Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1907-02-01
SIX BURNED IN WRECK
Freight Crashed Into Passsen-
ger Train Near West DeerfeId

All the Victims Were Tralnmen Who
Were In Rear car-signal to Passeng-
err Train to Stop Given Mysterlously.
six persons were killed and several
were injured, one seriously, in a collision
between the Troy express train and a
special freight on the Fitchburg division
of the Boston & Maine railroad i'm a ROCKY
cut with five degree curve, near South
River, Tuesday. The killed were all en-
ployes of the railroad. The injured in
cudcd railroad employees and several pas
eengers. The collision was caused by
sudden stopping of the express train the
freight crashing into the rear of It be-
fore danger signals could be sent to warn
it,. The dead: Conductor George 3. Bus
seno, A., of the express train, living at
Troy, n. Y; Baggage Master George w.
Harrington of the express; NJ. e Fitz-
patrick, engineer, of Rotterdam Junction,
" y. Chauncey Gotta, engineer, Mechan-
icsvile n. Y; Ryal n. Dennison, ir., fire.
man. Mechanicsville, n. Y.
The three latter were Boston &. Maine
employees who were travelling in a dead
head coach" which was at the rear Of
the express and which was demolished in
the collision. John A. Clapper a marine.
United States ship, Wabash, was sent to
the Greenfield hospital No other pas
Sengers except Henry Seller, a brakeman
need hospital treatment, and after re-
turning to Greenfield by train were fur
uished accommodation at the hotels Sell
Ter had his hands and face badly burned.
The scene of the accident was three
quarters of a mile west of West Deer
field at n point between West Deerfield
and South River The wrecked express
left Boston at 11.29 Monday night, bound
for Troy. Just after it had passed West
Deerfeld the engine whistle was blown
and the express stopped for some un-
known reason, The rear brakeman, fur
nished with torpedoes and lights, started
back at once, but he had gone only about
400 feet when the freight train appeared
and before it could be stopped had STRUCK
the standing express.
The last car of the express was COM
hination baggage and smoker, with the
baggage section on the rear. 1t was in
this part Of the car that the five trainmen
were when the collision occurred The
combination telescoped the next car
ahead an ordinary coach, and both these
were burned
The other cars of the express were five
American express coaches and a Pullman.
The only injury to the Pullman was the
derailment of its rear truck. The freight
engine was so slightly injured that it was
backed out of the wreckage under it's own
steam,
The passengers on the combination
We're Mrs. Clara Robertson of Cambridge,
and her mother, Mrs c. E. Young of Bos-
ton, who were on their way to Arlington,
Vt, to attend the funeral of Mrs. Young's
mother; Mrs w. b. Raymond of South
Boston and E E. Reynolds of Boston.
There were also in the car six Russian
Jews, five being women, and Henry c.
Felter, railroad man who was on his
way home to Troy, n. Y. Felter was
pinned under a seat but he extrcated
himself and then broke his way through
a window. He took several of the wo-
men from the car through the windows
Felter's greatest heroism was his des-
perate efforts to save the life of Engineer
Fitzpatrick. Before the fire had reached
the latter, he endeavored to pull him
from under the wreckage, remaining at
the task until his face, hands and hair
were burned and his clothing had taken
fire. The blazing clothing was extin-
gushed bv rolling in the snow.
The grim tragedy was made more ter
rible by the bursting of a gas tank in the
car, which Immediately set fire to the
wreckage and caused frightful fate for
NJ E. Fitzpatrick of Troy, an engineer
riding from East Deerfied, who was the
only man to remain conscious after the
crash. Pinned beneath broken timbers,
Fitzpatrick screamed in agony for help,
but he could not be extricated and by
ISLANDERS saw him die in the flames. The
other tranmen were probably killed at
the instant of the collision.
The uncertainty which shrouded the
whereabouts of William G. Toussel, a
Shelburne Falls fireman, seemed to be
dspelled yesterday, and there is little
doubt but that he was in the Inflated
car and met his death. His family at
Shelburne Falls telephoned to East Deer
field yard and learned that he left his
engine seven minutes before IL arrived,
saying that he was going home on it.
He has not been seen since, fact which
makes it almost certain that he is dead.
The cause of the accident, the railroad
officials are not willing to state, prefer
ring to wait until a fuller inquiry has
been made. Engineer Hutchins was
within his rights in stopping in response
TO the alarm signal, as he believed that
it was given by the conductor on ac-
count of a passenger having been carried
past West Deerfield Brakeman Pieper
did his full duty in endeavoring to pro-
tect the rear end of his train by fusee
and lantern. The fact remains that the
freight was running too close, but
whether the men in charge of the train
We're at fault must remain undecided
until the railroad officials make a fuller
inquiry.
The theory has been advanced that the
heavy curve may have been responsible
Tor the pulling of the alarm cord, as no
one touched it, so far as known.