The midland journal., 1906-11-16
lFIFTY PEOPLE KILLED
IN RAILROAD COLLISION
The immigrants Had Embarked al
Baltimore, Md.
cREMA1ED IN THE BURNING CARS.
Somebody's Blunder Caused a Disas-
trous Wreck on the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad Near Woodville. Ind.
A Freight Crashes Into the lmmi-
grant Train.

Chicago, (SpeciaD Fifty persons
are known to have been trapped and
burned to death and 80 others ser1-
ously injured in a head-on collision
early Monday near Woodville, Ind,
48 miles from Chicago, in which a
Baltimore and Ohio immigrant train
was smashed by a fast freight train.
The wreck resulted from the lack
VI proper signals on the first section
of the immigrant train, the Baltimore
and Ohio officials say.
All but one of the six cars on the
passenger train were burned, and
all but six of the bodies were in
cfnerated.
Besides the immigrants, the casual
ties included Frank Rennerman, pas
senger engineer, and Albert Cullers'
passenger fireman, killed and sam
Nose, passenger conductor; William
Snyder, baggageman, and Anthony
Burke, freight engineer, injured.
Burned Beyond Recognition.
One hundred and sixty-five passen-
gers were on the train. OF these 90
were either killed outright or were
burned to death in a fire that broke
out in the wreckage Immediately al
ter the collision The names of all
the dead will probably never be
known, as As of the bodies were con-
sumed in flames or were so badly
burned that Identification will be out
of the question.
Thirty-eight people were injured,
and several of these will die. Eighty
others escaped unhurt, but lost nearly
all their baggage and clothing. The
disaster was caused by a blunder of
some employe of the railroad COM
pany, but just where the blame lies
has not as yet been determined
The passenger train, which was
loaded with Russians, Servians and
Poles, all of them recent arrivals and
bound for Chicago or places in the
Northwest, was the second section
of a through train from Baltimore.
Somebody Blundered.
The engineer of the freight, train
No. Sc, on instructions received at
McCool, Ind, waited at siding at
Babcock, Ind, to allow the lmml-
grant train to pass. One report is that
the engineer of the freight train had
not been informed that the passenger
train was running in two sections;
the other is that the first section of
sthe passenger train carried no lights
or signals of any kind indicating that
a second section was close behind.
AS soon as the first section of the
immigrant train had passed the
switch at Babcock, the freight, in
charge of Engineer Burke and Con-
ductor Meste, started eastward. A
light snow was falling, which in
creased the darkness of the early
morning, and as the freight was
rounding sharp curve just west
of Woodville the second section of the
immigration train came in sight
short distance away, tearing toward
Chicago at the rate of forty miles
an hour. The two trains came to-
getner WIN unSldcKeneQ speed, ana
in the crash six passenger coaches
and several freight cars were knock
ed into kindling wood, and, together
with the locomotives went rolling
down the 10-foot embankment.
Imprisoned And Cremated.
Fire broke out almost immediately
In the wreckage, and although a
number of injured were saved by
desperate efforts of the crew and
survivors, the greater part of those
who were pinned down in the debris
were burned to death.