The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1904-05-11
GOLD TRAIN WRECK
Million Dollar Express Goes
Through Bridge.
ENGINE CREW PERISH IN THE WATER
Mystery Surrounds Extraordinary
Speed Approaching Switch-Ex-
PLANTATION siIenced by Death
of the Engineer.

of the Engineer.
PORT CHESTER, n. Y, May H.
Investigations are being made of the
mysterious derailment of the Adams
Express company's Boston flier at the
Byram river bridge, near here, at 1:05
o'clock in the morning, but the two
men who had first knowledge Of the
wreck, the engineer and fireman. are
dead. 1t is certain that the train took
a switch at the extraordinary speed
Of more than fifty miles M hour and
subsequently dashed off the track but
why it did not slow up before reaching
the switch is a point still unexplained.
The train was on the tracks Of the
New York, New Haven and Hartford
railroad
Reports that the wreck was caused
by an attempt to derail the train by
robbers were called absurd by officers
Of the road Superintendent Brown
Of the New Havcn road expressed the
opinion that the wreck was owing to
the engineers apparent disregard Of
signals, as he took the switch at a
fifty mile rate when he should have
slowed down to six miles. There We're
rumors that the engineer was dead in
his cab before the wreck, but Super
intendent Brown said that if that was
the case the fireman would have known
and have taken the throttle.
There was said to have been 100000
in money and mail and express pack
ages worth $1,O0O0OO more on the
train There were no passengers. The
express messengers in each car had
narrow escapes from death.
The dead are Lawrence Keegan, engi-
neer, Of Dedham, Mass, and John
Howard, fireman, of Boston.
An express messenger and a train
brakeman whose names have not been
ascertained were injured.
The Adams express train is called
1.-THE million dollar train because it
carries more wealth than any other
train on the New Haven roadt 1t was
made up Of a locomotive and seven
big cars loaded with valuables.
During the holidays detectives arm
ed with winchester rifles rode on the
cars 10 protect the millions of dollars
worth of gold and silver coin being
shipped from the New York and Bos-
ton subtreasuries and the costly goods
sent out The extra precaution Of hay
ing armed men on the train was also
owing TO the fact that the New Haven
officers had received a letter, ostensi-
bly, from a band of train robbers, that
an attempt would be made to wreck
the express train between New Ro-
cbelle and Port Chester.
The bridge over the Byram is a
solid stone affair, built over a stone
arch, and is about seventy feet long.
The bridge contains four tracks, and
the river at that point is seventy-tlve
feet wide and very deep.
As the Adams flier approached the
bridge at great speed the man in the
switch tower near the bridge looked
out in wonder and instinctively cried
out:
Hell go crashing into the river
A few seconds later the locomotive,
which was on the inner right hand
track, struck the crossoter switch to
the outside track, lurched over, made
the outside track with the cars groan-
ing behind it and then leaping clear
of the tracks, went Gathering and
humping of the ties all the way across
the bridge, then slid of sideways from
the bridge end and rolled with a roar
of escaping steam into the river, drag
giug its tender in heap on top of 1t.
The locomotive lay overturned and a
wreck in the clay and gravel below,
while the tender lay bottom up, its
trucks sticking in the air and its
wheels torn off.
The forward car followed the engine
and tender and was splintered almost
from end to end. Charles Guile, the
express messenger in the car, was
knocked about, but escaped with a few
scratches.
The rumor that Engineer Keegan
died suddenly of heart failure before
he reached the switch and before he
checked the speed of his train gained
credence in some quarters in spite OF
the fact that the railroad company
was inclined not to credit it. Persons
who noticed the train as it passed
Greenwich say that 1t was going at
terrific speed, and some have declared
that the engineer hung out of his cab
window as though he might have been