Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-06-19
Passenger Train Crashes
into Double Header Freight
Engine Men and Work Grew
Men Crushed and MangIed.
Several Bodies in Wreckage- Cause Of Acct
dent, Orders Disobeyet.

All the dead were employees of the
railroad, returning to their homes in
the small towns along the railroad TO
pass Sunday. With the exception Of
the train crew they had been at work
repairing the damage done to the road
bed ten days ago by Il minor freight
wreck at Mount Hope station, near
this city. The train which was No. B
passenger, westbound, carried large
number Of passengers, all the coaches
being filled. AS many of the workmen
as could do SO went into the baggage
car, the remainder of the gang of 30
finding places on the platforms be-
tween the mail and baggage cars ana
between the latter and the tender.
In the neighborhood CT Tatapsco sta
ton, about 8 miles from Westminster,
the Western Maryland has many
curves and the one just west Of the
bridge crossing the Patapsco river is
especially sharp.
An extra freight, made up of heavy
coal and provision cars. was running
west. 1t should have taken Il siding TO
allow No. 5 to pass Such were the Or
ders. Why they were disregardcd will
never be known, for I'LL those who
should have seen that they were obey
| ed are dead.
The passenger train was cunning ut
a sDeed Of 80 miles an l:Our and the
freight was making COOL time, being
| drawn by two engines. Just west OF
the bridge, the trains came together
| with terrific force. the thEee engines
being piled one upon another. fortu-
nately in such q manner that sufficient
| steam connections We're broken to re-
lieye the boilers and thus prevent the
| further horror Of explosion. The fear
| full impact drove the passenger tender
| into the baggage car and demolished 1t
and the mail car.
In an instant, the tracks on both
| sides were lined with dead and fright
fully mangled men, these latter more
| fortunate than those who had been in
the baggage car and on the engines,
for most of them were still pinioned
| in the wreckage out of the immediate
reach of helping hands. What seems
well nigh miracle, the damage to the
other cars of the passenger train was
confined almost, entirely to broken
windows and doors and the injuries to
their occupants to bruises from the
shaking UP and minor cuts from flying
glass.
| Heart rendering shrieks from the in
jured quickly brought to the scene the
/ Inhabitants of all the tarm houses
within a considerable radius and these
| Immediately set to work to help do
what they could to case the suffering
Farmers wives and daughters made
tandages of their clothing and house
hold linen and worked heroically.
One or two physicians who had been
passengers on the wrecked passenger
train dire cted their efforts. A messen-
| ger was hurried to the nearest te!c-
graph station and summoned help from
| Westminster.
BY this time relief train was on
the way from Baltimore bearing more
physicians and supplies for the relief
of the injured. AS fast as they could
be taken from the wrcckage the dead
were placed aboard the train FROM
Westminster and taken to that town
and Union Bridge. Tho mere seriously
| in iurcd were brought to this city.
| At Westminster 4 crowd of at least
a thousand people met the funeral
| train and as many of the dead had
friends and relatives in the town there
were sad scenes at the engine house.
where the bodies were taken and ex
posed for Identification.
| Passenger train No. 5, west bound,
| was running at a very high rate of
| speed when at the point named, it
| crashed into a double header freight
| running east. All three of the engines
were reduced to scrap iron, the express
| and baggage cars of the passenger
| train were smashed and 3 number of
| the freight cars were sDlintcrs. The
| passenger coaches sustained little in
jury and almost without exception
their occupants escaped with nothing
| worse than a bad Shaka-up.
| The fatalities and injuries were to
the crews OF the engines and to work
men employed by the railroad. These
latter had been at work repairing the
damage caused by recent small
freight wreck at Mount Hope station
near this city. They were on their way
| to their homes in small towns along
| the Western Maryland to rass Sunday.
Not being regular passengers, they had
boarded the baggage car and engine.
When the crash came the more fortu-
nate who were on the engine, jumped
or were thrown from the train and
were only injured. Those in the bag
gage car were terribly mangled and
the crews of all three engines were
killed. Their bodies are all believed to
be under the wreckage Of the engine.
Just before the first relief train
bringing injured to the hospitals of
this city left the scene, the wreckaSe
about them began to burn.
The first relief train to reach here
brought IL badly injured and one who
died on the trip. Those taken from the
wreck dead were removed to West
minister. dozen ambulances awaited
the arrival Of the relief train at Union
station and hurried the injured to hos
pitfalls as fast as they could be taken
from the cars.
The point at which the accident oc-
CURED is so situated that news of the |
wreck was slow in reaching Baltimore |
AS soon as the news arrived, the rail- |
road company sent relief trains and as