The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-04
THREE COACHES BURNED
 WHEN TRAIN TAXES FIRE
Officials Regard 1t As Miracle That So Few Were Killed and h. jured-Six of Crew Seri-
 ously Hurt.

S:52 o'clock.
 As result two were instantly killed, including Passenger Engineer C. B. Spen- cer of Birmingham. Six of the crew and 20 passengers were seriously and pain fully injured.
 After the collision. the passenger train ignited. and Tn spite of the resistance of the crews, the passengers and the citizens of Morganville, three coaches, the mail, the baggage and the second-class passen- ger, were consumed. together with con tents, including mail. express and bag gage.
 The Dead. C. B. Spencer. passenger engineer, Bir- mingham.
 William walker colored. freight brake man.
 Seriously Injured. H. w. Elliot, Jr., freight engineer, Bir- mingham, leg broken and internal in- juries.
 J. NJ Tumlin, Gadsden, freight fireman, internal injuries.
 Joe Young, colored, passenger fireman, ] internal injuries and fractured arm. may
 die.
 The less seriously injured D. Hollan, travelling man from North Carolina.
 John Street passenger mail clerk, Bir-
 mingham.
 Mrs J. Preston. Cleveland, O.. en route to Ensley.
 A nj
 Birmingham.
 J. B. Asboy. Birmingham, wounds about head.
 Edward Jackson, passenger express messenger, Birmingham.
 A. Ferguson Fort Payne.
 In addition, 20 passengers were more or less seriously injured.
 News Spread Quickly.
 The news of the disaster reached Br-
 mingham immediately after the crash. l and spreading throughout the city, caused i intense excitement There were many 1 Birmingham passengers on the train and
 many of the members of the trains crews
 were residents of this city
 Relief trans were instantly rushed to
 Morganvile from Birmingham and Chat 1 tanooga and from the latter city physi-
 cians attended. On the afternoon accom-
 mediation to Chattanooga several hundred
 citizens of Birmingham visited Morgan vile, and from Chattanooga the people
 turned out en masse.
 Attention to the wounded was immedi-
 ately given. and these later were sent to l Chattanooga. The dead, including En- l gineer Spencer. were brought to Birmins
 ham on No 1, reaching the city at 1920 1 o'clock
 1 The dispatcher of the Alabama Great 1 Southern in Birmingham received full in . I telligence of the wreck shortly after i0 o'clock Around the superintendent's of l flee for hours hundreds of people re- l mained, anxiously awaiting the news.
 Cause of the Disaster. At the local office of the Alabama Great Southern no specific cause for the dsas- l ter is given. Of course, it is too early 1 for an official investigation. l At headquarters, however, it is gener- ally believed that the crew of the freight 1 overlooked it's orders. It is the general l impression that the passenger was fol- 1 lowing instructions l The passenger train was in charge of | Conductor J. A. Stone while the freight | was operating under the care of Con- | ductor J. D. Dowdle. Both conductors | have been long in the service, and are l considered tried and careful men. 1 It is presumed that the trains met i around one of the numerous curves which abound in Northern Georgia. The pas- l senger was operating at a great rate of 1 speed, probably 60 miles an hour. The freight too, being through train loaded l with perishables, was also going at great 1 clip, and it is thought that the engineers | saw the opposing train too late to even I check their engine, too late, in fact, to 1 even jump to safety. l Engineer Spencer and Brakeman Walk I er who was probably in the engine at 1 the time, were killed instantly. l Wife Presents Heart Rendering Scene. 1 The wife of Freight Engineer Elliot.
 who is seriously injured, it being unknown | just how seriously, completely unnerved | and frantic with grief and apprehension presented a hear-rending scene at the sup | erintendent's office late yesterday after
 noon.
 She was..weeping bitterly, wringing her hands and tearing her hair. She fell into the street, just across the railroad tracks on Eighteenth street, and instantly there gathered about her vast crowd of curi- ous people. white and colored. From this
 position Mrs Elliot staggered to the
 steps of the buil&ng, and there fell to her knees again, Vprayng that her hus- band might recover, and that his in juries might not be too serious. The woman was taken into the super intendents office and presented with transportation to Chattanooga. in which city her husband is in a, hospital. Three Cars Consumed. The reports at the local office are to the effect that the three cars referred to above were completely consumed. to- | gether with their contents. This loss It. self will be heavy, as it includes all mall, all express and baggage of the passen- gers Morganvile is a very small hamlet, and has no equipment for fire fighting.