The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1904-09-26
Collision on the Southern Railway
Kills and Mains Many Pas
SengerS and Trainmen.
MORE THAN 100 ARE INJURED
Disobedience Of Orders Causes
the Catastrophe.
ENGINEERS AMONG THE DEAD

/ Nt~NffNttN ~ ttf~Nh AM1hRRAUA Mfttf
but Fan Past Meeting Place--Awful
Scenes Of Horror and Suffering De-
soribed by Unhurt Passenger
Knoxville, Tenn, Sept 20. Running
on a roadbed in a supposedly high CON
ilItion of maintenance and having
about them every safeguard known to
modern railroading, two trains on the
Southern railway carrying heavy lists
of passengers came together in Il
frightful head-on collision near Hodges,
Tenn, sending fifty-four people to
death aud injuring 120, several of
whom will probably die.
This appalling loss of life resulted
apparently from the disregarding OF
orders given to the two trains to meet
at q station which has for long time
been their regular meeting point, The
Claim Of failure to see either the sta
ton or signals could NOT be set np by
| the engineer Of the westbound train
We're he alive to enter d plea Of de-
Tense, as the accident happened iii
broad daylight, and, according to the
best information ohtainable, he had
the order IN a little frame in front Of
him as bis engine rushed by the sta
ton. A mile and a half farther on 1t
came full upon an eastbOund passen-
ger train making for Hodges in com
pliance with instructions to meet the
westbound train which carried the
sleepers from the east for Knoxville,
Chattanooga and other southern cities.
Engineer May Have Been Asleep.
The possibility exists that the I'll
fated engineer may have been asleep.
but nothing is known save that the or
ders were not obeyed. The trains were
on time and not making over thirty
| five miles an hour, yet the impact rs
they rounded curve and came snd-
denly upon each other was frightfml.
| Both engines and the major portions
of both trains were demolished, and
why the orders We're disregarled or
misinterpreted will probably never be
| known, as the engineers Of the two
trains were crushed, their bodies re-
manning for hours under the wreckage
of the locomotives. 49,
The collision was between eastbound
passenger train No. II and westbound
passenger train No. Is, from Bristol
No. u was n heavy train, carrying two
Pullmans, two day coaches and a mail
and baggage car. No. 10 was a light
local train. The greatest loss Of life oc-
CURED in the eastbound train, while iii
the westbound train only the engine
crew was Killed Relief trains were
dispatched from Knoxville within aii
hour, and all physicians IN the vicinity
Of the wreck were doing what they
could when the local corps arrived.
The first train arriYsd here from the
scene of the wreck, bringing about sew
enty of the injured Six OF the injured
aboard died while en- route to the city.
and after their bodies were taken off
the train proceeded to a point near the
General hospital, where vehicles were
in waiting ana a large force Of physi-
clans were ready to receive the wound
ed. The next train from the wreck
brought the bodies Of forty-three dead.
The six others who died en- route bring
the list up to forty-nine, ana there
were at least six more at the scene o.
the wreck, none Of the bodies of the
trainmen having been recovered up to
that time.