The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-08-24
NEWSPAPER TRAIN DllCHED.
ENGINEER LILLEY AND FIRE.
MAN CONLEY KILLED.
Messengers OF Four New York News
papers InJureti--The Accident Due
to the Recklessness Of the Engineer
I'm Trying TO Make I'D for Lose Time.


UTICA, Aug. 23.-The reclslessness OF
Engineer Robert Lilley of Albany in at
tempting to make up lost time with the
Sunday newspaper train on the New York
Central resulted in the train going into
the ditch on the outskirts OF Little Falls
this morning and in the loss Of two lives,
while number Of other persons aboard the
flyer suffered painful injuries.
The dead are Engineer Robert Lilley OF
Albany, married and Fireman Thomas
Conley Of Amsterdam, single.
The injured are: Edward Dorf,
New York World messenger left
collar bone broken; Charles T. Dutton,
NEW YORK SUN messenger. severe
scalp wounds; Emanuel Manson, Roch-
ester News Bureau, severely bruised;
Robert Newman, New York journal mes
senger, suffering from sprains and shock;
Dennis Cronn, New York Herald messenger,
hips injured; Gus Neville, New York journal
messenger, bruised; W. c. Shay and E.
Lamphere, Buffalo. brakemen.
The train, made up of three express
cars and locomotive left New York al
3O2 o'clock this morning in charge Of Con-
ductor Ehrhardt Of Buffalo. 1t left Albany
at sos o'clock and made scheduled stops
at Schenectady, Amsterdam and Fonda.
Engineer Lilley was making his first run
with the train and circumstances would
indicate that he was recklessly anxious
in maintaining his schedule, which called
for high rate Of speed.
At Amsterdam and Fonda Lilley ran
I1.<I -
back considerable distance in each
inst ance. Conductor Ehrhardt is reported
to have warned him against maintaining
such excessive speed, but, as 1t developed
later, to no purpose.
As the train approached Little Falls
Llley made no apparent effort TO check
its lightning speed, although he was sup
posed to slow down to permit several bum
dies Of newspapers to be thrown of. The
messengers in the cars were at the doors
ready to toss the bundles when the train.
speeding seventy miles an hour. struck
the curve at the Gulf bridge. e-quarter
mile east Of the Little Falls station, and
the locomotive, tender and the first car
ploughed across the track into the ditch
Engineer Lilley was buried under the loco
motive and his life crushed out Of him
instantly His head was found fifty yards
from the spot where his mangled body
was picked up. Fireman Conley's neck
was broken and he died in few minutes.
The escape of the newspaper messengers
from death was miraculous. The heavy
bundles Of papers acted as cushions when
the fearful impact came and saved their
lives Messengers Dorf Of the World and
Dutton of THE sun were In the car which
was directly behind the tender and which
followed the locomotive into the ditch.
They we're buried in the wreckaRe. but
worked themselves free. and with the other
injured were removed to a hospital and
their wounds treated.
Engineer Lilley, in rounding the curve
in question at high rate of speed. dis
obeved rule Of the road. The curve is
considered one of the most dangerous
along the line of the New York Central.
After the accident the throttle Of the loco
motive was found wide open, but the brakes
were set
Lilley was for fifteen years freight
engineer. but for the past year and half
had run passenger trains. He was con-
sidered ordinarily careful, but the news
paper messengers aboard the train this
morning united in characterizing his initial
run with the newspaper special to-day as
exceedingly reckless from the moment he
opened the throttle at Albany until the
train went into the ditch at Little Falls.
Coroner A. o. Douglass OF Little Falls
will hold an inquest. 1t is known that the
train was seven minutes behind schedule
at the time of the accident. The property
loss to the New York Central consists Of a
badly wrecked locomotive and three cars,
and the tearing up of a considerable stretch
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