Connecticut western news., 1906-11-01
More Than Half a Hundred Passengers Drowned.
FALL INTO TIDAL CREEK
Travellers on New Jersey Road Helplessly Penned In Cars.
RISING TIDE CUTS OFF HOPE OF ESCAPE

Coroner Finds Defective Rail Conneo-
 tion at Joining of Drawbridse and
 Trsstle First and Second Coach
 Leave Rails, Followed by Third In
 Downward Course e- Cars lmbedded
 In Mud at Bottom of "Ths Thorough
 fare" Near Atlantic City - Bridge
 Tender, Rendered Insane by Accident,
 Unable to Give Information.
 Atlantic City, N. J., Oct. 31.-The to- tai number of dead in the appalling wreck of the electric train which, loaded with passengers, plunged into the Thoroughfare, the waterway sepa-. rating this city from the mainland, is now placed at fifty-seven.
 Wrecking cars, with derricks, sue ceeded in bringing one of the two sub merged cars to the surface, and divers working in relays brought up bodies until their fearful task was completed and they reported that no more dead remained either inside the second car or in the water and mud anywhere in the vicinity.
 ,s coroner's Jury Probes Wreck.
 Interest now centers in the work of the coroner's jury, of which State Sen ator Edward S. Lee is foreman. They have made a careful inspection of the scene of the wreck and the drawbridge at which the train left the rails.
 q am certain of criminal careless ness," Coroner Gaskill declares in his formal statement, "and I shall place the blame where it belongs"
 The disaster, the worst that has hap pened since the terrible meadow wreck of July 30, 1896, occurred at half past o'clock in the afternoon. The train, made up of three heavy vestibule cleo tric coaches, which left Camden at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, carried prob ably eighty-eight passengers, as that number of tickets are held by the con ductor.
 Cause Not Definitely Known.
 The cause of the wreck has not been established It was probably due ei- ther to defective rail or the breaking of some part of the superstructure of the first coach.
 It has also been suggested that the drawbridge, which had just been closed after the passage of a yacht, may not have properly locked the rails. All theories, however, are as yet purely speculative.
 General Manager W. W. Atterbury of the Pennsylvania railroad arrived on the scene and has made a thorough investigation into the cause of the ac- cident
 q arrived at the drawbridge," said the coroner, shortly after the accident. The railroad officials claim to be at a loss to explain the cause of the wreck. Several important facts were brought out by our inspection. I found the end of the drawbridge tracks higher than the ends of the other track. Con- sequently 1t was impossible for a train travelling fast to avoid jumping and being in danger of leaving the rails.
 No Guard Rails on Bridge.
 ''That the wheels of the train had hit the ends of the rails with terrific force was shown by the battered condition of the rails. The condition of the rails, however, is at variance with the state ment made by the bridge tender Ac- cording to MT. Atterbury, the bridge tender told him that the bridge had just been closed and that he had gone <, to the other end of the draw to remove the danger flags which had been placed there when the bridge was about to be opened. The bridge man told MT. At terbury he was positive the tracks were
 1, shows this not to have been the case. My attention has been called to the fact that there are no guard rails or any kind on the bridge. Had there been they might have prevented the train from plunging into the Thoroughfara even after 1t had jumped the tracks. I will find out if the law requires pro lection of this kind"
 While running at a speed said to have been moderate and not unusual the first coach left the rails and drag ged those following it over the ties for a distance of fifty feet. Suddenly Bwerving, the first two coaches plunged over the side of the bridge into the water twenty feet below The third coach struck q heavy abutment, broke its coupling and for a brief time hung perilously suspended over the water. Brief as was this period, however, It gave more than a score of passengers an opportunity to escape by the rear door. Then the car slid off and fol- lowed the other two into the water. It Is believed every one in the rear or third coach escaped alive. though all were more or less injured.
 The accident was witnessed by many persons on shore, and assistance was promptly sent from Atlantic City. Lit tie could be done, however, toward saving the lives of those imprisoned In