The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1905-02-21
ERIE FLER WRECKED
Tuxedo Club Special Left
Rails Near Paterson.
THREE DEAD, SEvENTY-NI NEINJURED
Express For New York, Going a Mile
Minute. Derniied by Broken
Truck, Plunged Down EN-
bnnkment Into Ditch.

PATTERSON, y. j., Feb. 21.-Three
lives were lost and seventy-nlne per
sons more or less seriously injured
when the Tuxedo club special of the
Erie railroad was ditched on the Der
gen short cut midway between War.
rem Point ana Fairlawn, n. j., about
four miles north of Paterson. The train
left the track and rolled down an EN-
banlimcnt into deep ditch.
OF the three killed but two have been
identifed-MisS Grace Matthews, on
her way to New York TO seek a posi-
ton TO aid her aged mother, and Miss
Mary Spec S, eighteen years old, Of
Turner's, n. Y. The third was woman
shout seyenty-hve years old.
That the wreck was due to flaw In
casting on the truck OF the engine
tender was the statement Of an official
Of the Erie company. He declared the
accident unavoidable and said no one
was to blame.
OF the 80 passengers on the train
were many wealthy residents of Tuxe-
do, Suffern and other points near by.
They were mostly brokers, lawyers
and business men on their way to New
York to business. The train was made
up of parlor car, smoker day coach
and a Tuxedo club special car. The
train started from Suffern and was
half an hour late, making up lost time
when the accident occurred.
One mile minute is said to he the
schedule time of the club train at the
point where the smoking ear left the
rails. The train is said to have been
making nearly that speed, and for
nearly half mile the smoker was
dragged and bumped along the track
before the cars and engine left the
track.
In his effort to pull the bell rope and
stop the train when the smoker left the
track Clifford Wall, an office boy en-
ployed in New York, was hurled
against window and severely cut
about the head.
All that saved the wreck from being
one of the most horrible in the annals
of railroading In this section was the
fact that after the cars jumped the
track they pounded along on the ties
for a quarter OF mile before plunging
down the embankment. The entire
train of four cars-a combination bag
gage and smoking car-went into the
ditch. but speed had been slackened,
and the ditch was full of snow.
The train, running at high speed, had
just passed over switch at Warren
Point when the rear truck of the tend
er broke. The back of the tender
swung to one side. and this threw the
first of the five cars off the track and
broke the coupling between the car and
the tender. The train plunged ahead
for a distance of thousand yards,
tearing up the tracks as 1t went, and
finally, while the passengers were try
Ing frantically to reach the doors, all
1--WE cars rolled over the ten foot en-
bankment alongside the track. Three
Of the cars turned completely over and
now lie upside down. The engine did
not leave the track and ran nearly half
mile before 1t could be brought to a
stop
Those who were killed sustained
their injuries by being jammed be-
tween the seats as the cars were
crushed together Another train fol-
lowing close behind took the injured on
board, where they were cared for.
The wrecked train was running on
what is known as the Bergen branch, a
short cut from Ridgewood to Passaic.
Among the Injured at Paterson hos
pital are; o. II. Cutler OF Suffern, in
jured in back; Frank Furman OF Suf-
fern, head and leg, injured; II. Il. Mes
ner Of Middletown. head cut; Walter
Duryea of Suffern, head cut; E. NJ.
Post Of Tuxedo, injured about the
head; s. d. Moore of Tuxedo, head in
| jured; Edward Roberts Of Tuxedo,
badly injured about the head and face;
Carlisle Norwood Of Tuxedo. cut about
the face and head: Joseph Sedgmore OF
Suffern, injured on head; John Van
Houton of Paterson, Injured on head;
j. L. Ford of Suffern, injured about
the body; Raymond Wayton of Monroe,
n. Y, injured head and arm; Arthur
Day of Tuxedo. injured on head: Mrs
Joseph Noonan Of Chester, n. Y, had
her left eye gouged out, and she was
otherwise injured about the head and
face: Edna Mcconnell of Suffern, cut
about face and mead; Elizabeth Mitch
ell of Madison avenue, New York city
injured about the face and arms; VIII
liam O'Brien Of Washington street
Brooklyn. Injured about the head and
body; G. d. Moore, Injured about the
body.
Others injured are: ID. II. Shut OF
Monroe, injured about the body; Jessie
Cooper of Suffern, head injured
George Frederick, Jr., of Chester, N. Y.
injured about head; Harold Baus OF
Suffern, leg bruised.
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