The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1907-09-16
COLLISION CAUSED
LOSS Of rs LIVES
AN EXPRESS AND A FREIGHT
CRASHED TOGETHER.
ON BOSTON 6 MAINE ROAD
A Mistake in a Train Dispatoher's Or.
ders Resulted in Frightful Dis.
aster Near Canaan station,
W--Dozens Injured.

White River Junction, Vt, Sept
16-A fearful headOn collision be.
tween the southbUund Quebec express
and "a northbound freight train on the
Concord division of the Boston d
Maine railroad occurred four miles
north of Canaan station early Sunday
due to a mistake in train dispatch.
er's orders, and from "A demolished
passenger coach there werere taken
out 25 dead and dying and 2G other
passengers, most of them seriously
hurt Nearly all OF those who were
in the death car We're returning from
fair at Sherbrooke, Quebec, 100 miles
north.
The conductor of the-freght train
was given to understand that he had
plenty of time to reach a siding by the
night operator at Canaan station, re-.
cefying according TO the superintend,
ent of the division, a copy Of a tele.
graph order from the train dispatcher
at Concord which confused the train
numbers 80 and 34
The wreck occurred just after the
express had rounded into a straight
stretch of track, but owing to the
early morning mist neither engineer
saw the others headlight until II was
too late
The southbound train was made up
at Sherbrooke Saturday evening, where
IL picked up two sleepers from Quebec
and two more on the way down. II
d. consisted of the baggage car, passen
ger coach and smoking car In that or
der with the sleepers in the rear The
train left White River Junction at
$3.50 a. M, 40 minutes late, and was
followed 20 minutes later by the Mon.
treal express over the Central Yer.
mont railroad.
The Quebec train Is known as No.
80 and the Montreal train as No "a.
In the meantime nOrthbuund
freight train known as No. 2G7 had ar.
rived at Canaan, is miles down the
road, at 4:lO a. m, on time. Accord
ing 20 the division superintendent w.
r. Ray, j. r. Crowley, the night train
dispatcher at Concord, sent a dispatch
to,John Greeley, the night operator at
Canaan, that No. "a was one hOug and
ten minutes late. The order which
Conductor Lawrence Of the freight
train. showed after the accident dis
tinctly states that No. 80 instead Of
No. "a was an hour and ten minutes
late.
Conductor Lawrencs, believing that
he had sufficient time In the hour ans
fen -mipl1es 10 reach the sside track
at West Canaan, four miles beyond,
before No. 30 reached IT, ordered his
train ahead The superintendent de.
cfared that the accident was due to
the mistake in placing cipher after
the three in the number of the train,
instead of four.
.l,,1I tot Ia,
the New Hampshire mountains and
the long freight train with a score OF
heavily loaded cars numbered mp the
long grade toward West Canaan at
the usual speed. On the other sideaol
the curve wan the Quebec express,
sliding down the single track with her
load of passengers and the four heavy
sleepers in the rear The freight
train was on a straight piece Of track
about a mile In length, and the Que
bee express had rounded curve into
this stretch when the two engineers
saw the headlights of the opposite
train burst out of the fog. Both en-
gineers set their brakes and jumped
while the two locomotives crashed
into each other and locked in firm
embrace rolled into the ditch.
hurled back into the passenger coacl
like a great ram, and tore it asundel
from end to end. AS it did so the real
end of the car rose up SO that when Il
stopped at the forward end of the
smoker, which was behind the passen
ger coach, It was well inclined. Only
few windows were broken i'm the
smoking car and none of the Pullmans
was damaged.
The ill-fated passenger coach was
crowded with more than 80 people
Shortly before the accident a few o.
the men had gone back into the smok
ing car In the rear, leaving the wo
men to get a little sleep One of those
who escaped said that as the traiI
was rounding a curve some one I'm tn,
front of the car began to sing so tina
nearly every one was awake when thu
crash came. Those who were in tn,
other cars recovered their da2eC
senses, Jumped out TO the side OF tn,
track and hurried to the demolished
passenger coach. where grOans, criei
and shrieks were rending the air.
Fortunately with the engines of Il
one side, the wreCkage did not taxi
fire and add further horror to the al
i aAy dreadful scene. The traiI
HANDS, ably seconded by the passen
gers from the sleeping cars, grope,
their way among the ruins and begaI
the work of rescue.
The accident was not without III
hero es and one OF these was Franl
Ityap, a brakeman on the express
Ryan was caught in the wreck an,
had tn artery severed. He was un
conscl lus for nearly - minutes anC
when ne regained his senses his frs
thoug was OF the Montreal express
which he knew was laundering dowI
on O. wreck with no brakeman il
the r. ar TO wave warning signal
Ryan told of the approaching dangel
and tie Montreal express was stopper
only quarter OF mile from the real
Of the wrecked train.