Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-04-14
Household Goods and
Wedding Finery Minus.
A Catastrophe On Penobscot
Central Railway, Thursday.
Freight Car Turns Turtle Throwing
Load Into the River.

East Corinth. Me-, April iS.-(SpeciaD.
Down over the bank it went and into
the river Went the car, dry goods, groc-
cries, wedding finery, farming tools.
wash tubs, wringers and minor other
articles too numerous to mention and
for a moment sinking beneath the sur
face of the water and then bobbing up
spreading out and floating down stream
While perhaps a half hundred people
stood with the mouths open in wonder
mtnt and all asking at once as To what
could be done.
The foregoing is, in short, the story
Of the wreck which happened. Tuesday
On the Penobscot Central Hallway near
this place. One of the regular trains had
made its way, slowly, as usual, from
! ;Iangor until East Corintn was reached
and just after leaving the village Il
reached the stream over the Kcndus-
! k-ag stream where the bridge broke
down last fall. Owing to the fact that
| this bridge is still unsaf. the trainmen
have been obliged to transport passen-
| gers across the structure on foot and
| wen once on the other size they en-
| l,arked on trains for the terminus of thu.
| l. Dad, Charleston.
Tuesday afternoon The train came up
well loaded with passengers and with
an unusual amount of baggage and
| freight. The passengers were all safely
| conducted across the bridge and Were
| deposited on the train to wait until tht.
| freight had been brought across ami
| loaded on to the up-o0und train. This
| work went rapidly on and soon a large
| Hat car vas loaded - its fun capacity
| with tic many kinds of baggage and
! freight. Tie car WAS left upon the rails
/ some distance from The bridge and had
IL trie underneath one of the wheels TO
keep ii from sliding backwards and on
to the bridge.
| In some unknown manner this trIg
worked it self loose AMI the car started
~ its backward run towards the bridge.
The trainmen seeing Il wondered for
minute only as to what could be done
to stop it's progress. Slowly at first and
| then increasing it's speed it came to-
| wards the bridge and then one of the
| trainmrn realizing that if ii went upon
the bridge that it would break through
made NJ his mind 10 either stop it or
derail the oncoming ear.
He grabbed several large plank laying
near and piled them upon the rails as
quickly as possible but III" car crunch
| ed them to bits beneath the wheels. Al
| last he secured a six in, h jOiSt and
! threw it upon the track at an angle
Land off went the car but it was too
| late ana rs il had reached the bank of
| the river it continued liz course AMI
! plunged downward into the icy waters.
| bag,;ag". freight and Ill before those
! watching the proceedings realized just
What had happened.
There was close to Il tons Of freight
on the car and among il the earthly be
Ion gingS of Il recently married couple
hailirg from up Bradford way. All of
their wedding presents. wedding gowns
and in fact everything Went t. the bot
tom and then arose and f,oatcd down
stream, Threr trunks belonging to n
travelling salesman for Il well known
Bangor firm We're among the stuff and
these It is stated represented some $500
worth of clothing samples.
Another lot of goods lost was nearly
$500 worth of gun powder which was
consigned to different country mer-
chants around Charleston. bradford and
Exeter. Nearly everything that went in
to the water was lost although some
few eavab" articles We're fIShed out or
lloatrd near enough to the shore to be
pulled out. The bride and groom prob
ably ielt the worst of all dor among the
ihings lost ny them were many littlA
things which money cannct replace.