Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1904-01-01
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WRECK ON THE BALTIMORE s.
AND OHIO ROAD. d


WRECK ON THE BATTING ORE "a
AND OHIO ROAD.
Past Passenger Train From Plttsburoi
to New York DeraiIed At Laurel
5s Run, Pa, and Several Of the Coaches
Torn 70 Pieces-Fire Breaks Out Il
the Wreckaae and the Imprisoned
Victims Are Roasted 70 Death.
Connellsville, Pa, Dec. 24.-With :
terrible crash and Q grinding noise
the Duquesns limited, the fastest
through passenger train from Pitts
burg to New York on the Baltimore
and Ohio railroad, plowed into = pile
Of lumber at Laurel Run, two miles
west Of Dawson, at 7:45 o'clock last
evening. Sixty. five persons were either
killed outright or died within q few
hours and ten others were seriously
injured.
OF the bodies recovered sixty-one
have been identified and four are des-
ignated asunknown. The latter are
Italians bound for New York, on route
to Europe.
The wreck was caused by tho
breaking of the casting on carload
of bridge timbers on q westbound
freight train which had passed Laurel
Run not more than fifteen minutes be-
fore the i'll fated passenger train. The
wreck occurred on a curve and it was
impossible for the engineer. to see far
enough ahead to detect the obstruc-
ton ON the tracks. The big Atlantic
type engine plunged into the timbers
at a velocity of sixty miles an hour.
The engine plowed into the embank-
ment and the baggage and express
cars were thrown into the Youghio-
eheny river.
Every Soul In Smoker Perished.
The smoker followed the engine and
landed squarely on top Of it. This al
lowed the escaping steam from the en-
CINE to fill the car. The smoker was
packed to it's utmost capacity and all
the passengers were cooked alive. Not
a single passenger in this car escaped
with his life and it is estimated that
at least forty of the dead were in the
smoker.
The scene at the wreck is awful
Cars are piled one upon the other, ly-
ing sidewise and at angles where only
the earth supports them, while trucks
are piled high upon banks, among the
giant hand.
A full 200 yards from the seat of
the first trouble lies the engine-a
wreck-with battered sides and dis
mantled trucks, where her great speed
carried her after she struck the
wreck. Almost 100 yards beyond
where the engine toppled over is the
forward baggage coach, lying on the
slope of bank, where it rests at an
angle.
This great train, plunging as it was
through the darkness at sixty miles
an hour, dashed round a curve head
long into pile of great timbers and
was wrecked: The speed of the train
sent it plunging ahead as wheels left
the rails and bumped over the ties
until the rails were ripped up and out
and the great engine fell over.
Its two baggage cars dashed on
ahead past the dismantled engine,
leaving the right of way and plunging
down over a bank. The first passen-
ger car, a smoker, pushed past the en-
CINE and tilted over toward it at the
same time. This car was filed with
passengers and all were killed.
Few Killed by the Crash.
Singularly in such an awful crash
the dead, with few exceptions. were
scalded to death. Scarcely any of
them were mangled.
AS fast as recovered from the wreck
the dead and injured were placed on
trains and brought here. The dead
were taken to the morgues and the
injured were at once removed to the
Connellsville Cottage State hospital. -.
In addition to the eleven who have
died since being taken from the wreck
many others are certain to be added
to the number of victims. All have
inhaled the steam and are suffering
intensely.
Following the wreck thieves were
detected rpbbing the dead and in
jured. Two white men and two COL
ored men are now in the Dawson po-
lice station charged with this crime.
The foreigners who were killed and
who remain unidentified were bound
for their homes in Europe. The Du-
Quesne limited connects with the boats
at Baltimore and New York and every
evening for a month past hundreds of
these people have been taking this
train on their way home for the win
ter. At the Baltimore and Ohio Offices
it was stated that sometimes there
are as many as 500 or 900 of these
people to go and then special train
is made up for them. At other times
a special car or two is added to the
limited. On this occasion one special
day coach was added to the train and
it was in this car that the foreigners
who were killed were riding. The car
was Immediately behind the smoker.