The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-09-16
NEARLY ALL TIE KILLED
 WERE RETURNING FROM
 FAIR NEAR QUEBEC
Wreck Occurs on Boston and Maine Railroad and Is Caused By Train Dispatcher Getting a Wrong Fig
 ure in His Message to
 Freight Conductor.

White River Junction, Vt. September 15.-A fearful head-on collision be- tween the southbound Quebec express and a northbound freight train on the Concord division of the Boston and Maine railroad occurred four miles north of Canaan station early today due to a mistake in train dispatchers orders, and from a demolished passen- ger coach, there was taken out twenty four dead and dying, and twenty seven other passengers, most of them seri- ously injured. Nearly all of those who were in the death car were returning from fair at Sherbrooke, Quebec, six- ty miles north.
 The conductor of the freight train was given to understand that he had plenty of time tc reach siding by the night operator at Canaan station receiving, according to the superinten- dent of the division, a copy of a tee- graph order from the train dispatch CT at Concord which confused the train numbers SC and si.
 The wreck occurred just after the ex- press had rounded into straight stretch of track, but owing to the early morning mist. neither engineer saw the other headlight until too late.
 The dead identidelssltpg tS sggsse'elee.N tonight were as so.loWs
 Timothy Shaughn sssy, Castl sbar, Que.
 Mrs. Shaughnessy.
 Mrs. Annie St. Pierre. Isleverte. Que
 Fred M. Phelps, Ochiltree Tex.
 Mrs. A. E. Warren, Haverhil, Mass.
 Mrs. F. c. Blake. South Corinth. Vt.
 Mrs. Margaret Largy, Manchester, N. H.
 Miss Barrell Manchester.
 Mrs. Phillip Gagnon, Sherbrooke.
 Miss Alvina Goron, Nashu.
 Mrs. Webster. a dress maker, living in Massachusetts.
 J. l.. Congrot. Somerville Mass.
 Infant child of Irving Clifford, Con- cord, N. H.
 Mrs. E. l.. Briggs, West Canaan, N H.
 John G. Duncan, Bethel, Vt.
 The unidentified include a boy years old, man 40 years old, a woman 30 years old, a man 55 years old a man 35 years old and four others.
  moved to Concord during the day.
 The most seriously injured who were taken to the Margaret Hitchcock hos ptal at Hanover, N. H., included an unknown boy, legs broken. arm torn out and head injured; dying.
 Mistake in Orders.
 The southbound train was made up at st Hbo picked up sleepers from Quebec and two more on the way down. It consisted of the baggage car, passenger coach and smoking car in that order with the sleepers in the rear.
 The train left White River Junction at 3:50 a. m. today. 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. 30 and the Montreal train S No. 34.
 In the meantime a northbound train known as No. 267 had arrived at Canaan, eighteen miles down the road at 4:10 a. m. on time. According to the division superintendent. w. R. Ray, J. R. Crowley, the night train dispa tch CT at Concord. sent a dispatch to John Greedy, the night operator at Canaan, that No. 34 was one hour and ten min utes late The order which Conductor Lawrence of the freight train showed after the accident distinctly states that No. 30 instead of No. 94 was one hour and ten minutes late. Conductor Law renee believing that he had sufficient time in the hour and ten minutes to rCach the side track at West Canaan four miles beyond, before No. 30 reach ed it, ordered his train ahead. The superintendent declared that the acci- dent was due to the mistake in placing a cipher after the three in the num- Der of the train instead of a four