The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1906-11-03
SIXTY TO EIGHTY ARE DEAD
IN ELECTRIC TRAIN WRECK
Heavy Passenger Coaches Thrown
from TrestIe Bridge Over Thorough
fare Near Atlantic City. N. j.
by Defective Rail.

lndue WOrk. lnen uarkneSS Iell SWuC'
ly.
Possibly 1870 on the Train.
The conductor does not appear to
be certain as to the exact number. He
had SS tickets In his possession when
he was brought to this city, but he
thinks that several tickets were lost,
and 1t Is his opinion that there were
from ITO to 1870 passengers on the
train. This, however, seems too high
an estimate.
Mystery as to Cause.
Details as to just how the accident
occurred are vague. A complete cir
cumstantial story cannot be obtained
from any one of the surviving passen-
gers. Several causes have been as
signed for the derailment of the train.
One is that rail turned in" and the
other that the rails were not proper
closed after pleasure yacht had
passed through. There is also
possibility 1t was due to a defective
rail or the breaking OF some part
of the superstructure of the first
coach. All the stories as to the cause
Of the accident, however, are purely
speculative.
Sight Wrecks 5rideeman's Mind.
The man who may be able to tell
what caused the accident Is Daniel
b. Stewart, the bridgetender. Stewart.
however, Is in no condition to talk.
The horror of the accident has tenn
porarly bereft him of his reason. He
Is So years old.
He was the only person who wit
messed the plunge OF the train with
it's human cargo from a close point
of vantage. The scenes which fol-
lowed caused him to lose his reason,
and when he was found hours after.
wards he could not tell rational
story.
Entire Train Plunees Into Water
The leading car appears to have
been the first to leave the rails. II
swerved with such force that. 1t pull
cd the others off, but the train ran
! on about 100 yards along the trestlc
until the first and second cars plung-
them the third car While the third
car was descending the rear portion
| struck q piece of the abutment, hung
| for short time and then slid into
the water. But this brief stop saved
several lives.
The trestle is about fifteen feet
above the water and the drop to the
| 40 eyfxy
ing time for the passengers. men. wo-
men, and children, to see and calcu-
late their fate.
Motorman Scott stuck to his post
and went down with his train. The
third trainman, Brakeman Wood,
proved himself hero.
Women and Children Crowd Cars.
From the officials of the railroad
company only a meager and discon-
nected story of the occurrence could
be had The train which Is made up
of three heavy vestibule coaches of
the newest type. all electrically
equipped, left Camden at one o'clock
in the afternoon,
Walter Scott was the motorman on
the forward car. John l.. Curtis, Of
Camden, was the conductor In charge
and Ralph II. Wood was the brake
man. When the train pulled out OF
Camden the coaches were comforta-
bly, filed, women and children being
in the majority. They occupied the
two forward cars.
One Mans Wit Saves Lives.
When the train left the rails and
was humping over the ties, Wood ran
to the rear door of the last car, threw
it wide open, and held 1t for the pas
sengers to escape. He held the door
open until the car slid off the bridge
and went into the water with 1t. He
then swan to the shore. His action
in holding the door open saved many
lives, as when the rear car of the
train caught on the abutment Of the.
bridge, where 1t hung poised for a
minute, there was a frantic rush Of
the passengers for the rear door.
Probably a score or more got out and
as the car plunged over the edge
others leaped into the water.
Strong Swimmer Saves Several.
AS this car was slipping into the
water Henry Roemer was In the act
of climbing from window. Freeing
himself with an effort and being
strong swimmer, Roemer set about
to help others. Swimming along the
side of the fast sinking car he kick
ed out the glass and thus gave sew
eral passengers an opportunity to es-
cape. He saw one man caught In q
window and drowned before he could
extricate him.