came up the Poi omac
to dock in the vicinity OF Georgetown is
also impossible.
The Long Bridge was built originally
in 1909. 1t was partly burned by the British
in 1914 and rebuilt During the civil war
it was used by the Federal troops in their
retreat to the shelter of the Capitol city
after the disastrous Federal defeat at the
battle Of Bull Run. Since then it has been
rebuilt from time to time.