The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-06-22
THE INJURED.

Cleveland, Ohio, June 22.-Traveling
at the rate of seventy miles an hour,
the famous Twentieth Century Linn
tied, the fastest long distance train in
the world, ran thru an open switch at
the little town Of Mentor, east of
Cleveland, at 9:20 O'Clock last night,
causing one Of the most horrible wrecks
in the history Of the Lake Shore road.
The engine was hurled into the ditch.
of it, and the wreck was partly burned.
The horrors Of the wreck were
doubled by the fire. More than
score of people were killed and injured
and the famous train was demolished.
The train was crowded, practically
all its accommodations being taken
when it left the city. It was behind
ing made to make up the lost time.
The Number Of Victims.
This afternoon the fatality list had
been fixed at twenty-one lives. AllAof
the dead were men, and all were pas
sengers on the buffet car. Of the
twenty-one, eighteen have been posi-
lively identified and the three others
are in doubt.
It is believed that all the dead have
been removed from the scene of the
every effort toward clearing away the
wreckage sa 'soon as possible. This
work has proceeded so far by this time
that possibility of there being addi-
tional bodies buried in the debris is
very slight.
the rescue work was that the injured
were so crazed when they were taken
from under the mass of wreckage that
| they could not even reveal their own
| identity, despite urgent appeals and en-.
treaties made by officials and others.
The order was finally given to search
the living wreck victims In the hope
| that Identification might in that way
be established, but even when this was
resorted to, only three sufferers could
be identified.
Work Of Train Wrecker.
General Manager w. H. Marshall Of
the Lake Shore road expressed the opin-
ion today that the wreck was deliber.
ately planned by some unknown per.
son who threw the switch at Mentor.
Mr.. Marshall said the first train, fast
or slow, to pass the switch must neces-
there was no possible way to guard
against it, The evidence, he said.
| showed without doubt that the switch
had been thrown against the train and
| was locked open. According to the re-
port of the operator at Mentor the
switch signal light showed white at
the moment the limited approached it,
indicating clear track. The fact that
/ the light showed white while the switch
was against the train Mr.. Marshall be-
| leves would indicate that the mechan.
ism of the switch had been tempered
with.
Momentum Was Appalling.
Travelling at more than a mile Q
minute, the heavy train was hurled to
i its doom with a momentum that was
i appalling. The scene of the accident
was at switch 100 yards west of the
! Mentor station.
AS the heavy engine struck the
switch the engine left the main track
and swung violently to the left. For a
/ distance of twenty yards the engine
ran on the rails and then, leaping from
the track turned on it's side just east Of
/. the depot.
The heavy tender was hurled entirely
lover the engine md was buried in the
/ depot The combination car was hurled
i with terrific violence on top Of the en-
CINE and tender and in a moment was
enveloped in flames from the engine.
4 Train Buried in Building.
i The Chicago sleeper, which was ims
mediately behind the combination car,
I'll