The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1907-04-15
Central Vermont Has Three
Accidents In "a Hours
ENGINE TRIES The MUD
Nine Coal Cars Ride The Rail, While i
Lone Butter Car Has a Little
Amusement BY ITSELF
Wreck Crew Keep Busy.

Three wrecks on the Barre branch of
the Central Vermont railroad--a strip
eight miles long and all crowded into
twenty four hours is the record. They
all happened between noon Of Saturday
and noon Of Sunday. They were all due
to the poor condition of the track and
fortunately there were no bad results
except to roadbed and rolling stock and
considerable Inconvenience
Beginning with the comparatively tri-
vial derailment Of butte car near Black
well street., which nevertheless blocked
the main line for hours, and passing down
Ehrough the complete derailment Of en-
gine number So hauling the passenger
train, which effectually blocked entrance
70 the city Saturday night, the series of
accidents ended with the wrecking Of
nine coal cars at the Pioneer yester-
day, which forced the Central off it's
own iron onto the Montpelier & Wells
River line, the track Of the latter hav-
ing been placed at its disposal. UnsiI
this morning the Central ran its trains
from Montpelier to Barre over its neigh
bor's track.
The first accident was easily fixed up
when wrecking crew got to work, the
butter car which had been attached to
the 1908 train saturday afternoon be-
ing lifted back on the iron without frou-
Bile. Meanwhile the trains were run on
a siding. The second was worse, how
ever. Ii was due to the attempt Of en-
gine 56, drawing the AGO passenger train
into Barre to occupy two tracks at the
same time, an attempt that ended in a
dismal failure, with the locomotive
squatting on the ground between the
two tracks. This happened near Ladd
street, Just north of Berlin. The train
was being driven slowly at this point
by Engineer Bennett and was quickly
stopped before anything but the engine
and tender had gone off the iron. The
passengers were transferred to a train
made up at the station here and were
brought into town. The express and
baggage were unloaded and brought in
by team. Engine sol, which was on the
Montpelier side of the wreck, took the
place OF the grounded locomotive and
carried passengers leaving here at $3.50
TO the Junction, the people walking past
the wreck. Williamstown whistled for
| its train.
The cause of the derailment was tho
poor condition of the track. When the
engine was brought TO stop it was rest
ing between the main track and sid
ing, so that the trouble must have been
at the switch. A wrecking engine was
sent for and after working until half
past two Sunday morning the wreckers
got the locomotive back on the iron, with
no great damage done.
The wreck crew had no sooner patch
ed matters up .at Ladd street when their
services were demanded farther down
the line at the Pioneer, where a coal
train was wrecked, with nine cars off
the iron and the track badly torn up.
The cause of this wreck is said to
have been spreading rails. The train was
coming 10 this city and went consider
able distance before stopping, so that
fourteen rail lengths were torn up. The
crew of the first passenger train to leave
this city for Montpelier had not, for
some reason, been notified of the wreck,
and so ran their train as far as the
Pioneer and there learned that the track
was blocked. They then brought the
train the four miles back 10 this city,
and went out over the Montpelier g.
Well River track The main line trains
were held to accommodate the branch.
The Central branch was fixed up SO that
the trains are passing over it to-day.
I