Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1907-01-04
AWFUL WRECK ON B. & 0.
FIFTYTHREE DEAD AND FIFTY IN
JURED IN A COLLISION AT
TERRA GOTTA, D. C.
"DEAD" TRAIN HITS EXPRESS.
Wreckage Strewn for Several Rods Along
Roadbed Within the Shadows of
the Nations Capital.


! WASHINGTON, D. c., Dec. 81. -
The total number of killed in the rear
end collision on the Baltimore & Ohio
railway at Terra Gotta, d. c., block
station three miles from Washington,
last night, is estimated at 3 p. N. at
tabout tifty-three, and the number of in
iured at fifty.
The wreck was caused by an engine
drawing eight empty cars running into
local No &C. known as the Frederick ex-
ipress, just as the passenger train had
pulled out from the station bound for
this city.
Engineer Blames Fog
Engineer Hildebrand, who was in
charge of the dead train, and who
was arrested shortly after the disaster,
declares that on account OF the dense
fog he was unable to distinguish the sig
anal light at TakOma Park block station.
Tower Operator Philips declares that
che danger signal was in its proper place
land that Engineer Hildebrand's train
passed the tower station gong at
speed of from fifty to sixty miles an
hour.
Scores of persons visited the morgue
Hast night and early this morning to as
sist in the Identification of the unknown
dead there. The total number of bodies
carried into the morgue shortly after
midnight was thirty-twO, but several of
the identified have been turned over to
undertaking establishments to be pre-
pared for burial.
Most of the victims were residents of
Washington and suburbs, and the ma
Jority Of these will be buried today and
tomorrow.
Double Inquiry Is Begun.
Coroner hewitt, who went to the scene
of the wreck last night to view the re-
mains of the dead and to secure state
ments from injured passengers, empan-
eled jury and began an inquest at
11:30 o'clock this morning. After the
Jurymen were selected and the list OF
witnesses secured the inquest was adj
jOurned over until Wednesday, and may
last for several days.
i The members of the crew of the train
were placed under arrest by the local
police. They are Harry Hildebrand, en-
gineer; Frank Hoffmier, conductor; J. c.
McCullum, fireman; Robert Rutter,
brakeman, and w. A. Norris, baggage
master All were taken to the Tenth
precinct police station.
The officials of the Baltimore Il Ohio,
who were unable to fix the responsible
5ty for the disaster, began an investiga
ton at Baltimore today, to determine
the cause Of the catastrophe. Engineer
Hildebrand aud the fireman of the
-
and all others i'll any way connected
with the operation of the train will be
examined.
Wreck Scene Is Awful.
The scene after the accident was sicken-
ing. Bodies had been hurled on every
side and it was after midnight before all
The dead had been collected and placed
on the special train to be brought to this
city. 1t was only Il few minutes after
The collision until nearly all the residents
of Terra Gotta, a sparsely settled village,
had gathered at the scene and began the
work of removing the dead and rescuing
the injured from beneath the masses of
debris. The workers labOred under
great difficulties, for many of the injured
were wedged beneath the wreckage, and
numbers of them died before they could
be rescued. The many acts of heroism
and self-sacrifce that were performed
will never be known.
a detachment of forty policemen were
sent from Washington and nearly fifty
physicians from this city and the suburbs
responded to a general call, but fully
fhree-QuarterS of an hour had elapsed
before the doctors were on hand to re-
lieve the injured
Wreck Strewn Many Rods.
For more than three hours after the
fatal crash occurred the police and citi-
zens were still taking bodies from under
the great pile of wreckage, which was
sfrewn for fully Il quarter of a mile
taken from under the debris and while
The physicians were giving them all the
relief possible, Catholic priests We're ad-
ministering the last rites to many of the
dying. Women and children joined in
the work and everything possible was
done to relieve the sufferings of the in
iured.
Brakeman Tells His Story.
Lying in a critical condition on a cot
at Providence hospital, Frederick Leigh.
a brakeman on the Inflated passenger
train gasped out his story of the wreck
just before he died.
when we passed Kensington the dan
ger signals were hoisted and we were
toId to move along cautiously he said.
f'When we hit Takoma the signals were
still out, and we left the station slowly
and proceeded to Terra Gotta, our next
stop. The signals were out at Terra
Gotta and we took aboard a few passen-
gers and started to pull out for Washing
Eon when the train following us hit the
back coach and smashed it to splinters."
One Man Expected Something.
j. c. Macklin, Washington jeweler
who was treated at a hospital, declared
that when the train was leaving Tako-
ma he was haunted by a presentiment
that something was going to happen
This fear was only increased when the
signals were shown urging our train to
be cautious
When the crash came, Macklin said the
F'screams and groans and mutfled voices
were heard everywhere"
Two district stories are today being
told by the friends of those who will
naturally be implicated. The entrance
80 the block on which the accident oc-
CURED is at Silver Spring. Md 1t is
said local No. Sc, from Frederick. had
entered the block with a clear track.
Two green lights were then set on the
signal tower, showing that the block was
occupied. The engineer of the dead"
train, which was following, accordingly
slowed down as he entered the block to
run cautiously"
Engineer Saw White Light
At the Takoma station, near the CEN
FOR Of the block Ii Is said the 6nv