The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-10-09
DASHED IN SIDING.
Eight Killed In Wreck on BaIti.
more and Ohio.
Failed to Throw Switch and Sharp
Curve Completed Arrangements for

the Accident.
Eight were killed and a score in
jured, a number fatally, at Bellaire,
Ohio, at 3.15 Saturday afternoon
when the Chicago and Wheeling ex-
press train on the Baltimore & Ohio
railroad crashed into a freight train
which was slowly moving on a siding.
The wreck was due, it is said, to
the failure of ar operator to throw q
switch. The w%estbound freight had
received orders to meet the passenger
at the western limits Of the Bellaire
yards. and was moving slowly along
the siding. At the point where the
wreck occurred there is a very sharp
curve which prevents the engineers
Of the eastbound trains from seeing
more than a few feet ahead. The
passenger train 'swunk around the
curve very rapidly, being three hours
late, and should have gone on In
safety on the main line. .
The switch to the siding, however,
had not been turned and the train.
shot on to the siding and into the
freight. There vas scarcely time to
apply the brakes and no time for the
enginemen to jump. The two big
engines were reduced to junk by the
Impact, but the worst damage was
done to the smoker, which vas tele-
scoped SO completely by the baggage
car that every seat was thrown out
of the coach. Every occupant OF the
coach was badly injured. The pas
sengers in the other day coach and
the two Pullmans were tumbleG rom
their seats, but not seriously injured.
Engineer Galbraith was burned to,
a crisp by escaping steam. The in
jured were, taken to the Glendale, W
", and Bellaire hospitals.
General Manager Fitzgerald, who
was in the neighborhood on an in
spection tour, and General Superin-
tendent W. G. Loree Of Wheeling,
personally superintendent the rescue
work. Great difficulty was exper-
fenced in removing the injured pas
sengers from the wrecked sneaker.
Work was slow because every move
ment of the debris caused some one
to shrek with pain, as the victims
were entangled in a mass Of timbers
and twisted iron.
Among the passengers on the
wrecked train were the members of
Richard Carries Spring Chicken
comic opera, which was to have play
ed at Wheeling that afternoon and
evening. All the members of the
company escaped serious injury ex-
cept Alfred Bobby, the musical diree-
tor. It was found necessary to am
putate his right arm, thus ending his
career in the profession. He was
riding in the smoker and was found
with a heavy timber tightly binding
him by the arms.
The wrecked passenger train left
Chicago for Pittsburg and Wheeling
at 9.3e, last train. The train Is d.
vfded at Chicago Junction, part going
on to Pittsburg by way Of Akron and
the other part coming through to
Wheeling via Newark. The Wheel
ing end of the train consisted Of six
coaches.
At the office of Superintendent
Loree Saturday night 1t was said that
they were not yet certain which opet-
ator is to blame for the accident, but
a thorough Investigation was under
way.
The property damage will amount
to about 100000. A curious feature
of the wreck is that the baggage car
and the smoker were the only cars on
the passenger train damaged.