The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1907-09-20
rs PERSONS KILLED
26 OTHERS BADLY HURT
Trains Collide Head-0n On a Steep
Grade.
VICTIMS ARE MOSTLY WOMEN.

VICTIMS ARE MOSTLY WOMEN.
Frightful Wreck On the Boston and
Maine Railroad.
AN ERROR COSTS MANY LIVES.
The Southbound Quebec Express and
a Heavy Freight Crash Into Each
Other, and the Two Giant Locomo-
tives, Locked in Tight Embrace,
Roll Into a Ditch-All the Passen-
gers Killed or Hurt Were in One
Car, Which Was TelescOped by the
Heavy Baggage Car.
White River junction, vt. Especially.
A fearful head-on collision be-
tween the southbound Quebec ex-
press and a northbound freight train
on the Concord division of the Bos-
ton and Maine Railroad occurred four
miles north of Canaan Station, due
to mistake in train dispatcher's Or
ders, and from demolished passen-
ger coach there were taken out "a
dead and dying and 81 other passen-
gers, most of them seriously wound
ed. Nearly all those who were in
the death car were returning from
fair at Sherbrooke, Quebec, 80 miles
north.
The conductor of the freight train
was given to understand by the
night operator at Canaan Station that
he had plenty of time to reach sid
ing, receiving, according to the super
intendent of the division, copy of
telegraph order from the train dis
patcher at Concord which confused
the train Nos. 80 and "a.
The wreck occurred just after the
express had rounded into straight
stretch of track, but owing to the
early morning mist neither engineer
saw the others headlight until it
was too late.
The south-bound train was made
up at Sherbrooke, where it picked up
two sleepers from Quebec and two
more on the way down. 1t consisted
of the baggage car, passenger coach
and smoking car in that order, with
the SleeperS IN the rear.
Was Forty Minutes Late.
The train left White River juno
ton at $50 A. M, 40 minutes late,
and was followed 20 minutes later by
the Montreal express over the Central
Vermont Railroad. The Quebec train
is known as No. 80 and the Montreal
train as No. "a.
In the meantime a north-bound
freight train, known as No. 267, had
arrived at Canaan, 10 miles down the
road, at 40 A. M, on time. Ac-
cording to the division superintend-
emit, w. R. Ray, ]. A. Crowley, the
night train dispatcher at Concord,
sent a dispatch to John Greeley,
the night operator at Canaan, that
No. "a was 1 hour and 10 minutes
late. The order, which Conductor
Lawrence of the freight train showed
after the accident, distinctly states
that No. 80 instead of No. "a was
1 hour and 10 minutes late.
Conductor Lawrence, believing that
he had sufficient time in the hour and
ten minutes to reach the side track
at West Canaan, four miles beyond,
before No. 80 reached it, ordered his
train ahead.
The superintendent declared that
the accident was due to the mistake
in placing a cipher after the three
in the number of the train, instead
of four.
The morning was dull and misty
in the Western New Hampshire
Mountains and the long freight train
with score of heavily loaded cars
numbered up the long grade toward
West Canaan at the usual speed. On
the other side of the curve was the
Quebec express, sliding down the
single track with her load of pas
sengers and the four heavy sleepers
in the rear.
Engineers Jumped.
The freight train was on straight
piece of track, about mile in length,
and the Quebec express had rounded
a curve into this stretch when the
two engineers saw the headlights of
the opposite train burst out of the
fog. Both engineers set their brakes
and then jumped, while the two great
locomotives crashed into each other
and, locked in a firm embrace, rolled
into the ditch.
Inc DdSSdSc Car III Tic ASdl "oS
hurled back into the passenger coach
like a great ram, and tore 1t asunder
from end to end. AS it did SO the
rear end of the car rose up so that
when it stopped at the forward end
of the smoker, which was behind the
passenger coach, it was well inclined.
Only few windows were broken in
the smoking car, and none of the
Pullmans we're injured.
But the Inflated passenger coach
was crowded with more than SO peo-
Pile. Shortly before the accident
few of the men had gone back into
the smoking car in the rear, leaving
the women to get little sleep in the
straight seats.
One of those who escaped said that
as the train was rounding a curve
someone in the front of the car be-