The evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 1907-08-14
PASSENGERS HELD UP
THAT TIE-UP ON THE LACKA-
WANNA LAST NIGHT.
It Had Some Elements of Good Luck and
Commuters Realized That It Was Not
as Bad as 1t Might Have Been.

HoBoKEN, Aug. 1.-THE thousands
of residents of Newark, Montclair and
the Oranges who were held up for
hours last night by the tie-up on the
Lackawanna Railroad were very angry
for the time being, but they were
thankful later on that 1t was no
worse.
If ever there was an accident on a
railroad where good luck played a part
in preventing large loss of life 1t was
the one which caused this tie-up. AT
6 o'clock last night a passenger train,
running at high speed, si~de-swiped the
derailed car of a freight train in the
Bergen tunnel, that dark and danger
Gus hole which bores under Jersey for
1000 feet. An engineer with a bruised
left arm was the only person who got
hurt, but there were thousands OF
others who came nearer it than they
knew, or, if they knew. care to think
about today.
A coal train from Scranton. twenty
of its cars loaded with big chunks or
anthracite, rumbled into the west n
of the tunnel, bound for Hoboken.
This, train was within 600 feet of day.
light on the eastern side of the hill
when a ~drawhead pulled out and the
three tail cars and the caboose broke
loose from the rest of the train. The
engineer apparently backed down too
fast to pick them III easily. There came
a bump and the first of the four delin-
quent cars jumped off the rails and
settled down on the edge of the west
bound track.
Just about that moment the Dover
accommodation, which left Hoboken at
5:55 and was running along at thirty
five miles an hour, plunged through the
eastern arch of the Bergen Hill hole.
1t was too dark for the engineer,
Dory Mills, to see the plight of the
freight, and he pushed his mount right
along until it got up even with the
manned coal car. When the cylinder
on the port side hit the corner of that
car there was a ripping sound and the
shock caused the reverse lever in MilFs
cab to fly back against his left arm and
put 1t out of business. With his right
he grabbed the emergency lever and
had the train stopped within four car
lengths, the locomotive meanwhile hav-
ing left the rails to grind along on the
ties.
The obstructive coal car bounded
back toward it's own track when the
engine hit it, but it lunged over right
away, and when the passenger train
stopped it was tightly wedged against
the fourth coach.
At the moment of the accident a pan
ic began on the passenger train, but
cooler heads Gained those who were
rushing for the doors and windows.
With the aid of train hands an orderly
Decentralization was made possible and
the commuters took one look at the
wreck and started a retreat through
the entrance of the tunnel for Hoboken.
So much for the wreck. But then the
real trouble began so far as Jerseyites
who live on the west side of the hill
are concerned. BY the time the stalled
accommodation commuters
reached Hoboken the Lackawanna sta
ton there was packed until there was
hardly standing room, and the ferries
from Barclay, Christopher and Twenty
third streets were still bringing their
loads over the river.