The Yale expositor., 1904-10-14
SIX DEAD
In TUNNEL
DEADLY GAS FUMES SURROGATE
RRRieHT TRAfNMEN.
TERRIBLE ACCIDENT HAPPENS IN
PORT HURON TUNNEL.
ONE DIED WHILE ATTEMPTING
TO RESCUE OTHERS.

Port Huron, Mich, Oct. 10.-By the
breaking In two OF a coal train in the
Grand Trunk tunnel, under the St
Clair river, between this city and
Sarnia, Ont. during heavy fog about
8 o'clock Sunday morning, Superin.
tendent Of Terminals A. S. Begg and
five other men were suffocated by coal
gas and one man Is in the hospital at
Sarnia in a serious condition.
The dead: A. S. Begg, Port Huron.
superintendent of western division
terminals; John Coleman, Port Huron
engineer; ]. d. Simpson, Sarnia, con
ductor: Richard T. Tinsley, Sarnia
conductor; Thomas McGratA, Sarnia,
brakeman; Daniel A. ellis, Sarnia.
brakeman
At the hospital in Sarnia: George
Forester Sarnia, fireman, is in seri
Gus condition but may recover. The
Inflated train started east from this
city through a thick fog and had got
ten almost through the tunnel wher
the coupling broke between the third
car and the rest OF the train, leaving
Brakeman Gillis and tbs conductors II
the gas-fNed tdnne1. where there i:
practically no ventilation at all.
The first intimation the people a
the American end of the tunnel ha(
OF the accident was when Brakeman
James Short rushed out at the Amer
lean end and announced that the trair
which had started through only a few
minutes before, had broken in two ana
that part of it was still In the big hole
which is a mile and q half long. Sal
perintendent Begg was at once sum
moned and accompanied by Tune
Engineer William A Mordsn and
Pumpman George Mellon, started tr
assist in the rescue of the imprisoned
trainmen.
Rescurers Overcome.
The men had gone but a short dis
lance when Mr.. Begg was overcome
by the smoke and gas from Che engine
and fell over backward He was hur
ried to the outside air and a physician
summoned, but he was pronounced
dead few minutes after reaching the
exit. Engineer Morden was also over
come, but revived soon after being car
ried out by his companions. Pump
man Mellon reached the open air be
eora Tho doo AL, f,,r,ae tnnly offact ar
him.
BY this time it was seen that ar
attempt to reach the imprisoned train
men from this end of the tunnel meant
certain death and the rescurers aban1
oned the task.
Engineer Coleman, who was in
charge of the train that broke in two
proceeded Immediately after the brake
to the Canadian side with his locomo
tive and three cars. Leaving the cars
on siding he and his fireman went
back into the tunnel with the engine
intending to bring out the remainder
of the train. They had gone but a
short distance when Coleman lapsed
into unconsciousness, never to revive
His fireman, George Forester, jumped
into the water tank on the tender and
succeeded in escaping death, though
he breathed enough of the gas to seri
ously endanger his life.
Came Upon Body.
When the engine failed to emerge
from the mouth of the tunnel a res
cuing party consisting of Yardmaster
Mckee, Conductor Fisher, Switch,
man John Blake and Brakemen Hamil
ton, Hawn, McGrath and Cameron, all
residents of Sarnia, started in TO as
sit the crew. They had not proceeded
far when they came upon the body o!
Trackwalker Haley of Sarnia, who was
lying PROSTATE alongside THE track
He was carried outside and in a short
time recovered.
Returning the rescuers made anoth'
er effort to reach Coleman's engine
when all were met by the gas, which
appeared to be growing thicker every
minute. Realizing that 1t would meap
the death of the whole party il they
proceeded, the men turned and started
out. All arrived at the terminal ex.
cept McGrath, who was overcome and
died few yards from safety. 1t waa
1890 o'clock when the rescurers final
ly succeeded in getting the train out
and clearing the tunnel.
This is the second accident of the
kind that has occurred in the Port
Huron-Sarnia tunnel within seven