New-York tribune., 1906-06-03
TRAIN In DEATH GAP.
LEAPS INTO OPEN DRAW.
Engine of Fast Erpress PIunges to
RiUer-CGrS Escape.


one OF the most remarkable railway accidents
that ever happened near this city Just missed
being q disaster at the Pennsylvania RAILROADS.
newest steel drawbridge over the Hackensack
River few minutes after , p. m yesterday.
The ST louis Express speeding toward Jersey
city. reached the bridge as the draw was open
ing The locomotive ran across the draw and
fen into the river Its tender. two drawing room
coaches and a dining car were wrecked on the
bridge.
Not one of the persons on the train was hurt
Joseph Il. Ellis. the engineer, jumped from
the cab to the drawbridge and escaped with a
slight injury TO one leg. William Messner. the
fireman, went into the river with the locomotive
but swan ashore unhurt
The drawbridge was put out Of commission
for the rest OF the day by the accident Bortu-
nately the Pennsylvania has another bridge over
the -Hver less than two hundred feet distant. an
old bridge which has been used for freight traffic
This was pressed into service for passenger
traffic half an hour after the accident. while the
freight service WIS stopped.
Three ordinary day coaches and an express
car Of the St Louis express were stopped De-
fore reaching the drawbridge and were unin-
s1red As soon as a locomotive could be OBJ
.si-es these uninjured cars were drawn back
70 the point where the express and freight
tracks meet and were then sent over the OLD
hridee snd so on to the Jersey City terminal
The nine passengers who were in the TWO
wrecked drawing room coaches were transferred
20 the day coaches and finished the trip with
the eighty other passengers with a delay OF
Only half hour.
ACCIDENT WITHOUT PARALLEL
The fault for the accident apparently lay
with the bridge tender who opened the draw
he
hundred feet down the track Ellis said later
that he had a clear signal when he was ap-
preaching the bridge and was within less than
q hundred feet of the draw when he saw 1T
start to swing open The bridge tender dis
appeared after the accident Three hours later,
when George W. Waite, the train dispatcher
from Jersey City, was directing the work OF
clearing away the wreckage the bridge and
also making an investigation he said he had not
been able 10 find out the name Of the bridge
tender on duty ct the time of the accident
The drawbridge had swung so far when the
locomotive OF the St Louis express struck 1t
that the locomotive ran on the rails OF the west
bound track over the draw, although 1t ap-
preached the bridge on the eastbound track
The trucks OF the tender missed the rails and
SO did the trucks Of the Indianapolis car. next
N line. The St Louis coach, which was sec
ond. and the dining car also missed the rails.
Their trucks bumped over the ties q little way.
the wheels one side failing through the open
ing between the two tracks
AS the locomotive broke loose from its tender
and roppled into the river. pilot down, at the
far end Of the draw. the trucks OF the two
drawing room coaches became wedged together
while the coaches slid of and went pounding
along on the bridge tirnbers. without any wheels
under them The dining was raised from it's
own trucks on the heap Of other trucks. 30 that
With the wrecldng Of the three large coaches
on the drawbridge. the speed Of the train
Stacked sharply. The train came 70 g. standsuu
with the tender Of the locomotive just at the far
END OF the draw and the day coaches not quite
the draw. If the tender had followed the
locomotive into the river. Messner doubtless
would have been crushed under il AS il was
Re was able 10 swim away from the partly sub
merged locomotive
only three passengers were In the Indianapolis
ca with James Washington. the colored porter.
One Of them was a priest, who crawled out on
the bridge through a window of the wrecked
car SIX passengers were in the St Louis car,
with a colOred porter and Frank Farber, the
conductor. The dining car empty. When
tie occupants Of the wrecked cars managed 10
get out they were amazed 10 learn that no per-
son had been hurt, with the exception Of the
engine driver who was hrnping. They had been
shaken up badly, but had escaped cuts or
bruises.
PASSENGERS NOT EVEN BRUISED.
In Cle Gay coaches the passengers had been
thrown out Of their seats by the sudden stop
ping of the train, but nobody reported even a
bruise. An ambulance was called from the
nearest hospital, but the surgeon found nobody
who Desded his services
Policemen from Jersey City reached the scene
Of the accident when the day coaches Of the
train we're being taken away. They could not
and The bridge tender. and they had no occasion
10 make any arrest
The wreck caused loss Of several thousand
dollars 10 the railroad company II may take
several days TO repair the bridge and rescue
The dana ged locomotive from the river In the
mean time there viii be delays in the freight
service. II The passenger traffic is maintained
cording 70 the regular schedule At nightfau
last evening no percepuble progress had been
,nsce n the task Of removing the wrecked cars
from The GraWbridge-
The d~awbridge is new steel structure which
was slightly damaged by dynamite last Sep
tsl2ber. Ii has all the latest automatic devices
to- lis operation
JUs- before the accident yesterday the tug
boat Lily May Hardy with a mud scow in tow,
whs,-ed for the opening Of the draw. The
bridge tender wllistled 10 indicate that train
e'as approaching. Almost Immediately q west
tount rrsin passed over. Then the draw began
Il open fust as the st Louis express arrived