The Oskaloosa herald., 1904-07-14
AWFUL DISASTER
KILLS FOURTEEN
EXCURSION TRAIN rs WRECKED
AT MIDvALE, N. J.
TOWER MAN MAKES BLUNDER
Lowers Signal Too Soon and Train Fol-
lowing Crashes Into the Coaches
Fourteen Lives Lost
About 100 Injured.

sons were Killed ard about 100 injured
in collision whieh occurred at Mid
vale. N. j., just before noon Sunday,
when regular passenger train on the
Greenwood Lake branch of the Erie
railroad ran into an excursion train
that had stopped to take water. All
the dead and injured lived in Hobo
ken, Jersey City and New York.
The Victims.
The dead are:
III. Becker, Hoboken.
William ]. Lyme, Hoboken.
H. Ottestag, HoboEen.
William A. Rehnkuhl, New York.
William Remi, New York.
H. Rolsing, Hoboken.
William Weidemeyer, ,Hoboken.
William Winterknecht, Hoboken.
Six unidentified persons. a.
A Fatal Blunder.
The ACCIDENT is believed to have re-
suited from tower operator having
lowered his signal too soon, and this
was admitted by d. w. Cooke, general
passenger agent of the Erie railroad,
who gave out a statement in which he
said: THE operator in the tower
failed to set the block signal against
the train following"
The train which was run into was a
special carrying members of the First
Plattdeutcher association, of Hoboken,
on their annual outing, and had 800
passengers. 1t consisted of II cars
and two engines. The first engine had
taken water and the train had moved
up and stopped with the second engine
beside the tank when the regular train
drew near. The flagman of the specia!
signalled the engineer of the oncom-
ing train, but owing to curve in the
road his flag was not seen until too
late.
Engine Crashes Through Car.
1t is claimed that the engineer of the
regular train had slowed down to
about ten miles an hour before he
crashed into the special, but his en-
CINE tore through the rear car the
greater part of it's length and drove
the forward end of that car into the
car ahead. The killed and injured were
in these two cars. The wreckage did
not catch fire and the work of taking
out the dead and manned was accom-
plishE quickly.
The passengers from the uninjured
coaches ran back and joined in the
work, and the residents OF Midvale,
many of whom had heard the crash,
assisted them. The IA dead were soon
laid beside the track and the injured
were carried to the nearby houses.
While physicians were being sent for,
women of Midvale brought bandages
and other articles that could be used
in caring for the injured. An engine
and cars were sent from Little Falls
to the scene of the wreck and as rap
idly as possible the most seriously
hurt were prepared for transportation
by train to Little Falls, and thence to
Jersey City or Hoboken. The less Sc
verely hurt were continued under
treatment in Midvan until later in the
day. All those hurt were eventually
taken either to their homes or to hos
pitfalls.
ular train disappeared from the scene
just after the accident. They both es-
raped injury by jumping just before
the crash. The operator in the tower
was Walter Richards. He would make
no statement and was relieved and left
the scene soon after the accident.
Town Wrecked BY Explosion.
Sandusky, O., July 1.-THE little
town of Marblehead, on the peninsula
across the bay from this city, was
wrecked by terrific explosion of dy-
Mantle and powder Saturday night, ev-
cry house and building in the town be-
ing damaged and possibly 100 people
injured. No one was killed. Lightning
struck the magazine of the Kelley's Is
land Lime & Transport company, q
Cleveland corporation, and the content:
of the building, including about 25 tons
of dynamite and 200 kegs of powder
let go in terrific explosion, or series
of explosions. But half hour before
several hundred men had quit work in
the vicinity. The loss is estimated al
$150,000. There is not whole pane Of
glass in the town and houses were lit.
orally lifted from their foundations ant
moved several feet.
At Lorain, 80 miles away, the shocl
of the explosion broke plastering from
the ceilings of houses, shattered win
doTs, toppled over chimneys and threw
horses to the pavement.
n