Daily Kennebec journal., 1905-09-04


plowed its way clean into the rear
coach, and lifted it high in the air, to
fall again with its Shricking and ter
stricken passengers lighting their
way through the windows to air and
freedom. The engine, No. 1913. was i'm
bedded clear back TO the cab, with
smoke stack. bell sand box, lanterns
swept clear the end of the car. 1924,
was crushed in like card board. the
end and sides split torn and ripped
apart The rear trucks We're driven TO
| the center Of the ear, so that they
pushed the gas tanks ont of place. Al
most every window on both sides Wera
smashed and the seats 4 mess of de-
| bris as far aS the engine ploughed its
way.
| The force of the pressure Of section
two'S cars drove the tender to the en-
gine so hard that the heavy timbers of
the running board We're shattered and
splintered, and the ordinary passage
was shrunken to about an inch. The
| sight there was a sorry one.
The head end of car 1924 was by the
terrific force of the collision driven in
To the rear of car 1924 a distance of
about ~ or IL feet, with the same cf-
| feet that the engine had on its rear.
| The head emo was lifted from its trucks
and wrecked the veStibnlc ana first
five or six seats of car 1925. This was
also Z sorry sight.
| The shrieks of the wounded could be
| heard a long distance, and this. togeth-
er with the hiss of escaping steam and
the spiintering of wood and crashing
| Of glass made the dark foggy night
| one of horror.
| The trainmen If the st. Johns FIX
press. which was waiting on the siding
| near the wrecked train. haStened to the
| work of rescue. as did many of the
passengers on that train.
| The first thought was given to the in
| iured. Crews of railroad employees and
| nnsscngers assisted in caring for the
| wounded, who were removed from the
| car and taken to the boarding house
| operated by c. a. Newton. near the
| STATION. the home Of Engineer Adell Of
| the Maine Central. and the station it
| self ana made as comfortable as pos
| sible until the arrival of the physicians.
| Dr. Ara B. Libby. the only physician
| in South Gardiner. was called and he
| worked alone in alleviating the suffer-
| ings Of the injured until the arrival OF
| a special train from the city which
| brought Drs. Fred T.. Strout Arthur
| W. Strout, X. u. Simonds and w. O.
| cobb. The doctors worked until far
| into daylight before all the injured
| were attended Several were sent to the
| City hospital at Augusta, and others
were mt in hotels in Gardiner that
| they might have the attention Of the
| local doctors.
a wrcCking train was sent down
| from Wateryille To the scene of the ac-
| cident as quickly as possible. and in
two hours nearly every tangible evil
| dence Of the wreck was removed and
| the track WAS cleared so that the st.
| Johns Express, two hours late, pro-
| az cpdpd on its way to Boston.
From all accounts il would appear
| that there Is some dispute between the
| trainmen as To who is responsible for
| the accident. if there is any response
| biliiy To be placed. The first section of
| of train No. 121 was in charge of Con-
| ductor steele and Engineer Tolman,
| and the section which was running
| light. having dropped several heavy
| slecIers ut Brunswick. was in charge
| of Conductor William Edevan and En-
| gineer Rosebrook.
| Both Rosebrook and his fireman
| whose name is said to have been r. A
| Springer. cOurageOusly stuck to their
| posts. and il is one of the strange fea-
| lures of the rather unusual accident
| that one or both of the men in the cab
| were not killed. or badly injured. for
| the cab was smashed down over the
| engine and escaping steam spurted out
| in a withering sheet. Both men es-
capped injury, however. and indeed not
an employe of the road required the at
tention of the doctors.
The rear end brakeman who left the
first section and ran down the track to
guard the rear, was equipped. il is
presumed. with the usual red lantern
and track torpedos. but it is supposed
| that he did not have time to set his
!. torpedoes or to warn the oncomins
second section before it bore down on
the first section.
This brakeman went on to Bar Har'
Dor with his train and could not bt
, found in time to be interviewed, anG