Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-09-04
THE OFFICIAL STATEMENT
OF the Wreck As Given Out by the
Railroad Officials.

Portland, Ne. Sept. 3.-The official
story Of the wreck as given out by the
Maine Central Railroad. is as follows:
Train No. 127, the Bar Harbor En-
press, which left Boston at 9.3J o'clock,
Friday night. and Portland, at 12.51
O'Clock. Saturday morning. Was being
run in two sections, not because oil
heavy travel to the eastward. for ii is
| comparatively light in that direction
at the present time, but in order to get
cere to the other end Of the line to
| bring the immense crowd of people
back which is now rushing out Of the
State westward.
Tho first section was made w of III
cars. there being seven sleepers. one
baggage and one mail car. and on the
extreme rear of the train was the regu
| lar flrst-ciass passenger coach with the
smoking car Just ahead.
The second section WAS made UP of
empty cars being taken east. This train
when it eft Portland. was composed
OF seven Pullmans. but five of these
were left at Brunswick to be sent down
to Rockland, Bath and other points
along the coast. This train. therefore.
| continued ON east with only two cars
| besides the engine
The orders issued were for the two
| sections of the Bar Harbor Express to
| pass the Two sections of the Provincial
ExprSsS. the train from the Maritime
| PROVINCES due to arrive in Portland at
As o'clock. Saturday murning, at
| South Gardiner. The west bound train
was in two sections OH account of
heavy travel, and both were crowded
| with people.
| When just west of South Gardiner
the second section crashed into the rear
of the first section. The engine of Sec
tion No. : plowed It's way through the
| first-claSS passenger coach attached
to the rear of section No. 1. but it's
| momentum was then stopped and il
| got no further than the one car The
| smoking car just ahead was slightly
injured about its rear platform, but
| none of the passengers in it were hurt
/ in the least
The passengers i'm the first class
coach We're thrown in many directions
as the engine plowed its way into the
car but by wonderful chance none
of the occupants were killed and their
bruises. Escaping steam from the 10
locomotive also sCalded g. great many
but none SO far as could be determined,
seriously. None of the train mon was
injured.
+ The railroad made no official state
ment regarding the cause of the acct
dent. Unoff1cially the officials said
that section No. 1 had apparently stop
ped for The siding which it was to
make at South Gardiner and that It's
train crew was supposed to have put
out the necessary signals To the sec
ton following. The question to be de-
Icided at the investigation will be
whether the train crew Of the first sec
ton really did put out its signals to
the rear section and if so why the en-
gineer of the section following did not
See them or ran past them.
Only one train was really delayed by
the accident and that was the Provifl-
cial express which the Bar Harbor OK
press was to cross at South Gardiner.
This was held up for several hours
and the first section did not arrive in
Portland until $50 and the second sec
ton not until 10. Everything was
cleared from the track by the time the
Irregular morning trains commenced
running.
| Tho above crrs slightly in the Local
ton. as the train was standing at the
South Gardiner station and after the
| collision the head end of the rear car
was t.lescoped about 10 or IL feet into
the smoker directly on the street
crossing at the south end Of the sta
ton PLATFORM