The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1904-09-10
WRECkERS AT WORK
Seaboard Train Goes Through
High Trestle at Catawba.
SEVEN KILLED AND THIRTY INJURED
Bridge structure COlIapsed-COnches
Went Down Twenty-Five Feet Into
Strenm-Freight Train Fol-
lowing piled ON Top.

lowing piled ON Top.
ATLANTA, Ga. Sept &C. Seven per.
sons were killed and more than thirty
injured in wreck on the Scab0ard
Air line at Catawba Junction, 5. c..
near here
Passenger train No Al, from Ports
mouth to Atlanta five ears and sleep.
er went through high trestle over a
small stream. An extra freight train
following the passenger piled in on top
of the wreckage few minutes later.
The division superintendents office
Of the Seaboard Air line gives out the
following names of the known dead;
Mrs. T. +. Black, passenger; H. Y.
Barksdale, engineer; Trainmun Fergu-
son, Ed Roberts, fireman; unknown
woman passenger,
The train had crossed a bridge over
the Catawbu river and was on trestle
when the structure collapsed. The
train, with the exception of the Pull
man car, fell twenty-five feet to the
ground.
\ light freight, following close be.
hind the passenger train, struck the
Pullman, and all fell over on to the
wreck, the engine of the freight and
box cars piling up on the Pullman
The superintendent Office here has
received information of the discovery
of evidence that the joints in the
track were tempered WITH causing the
wreck.
j. NJ. Barr first vice president and
general manager Of the road. said that
there was evidence of a malicious at
tempt to wreck the train, number Of
joints having been found disconnected.
II" wrecked train was In charge Of
Conductor Richard West and Engineer
Castor Mears. The wreck occurred
about l O'Clock in the morning ut the
trestle just south of Catawba river,
South Carolina, and twenty-five miles
southwest of Monroe, n. G.
Two Pullman employees, six railway
employees one mail clerk, one South.
ern Express company employee and
twenty-three passengers were injured.
The wrecked train was running
about forty miles an hour when the
trestle. which is about 300 feet long,
spanning meadow near the Catawba
river, gave way. The engine and
some of the cars passed over, but were
drawn backward into the abyss and
upon the other cars. and then 10 add
TO the disaster a light engine and ca
boose ran on top of the train of
wreckage before II could be tagged.
CASTOR Mears, the engineer of the
passenger train, escaped with some
bruises and a painful scalp wound
How he escaped death is beyond his
own or any one elses comprehension.
He said that he was driving at the
rate of forty miles an hour as he
crossed the bridge Just before the
engine had swept entirely clear OF
the structure he felt II sinking but
the impetus carried the engine and all
the cars except the first class passen-
ger car and the Pullman over and
clear of the yawning gulf which was
left when half the bridge collapsed.
but the engine and cars were swerved
from their course TO the right, tear
ing the rail loose from its fastenings
and hurting the entire train upside
down over an embankment TO the
meadow. about thirty feet below.
The accounts of the survivors are
terrible. When the train went crash
ing over the embankment every light
went out, and passengers were thrown
head over heels against the sides Of
the coaches, bleeding and bruised.