The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-12-04
TRAGIC INCIDENTS
OF SPENCER WRECK
Col. Cameron Gives De.
tails of the Horror.
CAR SPLiT LIKE BOX
First a Terrific Explosion-Safc Be
tween WrcckS-Itcscuc Of NO
man With Sleeping Babe
Sixth Smash-Up and
Unburt

Unhurt.
C00Inel Bcnehan Cameron, who was
a passenger on the Inflated tram, NO.
80, on the Southern Railroad, on "hlch
President Samuel Spencer and a mum
Der of others were killed. was in Raj
cigh yesterday and v a most
graphic and thrilling account Of the
circumstances of the wreck as they
came under his observation.
Colonel Cameron was returning
home from Philadelphia where, as d
member of the committee OF the Clh-
c~innati, he had participated III me
exercises attending the re-lnteFHlehI
Of the remains of James wilson, Jus
tice of the Supreme Cour of the
United States. which for d century Z
been buried IN Edenton.
Failing to get d berth, Colonel am
crOn wa forced to ride III the hfSt
class day coach, which was just ahead
of the two Sleepers in front OF MI
SDencer's car, and it was his fact,
doubtless, which was the cause of his
escaping from the wreck without any
injury whatever. a strange clfcunl~
stance was hat the baggage and eX-
press cars which were ahead Of the day
coach, were telescOpcd with the col
Ored coach in which a number of pas
soCIStIS htI1 IN VI
Colonel Cameron was thus between
wrecks, as it were, the coach i'll which
he was sitting not sustaining even d
scratch and the passengers riding
therein feeling only Il slight jar at the
omen Of the collision.
At the time Of the wreck, Colonel
Cameron says that he was asleep, but
that he could have been asleep only il
few minutes. as he had been awake all
the way from Washington to Lynch
burg and remembered the train beng
at Durmid. Il station only Il short dis
lance from the scene of the catastrO-
phe AT Lynchburg. he says that the
train was delayed for ever an hour on
account of a brOk ell draW-head and
hat when the damage had been re-
paired the conductor SAID that he
Thought they would make Green's
boro." AS it afterwards appeared,
there was trouble again with the draw
head a mile and a half before the sta
ton of Lawyers, and the engine broke
away from the train and ran for some
distance up the track before the fact
was discovered. The engineer a just
backed to the train n completed the
coupling and had blown for the flag
man to come in when the fast train
No. 81. dashed around the curve and
into President Spencer'S car, on the
rear end of h train.
A Terrific Explosion.
The whole matter, says Colonel
Cameron, happened in an instant OF
time. There was one crash followed
by the most terrific explosion he ever
heard. which was caused by the SIM
~ultaneOus bursting of the gas tanks on
the presidents car and the boiler of
the engine of No. 81. y cOuntryman
who arrived later on the scene stated
that the eXplOSlOnWas severe enough
to perceptibly shake his house, which
yXn c two -. .IlGtn n SJ1ol wa h.
force of the collision that the entire
train. No. SO, excepting the presidents
car, was shunted along thetraCk for a
distance of one hundred and fifty
feet. The presidents car, however, lay
burning furiously around the engine OF
No. 81, which had opened it up like q
cardboard box and which had doubtless
been further sheltered by the tre1nen-
dous force of the exploding gas tanks
n boiler. Although the colOred coach
and baggage and express cars We're
telescOped by the shock, none of the
train left the track with the exception
of the last Pullman sleeper. That car.
fortunately, broke away from Colonel
SpencerS car to which it was fastened
II followed the rest of the train as it
was knocked up the track, leaving the
rails and turning on its side down an
embanklment while the coupling still
held to the forward sleeper. Had this
car not broken away as it did the
wreck would have been rendered all
the more horrible by imprisoned pas
nge being burned to death, as
would have otherwise been inevitably
the case.
Passengers Still Sleeping.
Immediately upon the happening OF
the collision Colonel Cameron ran
PACK to see what had happened, took
III the situation and, fearing that the
rest of the train WOuld be burned
first dashed INTO the forward sleeper
calling upon the passengers to get out
for their lives. Some Of these, despite
h shock of the colliding trains were
still asleep and Colonel Cameron SAID
tl1at not q few OF them were at frs,
much -d~isgruntled at being disturbed
III their SlumberS. Needless 10 say
they were soon i'll d grateful instead o.
an angry frame of mind. In his cal
were a number of persons known tC
Colonel Cameron, among them Mr.
George Watts, of Durham, Dr.. Parker
formerly of Johnston county, but for {
long time q prominent New York fl.
naflcler, and Mrs. German, formerly
the wife of Judge Boykin, Of NORTH
Carolina.
Never Walked the Baby.
After going through the forward
sleeper, colonel Cameron Il
make an entry into the sleeper behin(
which lay on its side halfway down al
cmbankment. There was nobody aSice,
III that car except ii baby and the pa
SelSefS were trapped and in q freuZ,
OF tear. Stepping on the ends of tn
seats, Colonel Cameron forced his wa
INTO the car and finally managed /,
eNtrlcate and carry out five one
very dlfflcuft task, as to do so he wa
forced to hold the passengers acros
MS mp with his right arm and puI
himself along the ends of the seat
and UP with his left hand. The las
woman so taken out, he said, was
lady who was occupying the DRAWN;
room and with whom was a baby still
last asleep. 81 got them out" sait
Colonel Cameron, without cye1
waking the baby"
Colonel Cameron then went to til
second class coach, Which he describe
as being III q state of marvellous .onfu
sion, trunks. eXpresSage. and the negr
passengers lying i'll the Wrecka-o in
eXtrlcably damned and inter-tangle
Some negro boys from the neighbor
mood came to the scene and thny
Colonel Cameron Uiganizeu t. his as