The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-06-22
FASTEST TRAIN WRECKED.

Travelling at the rate of more than
mile minute, the heavy train was
hurled to its doom with a momentum
that was appalling The scene of the
accident was at the Mentor depot. 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 leap
ing from the track turned on its side
/ just to the east of the depot. The mo-
mentum was such that the heavy ten
der was hurled entirely over the en-
gine and was buried in the depot
The combination car was hurled
with terrific violence on top of the en-
gine and tender and in moment the
train was enVelOped in flames from the
engine. The Chicago sleeper. which
was Immediately behind the combina-
/ ton car, swung from the track and
/ crashing into the depot, was com
pletelY buried in the wreck of the
| building. The violence of the crash
was such that the depot collapsed on
top of the wrecked coach. The hap
less passengers in this coach were
crushed and manned in the wreck and
I then completely buried in the collapse
of the structure
The next sleeper following was left
| on the track behind, and the other re-
mained upright on the rails.
The Boiler Burst.
An instant after the crash of the
wreck the boiler of the great engine
burst with terrific force. scattering fire
and steam through the wreck in a
manner that made escape for the help
less imprisoned passengers impossible
The wrecked combination car, which
had landed crushed and sp1intered on
/ TOP OF the engine, was at once enVelop-
ed in binding flames and scaIding
steam. The cries of the imprisoned
passengers We're heard above the roar,
but they We're beyond all human aid
ana the car became pyre for num-
Der of human beings.
A score or more of physicians from
cleveland, Collinwood, Ashtabula and
( Painesville went to the scene of the
wrecklat the request of the Lake Shore
ot1c1als After the physicians had
treated the injured, the latter were
placed aboard a special train and
brought to this city where they were
| hurried in waiting sambulances to the
several hospitals
The night was dark but for the light
from the blazing coach that was
crushed and splintered on top of the
| engine. Men sWarmed about it, com
batting the flames with the means at
/ hand, cropping their way through the
/ binding, scalding steam that rose in
clouds, hunting for the injured whose
cries were such as chilled the hearts
/ of those who heard them.
! There was a small water supply and
the means at hand for fighting the
| flames were pitifully Inadequate, but
the zeal of the rescuers wrought great
things for the first few minutes. It
was known that number of injured
were helpless in the wreck, but
though the work was done with
frantic haste and without regard to
danger, the flames gradually drove the
| rescuers back and after ten minutes
OF awful battle, the rescuers were
l driven away from the blazing com
/ bination coach and the imprisoned
1 passengers were incinerated.
Despite all their help the fire
I burned until after midnight and the
last burned and blackened corpse was
not recovered from the funeral pyre
until I o'clock.
Rescuers with lanterns groped
/ through the smoke and steam and
| spared no efforts to get to the bodies.
/ Despite all this the condition of the
! bodies was such as to make identifica-
/ ton almost impossible. One body
( was recovered with the head missing.
Speeding Like the Wind.
The wrecked train was making nearly
/ seventy miles an hour when the acci-
dent occurred, according to the fireman,
| Aaron Gorham, of NOrWalk, Ohio, who
| was badly bruised but otherwise unin-
jured He miraculously escaped death.
We were speeding like the wind,
| said GOrham, when the engine left the
| track. 1t occurred so quickly that 1
little knew what happened until we
]
neither heard nor saw the engine after
/ that
THE engine overturned and somehow
! the tank managed to fall upon me but
not heavily and I was sheltered by it.
! lost consciousness from the terrible
blow which L had received upon the
head and I knew nothing until I was
| dragged from underneath the wrecked
! engine. My escape was positively a
miracle, since I did not meet the fate
of poor Taylor"
One of the most appalling features of
the wreck was the burning of the dead
and injured.
A. P Head, of London. England.
/ had inhaled flames and smoke. His
J tongue was swollen and his lungs were
scared so that the doctors declared he
could live only a few hours.
H H. Wright, of Chicago, was pin
ioned in the train and was partly ex-
! tricated by his own efforts when the
! flames overlook him and burned him
SO severely that he died later. He was
/ brought to Cleveland on the relief
train His arms and head were burned
so badly that he was hardly recogniz-
Mentor. the scene of the wreck, is
the home of the widow of the late
President James A. Garfield.
Stories of Survivors.
Conductor Alexander Hammond, of
the limited, told his experience. Il
rushed back to the switch 1InneQldUely
after the wreck 1t was open and
/ locked open. I tried it and found that
it worked all right. The switch light
was out Not wheel had rolled over
the switch since No. 10, the eastbound
/ Chicago and Boston train went
through Is minutes before
J. Prior. coIored, a porter on the
second car of the train, was busy pre-
pairing berths for the passengers when
/ he felt the train leave the main track.
IT, "a 1,r Irrfo Fc ir
and then he lurched sideways. That
is all he can say about it. "I fell
against a window and broke it.
crawled out of the window, coming out
on the under side of the train. When
ever a face appeared at window. I
grabbed for the man and pulled him
out All were saved but I was hurt a
little. MY hand was cut and my
! shoulder sprained severely"
/ James H. Gibson. of Chicago. a pas-
!