Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1903-04-24
D. CHIT Pc E De, AD
PASSENGER IRA ON THE ERIE
coLLIDEs WITH a FREIGHT
At RED HOUSE, n. Y.
Three Persons Seriously Injured ana
Seven Others More Or Less, Hurt
Only One OF the Dead Has Been
Identified, All Being Burned Almost
Beyond Recognition Cause Of tbs
Wreck Subject Of Dispute.

jamestown, N. Y, April 21.-Eight
persons were killed and ten injured
three Of them seriously. in a collision
between a passenger train and q
freight train on the Erie railroad near
Red House, NJ Y. ~ p.
OF the dead only one, Robert N
Hotchkiss Of Meadville, a brakeman,
has been identified. Seven bodies, ap
parently those of three men, three wo
men and a child, were burned beyond
recognition in the fierce fire which fol
lowed the wreck. The women are said
to have boarded the train at Youngs.
town, and to have come from Pitts.
burg.
R. s. McCready, a mail weigher OF
Meadville, Pa, and Frank Barhite OF
jamestown, travelling salesman, arc
missing, and it is probable that two OF
the unidentified bodies are those of the
two men.
Mrs. Foote, E. G. Gabler and Fire.
man Bell are in the hospital at Sela.
manca. The other injured were able
to proceed to their destination.
The wrecked passenger train was
known as No. 4, running from Chicago
to New York, and was made up of en-.
CINE 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. It was derailed by strik.
ing freight train which was taking
siding at Red House. The wreck at
once took fire and the combination
car, two day coaches and two sleep.
ers, together with several freight cars,
were consumed.
Dispute as to Cause of Wreck.
There Is some dispute as to the cause
OF the wreck. The passenger train
was running 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 a hall
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
in entering the siding and the fore
most engine of the freight was sent in
along the siding with a fiagman to hold
the express. It is alleged that the
operator in the tower, Lawrence Vale,
boy seventeen 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. Vale then displayed a white sig
nal toward the passenger train, indi-
eating to the engineer that he had a
clear track.
The engineer on the passenger train
failed to see the flagman sent out from
the forward engine Of the freight
train and saw only the clearance sig
nal from the tower. The train ran to-
ward the east end Of the siding at high
speed and collided with the second en-
CINE of the freight train just as it was
about to clear the main line. The pas
senger engine and the coaches crashed
into small wooden structure used as
feed store and schoolhouse. The
first half dozen cars of the freight
were wrecked. They were box cars
loaded with coal The coal filed in
amongst the wreckage, creating an in
tense heat. All but three of the cars
of the express followed the engine and
the whole mass of wreckage was soon
In flames.