The Mena weekly star., 1907-01-03
AN APPALLING DISASTER
Fifty-Three Persons Killed and 50 Injured in Wreck Near
 Washington.
ENGINE FLOWED THROUGH TWO CARS
Bodies of Passengers Strewn Along the Right of Way for Many Yards Train Was An Accomodation and Was Filled with Two Hun dred Persons.

Washington, Jan. 1.-The total number of killed in the rear-end col lision of the Baltimore & Ohio rali- road at Terra Gotta. D. C., block staton three miles from Washington, Sunday night is estimated Monday at about 5 and the number of in- iured at 50. The wreck was caused by an engine drawing eight empty cars running ino local train, known as the Frederick Express, just as the passenger train had pulled out from the station bound for this city. En- gineer Hildebrand, who was in charge of the dead" train and who was ar rested shortly after the disaster, de- clares than on account of the dense fog he was unable to distinguish the signal light at Takoma Park Block sta tion. Tower Operator Phillips de- clares t1at the danger signal was in it's proper place and that Engineer Hildebrand's train passed the tower sta ion going at speed of 50 to 50 miles an hour.
 No railroad accident within a great many years, in the District of Colum- bia, has approached it in r:.GrT l. tude. A dense fog and q drizzling rain prevailed during the day and the night and the inability of tac engi- neer of the rear train to see the sig nal showing that another train was in the block, is attributed the cause of the accident. The grade at the place where the tragedy occurred is down. ward, and the tracks were slippery.
 The Frederick train, which Is run on Sundays only is largely tor the ae- commodation of those who have gone into the suburbs on Sunday and for the benefit of church-goers who desire to attend services in Washington at night Presumably, number of the l latter were on the train.
 | Scores of persons visited the morgue to assist in the Identification of the unknown dead there. Most of 1 the victims were residents of Wash l ington and it's suburbs.
 l Coroner Nevill. who went to the scene of the wreck to view the re- mains of the dead and to secure state ments from injured persons empan' l eled jury and began an inquest at 11:30 Monday morning. After the iurymen were selected and the list of witnesses secured the inquest was adjourned over until Wednesday and according to the coroner may last for several days.
 The members of the crew of the train causing the wreck were placed under arrest by the local police. They are Harry Hildebrand. engineer; Frank Hoffmier, conductor; J. c. Mo. Cullom. fireman; Robert Rutter brakeman, and w. A. Norris, baggage. l master.
 The officials of the Baltimore X Ohio railroad who were unable to fix the responsibility for the disaster will begin an investigation at Balti more to determine the cause of the catastrophe.
 The scene after the accident was sickening Bodies had been hurled on every side and it was after mid night before all the dead had beer collected and placed on the specia train to be brought to this city. Il was only a few minutes after the collision until nearly all the residents of Terra Gotta, a sparsely settled village, had gathered at the scene ol the disaster and begun the work O removing the dead and rescuing the injured from beneath the masses ol debris. The workers labored under great difficulty for many of the in