Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-11-15
Terrible Disaster to Section of
Train Heavily Loaded with
Immigrants.
AZ KILLED, 3S WOUNDED.
Blunder Of an EmpIoye Allowed Freight
Train on Track and Trains Ne. at
Full Spced--Entire Wreckage
Burncd-Many Pinned Down
Met Death in Flames.

! Chicago. Nov. 12-More than one half
the passengers on an immigrant train on
the Baltimore &. Ohio road were killed
and injured In a collision to-day between
the passenger and a freight train near
Woodville, Ind.
One hundred and slxty-fve passenger
were on the train forty-seven either were
killed outright or were burned to death
In fire that broke out In wrectage
Immediately after the collision. The
names of all the dead probably never will
be known as Il of the bodies were con
sumed in the flames or were so badly
burned that Identification will be out Of
the question
Thirty-eght persons We're 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 railroad emplove The passenger
train, which was loaded with Russian
Jews. Servans and Poles, all of them
recent arrivals in this country and bound
for Chicago or places north west was the
second section Of a through train from
Baltimore. The engineer of the freight
train on Instructions received at McCool
Ind. walled at a siding at Ba5cock Ind,
to allow the immigrant train to pass
One report Is that the engineer OF the
freight train had not been notified that
the passenger train was running in two
sections: the other is that the FIRST section
OF tho passenger train carried no lights
or signals Of any kind indicating that a
second section was close behind. AS soon
az the first section Of the immi grant train
had passed the switch at Babcock the
freight train in charge of Engineer Burke
and Conductor Moste, started eastward.
light snow was falling which increased
the darkness Of the early morning, and
as the freight was running a sharp curve
Just west of Woodville. the second sec
ton of the Immigrant train came in sight
a short distance away, tearing toward
Chicago at the rate OF 10 miles an hour.
The two trains came together with un-
slackened speed and in the crash six pas
senger coaches and several freight cars
were knocked into kndlrg wood and
together with the locomotives. went roll
ing down tho ten foot emhankment.
FIRE COMPLETES DESTRUCTION.
Fire broke out almost Immediately in the
wreckage and. although a number of the
injured were saved by the desperate eff
| forts Of the train crew and surviving pas
serIgers, the greater part of those who
were pinned down IN the debris were
/ burned to death. The flames spread
through the wreckage so rapidly that It
was impossible to save a number of per-
sons who were only slightly hurt, but
were held fast by timbers that weighted
them down. These We're burned in plain
sight Of the thronE that stood around the
scene OF the disaster utterly unable to
| lend assistance. Ihe>Gre continued until
all Of the shattered cars we're entirely con-
sumed and of the Il persons whose death
| followed the collision. a. were burned 10
ashes.
The crash of the collision was so loud
that a number of farmers and other resi-
derts OF the neighborhood came Fastening
to the scene, but they could do nothing
except lend assistance to the injured who
already had been taken from the wreck.
age.
NARROWING SCENES AT STATION.
Relief trains were at once sent out
from South Chicago and Valparaiso, In
dia, with every available physician and
every possible aid was given to the in
jured. A large number Of relatives OF