The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-02-18
CONTINUED FROM FIRST PAGE.

/ Charles Bond, of White Plains. called
at the station about O'Clock tonight,
/ inquiring for Mrs. Z. i. Newcomb. Of
/ Pike. Wyoming County He said that
I she was sixty years old, and that she was
/ on her way to visit with his family in
White Plains. A policeman in charge
/ of the stable took Mr.. Bond out there
/ and lifted just enough Of the sheet 70
/ permit of his seeing the hand with the
I diamond rings on the fingers. He
promptly identified No. 10.
/ In the large room, where the bulky
gleanings from the smashed cars were
| kept, two policemen were kept busy ali
/ day checking, tagging, and pointing out
/ articles to those who came 10 IND their
/ belongings or those of friends in the
/ hospitals. There were piles of hats and
/ bonnets, strings of draggled feather and
fur boas. pail full of rubbers. The con
/ scientiOus police had tagged a leg of NUT
ton. several cans Of condensed milk, and
a package of coffee which had not even
split the paper bag.
The New York Central officials, from
President Newman and General Manager
4. II. Smith down, were busy all day try
ing TO find out what caused the wreck or
the electric suburban train-the Brewster
/ local express-and endeavoring TO place
the responsibility.
They came 10 the conclusion that it was
not the fault of any official or employe,
and that the train went 10 smash either
] because a truck wheel on the motor loco
motive broke down. or because one of the
new 1O0-pound steel rails broke, or be-
cause both things happened at the same
time. They modified this judgment slight
Ily by saying that the investigation thus
far has not disclosed the exact cause Of
the accident
The officials denied that excessive speed
on dangerous curves caused the wrecking
of the local express, and stated that the
train was running somewhere between
/ forty-six and fifty miles an hour when
the smash-up came. At the same time, Il
was stated that the schedule for the
Brewster local express provided for q
speed of fifty-seven miles an hour for the
distance between FOrdham and WOodlawn
stations and that when the accident &C
Cured the train was at least six minutes
late.
Company ExOneratcs MOrtOrman.
No blame is attached to F. r. Rogers,
the motorman who was running the train,
by the company's officials. OF. so far. to
any of the rest of the train crew. The
statement which was issued this after
noon from the Office Of General Manager
Smith says:
THE investigation carried on by the Of
feials of the company has not. thus far.
disclosed the exact cause of the accident.
There is evidence that a break on one
Of the wheels Of the engine occurred az
the point Of derailment. as pieces of the
broken wheel were found at that point
IN almost the same place a rail broke, but
It is impossible TO say which OF these
/ caused the accident or which resulted
from il.
The rail was 100 pounds to the yard,
and the records show that it has been in
the track less than a year. This is the
heaviest weight Of rail in general use in
this country. The track was also we'll
ballasted with stone, and was in perfect
alignment and surface The ties were in
excellent condition, and the gauge Of the
track was secured by the most approved
forms of tie plates.
Trainmen to Testify.
''The electric motor was new and had
been thoroughly tested on an experimental
track before being permitted TO operate in
Iservice. and all wheels under the motor
and equipment were Of the best standard
wheel tire construction.
/ In matter Of such grave Importance
/ it is not possible to determine definitely
! the cause Of the accident in such a short
/ period Of time. Every effort, however, is
/ being made to locate the cause"
/ Conferences between railway officials
and Assistant District Attorneys Smythe.
/ Mcclure, and Manley We're held to-day.
and MIR. Smythe notified the railroad peo-
pie that the preliminary examination
would be held tomorrow afternoon at ]
o'clock in Coroner Schwannecke's Offio.
near the borough hall in the Bronx.
/ Besides officials OF the railroad. such as
Ira A. Mccormick superintendent Of cleo
/ trio service; Vlce-President and General
! Manager A II. Smith. and others. mem
bers Of the crew Of he wrecked train
/ have been called. T. r. Rogers, the motor
man, of 106 Richardson avenue. Wakefield,
J. J. Jacobs. his helper; B. o. Stevens.
operating inspector; John H Williams.
the conductor; c. A. Brill and H. B.
Evans, the guards. and William Collins,
/ baggageman. have also been subpoenaed
Points to Be Cleared Up.
There are three points that the district
attorneys office wants cleared ND. the
speed at which the train was running;
excessive weight at the forward end of
the train caused by two live motor loco
motives each Of IS tons weight. and
whether the wheels Of the forward motor
locomotive or the rail was defective.
The list of dead and injured in posses
sion of the railroad officials to-day was
inaccurate. being based wholly on infor-
nation obtained al the time Of the wreck.
The list placed the injured at AZ, although
all except perhaps a dozen suffered from
minor hurts, and many were able 70 20
home unassisted.
Although the officials insisted that the
( train could not have been going faster
! than fifty miles an hour, and that that
was a safe speed. they admitted that fifty
seven miles an hour was the scheduled
speed at the point where the accident
/ happened. and that, in addition, there
/ was six minutes lost time TO make up.
/ Assistant General Manager Williamson.
/ who was riding on the forward motor
/ engine, thought the speed was not more
/ than forty-six miles an hour. The curve,
| the railroad people said. had nothing to
( do with the wreck. because the dangerous
/ curve had not been reached.
EIectrificntiOn Is Delayed.
The officials found on investigation.
they said that the instant the wreck oc-
! CURED, the third rail was broken and the
power was shut off automatically in that
| block. The shutting off of power was in
/ the two power houses located in Morris
Park and in the Lexington avenue yards,
/ respectively. This occurred at the minute
/ the wreck happened, namely, So Nine
minutes later, they said. power on the
whole line was shut of. They argued
/ that it was impossible for any one to have
/ ir.tr il