Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1905-06-24

Mentor, Ohio.-The Twentieth Cen
tury Limited, the fastest long-distance
train in the world, ran through an
open switch opposite the Mentor pas
senger station while going at the rate
OF mile minute at 10 o'clock Wed.
nesday night,
Eleven persons were killed and 16
injured, some of them fatally. The
known deadi
John r. Bennett, patent attorney,
New York City, burned to death.
Thomas r. Morgan of the Wellman,
Seaver, Morgan company, Cleveland,
burned to death.
w. d. Dickey, New York.
Allen Tyler, engineer, Collinwood,
Ohio, crushed under locomotive.
N. B. Walters, baggage master, Ham
burg, N. H.
Graham, fireman, Collinwood,
Ohio.
The barber and porter of the COM
bination car are missing.
The injured: Charles H. Wellman
of Wellman, Seaver, Morgan company,
scalded and burned, will die; H. H..
Wright, Chicago; A. B. German, Nor
walk, Ohio; j. B. Gibson, Chicago;
C. Cordua, Brooklyn; d. Arthur, Mil
waukee; S. E. Beckwith, New York;
F. j. Brant, Toledo.
This was the fourth trip of the flyer
on its run from Chicago to New York
on an 1S-hour schedule.
It hauled out of Cleveland about 8
o'clock with Ave cars, four sleepers
behind the buffet car.
AS it was not scheduled to stop
here, it approached the station at full
speed,
The engineer did not see the open
switch until the locomotive struck it.
The locomotive left the rails and plow-
ed into the ground, tearing up the
track for many yards.
The two coaches behind it jammed
into it with great force and were
crushed, the fire from the locomotive
setting tnem aDlaZe.
The combination car, which was
completely burned, cooled off at 11.3O
so that reseuers could get to work.
About Is passengers are known to
bavo boon riding In this car, and at
least six of the number are dead.
Engineer Tyler Of the train was
taken from under the side of the loco
motive, dead and horribly mangled,
about two hours after the wreck.
Fire departments from Mentor and
from Painesville were called and were
at work trying to extinguish the
flames in the combination car within
80 minutes after the wreck occurred.
The injured we're taken from the
combination car and sent to Cleve-
land on special train.
The Chicago sleeper, which was be-
hind the combination car, swung from
the track and crashed into the freight
station, which was completely de-
stroyed.
The locomotive was turned COM
pletely around when it struck the
freight station. Every car left the
track, the rear trucks Of the last
coach only remaining on the rails.
The scenes following the collision
were pitiful Those in the rear coach
es were not injured, and they set about
at once to rescue those pinioned in
the burning cars. The fire spread
with great rapidity, and it was with
much difficulty that the passengers in
the two coaches behind the locomo-
tive were pulled from the debris.
d. c. Moon, assistant general super
intendent of the Lake Shore road,
stated late tonight that it looked as If
the Mentor wreck had been caused by
malicious mischief He said that a
fast passenger train had passed over
the switch safely three-quarters of an
hour before the Twentieth Century
was wrecked.
Immediately after the wreck oe
Cured it was found that the switch
was locked open, so that no train
could pass 1t without being thrown
from the track.