Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1903-01-05
Horrible Train Wreck
At London, Ontario

London, Ont. Dec. TIA train
wreck bringing death TO over two
~ ore OF persons and terrible pain and
suffering to about forty more occurred
at 1910 o'clock last night at Wan
stead, Canada. a station ON the Sarnia
branch OF the Grand Trunk railway.
forty miles from this city. when the
Pacific Express flying westward at the
rate OF atty miles an hour and crowded
TO its capacity with passengers return
ing to their homes from holiday visits
crashed into an eastbound freight
The latest estimate Of the fatalities
Is twenty-fOur killed and thirty-ive or
more injured.
The darkness of the night and the
raging Of blizzard added horrors to
the wreck Fortunately, the fire hor-
ror was averted A fire broke out in
the wreckage OF the day coach, but il
was smothered with snow and coats
which were thrown on II before 1t
gained any Roadway. The Pacific Ex-
press is fast train. Last night it was
delayed two hours by the heavy travel
and at Wanstead IL was. speeding to
make up time. The freight was work
ing slowly eastward under orders to
take the switch at Wanstead and allow
the express TO pass. In the binding
snowstorm neither engineer saw the
other train approaching, apparently,
and the freight had Just commenced TO
pull in on the siding when the passen-
ger train came up.
The shock was awful The trains
came together squarely, head-on. In Il
second the baggage and express cars
Of the passenger train telescoped into
the day coach. This day coach was
reduced to splinters and fragments
back to the last three windows. As
II was crowded the results were ter
rible Fire that broke out was quick
ly smothered. but the fire was scarcely
more dangerous than the cold. For
three hours or more wounded and
MANNED passengers were pinned under
meath the wreckage, crying piteously
for help. while they suffered from ex-
posure to the elements.
Exposure undoubtedly FASTENED the
death of some of the more seriously
Injured and caused the death of some
OF those who might have been saved
Il II had been only question of extri-
eating them from the wreckage.
The Pullman cars stayed on the
track and were comparatively unin-
jured, although the passengers in them
were severely shaken in the shock.
As quick as possible word was sent
TO this city of the wreck. and a relief
train with dozen London doctors was
despatched to the scene. The work
Of removing the dead and injured was
at once begun. Half u dozen bodies
were recovered within a short time, and
number vi wounded removed from
the wreckage. Trains were made up
to send the wounded to London hos
| pitals.
Efforts to identify the wounded and
dead were attended with difficulty. The
dead bodies taken from the wreck were
frightfully mangled. some of them al
most beyond recognition.
EDWARD BOISE OF Prescott was taken
from the wreck alive, but he was Sc
frightfully injured that he died two
hours after being placed in the hospital
in this city.
]. A. Lamonte, OF Wyoming, was the
night operator at Watford. the tele-
graph station nearest TO the siding al
Wanstead. Responsibility for the
wreck has not been fixed. 1t is said
by some that It came through a con-
fusion in orders, for which Lamonte
was responsible. Lamon;e was in
some way injured in the wreck.