The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1907-09-19

a Heavy Freight Crash Into Each
Other, and the Two Giant LocomO-
tives, Locked in a Tight Embrace,
Roll Into Diteh-All the Passsn-
gers Killed or Hurt Were in One
Car. Which Mas Telescofed by the
Heavy Baggage Car.
White River Junction, VT. Especially d.
"A fearful head-on collision be-
tween the sOuthbound Quebec ex-
press and a northbound freight train
on the Concord division of the Bos-
ton and Maine Railroad occurred four
miles north of Canaan Station, due
to mistake in train dispatcher's or
ders, and from a demolished passen-
ger coach there were taken out "a
dead and dying and 81 other passen-
gers, most of them seriously wound
cd Nearly all those who were In
the death car we're returning from a
fair at Sherbrooke, Quebec, 160>miles
north.
The conductor of the freight train
was given to understand by the
night operator at Canaan Station that
he had plenty of time to reach sid
ing. receiving, according to the super
intendent Of the division, a copy of
a telegraph order from the train dis
patcher at Concord which confused
the train Nos. 80 and 81.
The wreck occurred just after the
express had rounded into straight
stretch of track, but owing to the
early morning mist neither engineer
saw the others headlight until It
was too late.
The south-bound train was made
up at Sherbrooke, where 1t picked up
two sleepers from Quebec and two
more on the way down. It consisted
Of the baggage car. passenger coach
and smoking car in that order, with
the sleepers in the rear.
Was Forty Minutes Late.
The train left White River juno
ton at $50 A NJ, 40 minutes late,
and was followed 20 minutes later by
the Montreal express over the Central
Vermont Railroad. The Quebec train
is known as No. 80 and the Montreal
train as No. "a.
In the meantime a north-bound
freight train, known as No. 267. had
arrived at Canaan, IS miles down the
road, at 40 A. NJ, on time. Ac-
cording to the division superintend-
ent, w. r. Ray, ]. a. Crowley, the
night train dispatcher at Concord.
sent a dispatch to John Greeley,
the night operator at Canaan, that
No. "a was 1 hour and 10 minutes
late. The order, which Conductor
Lawrence of the freight train showed
after the accident, distinctly states
that No. 80 instead of No. "a was
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Conductor Lawrence, believing that
he had sAfflcient time in the hour and
ten minutes to reach the side track
at West Canaan. four miles beyond,
before No. 80 reached it, ordered his
train ahead.
The superintendent declared that
the accident was due to the mistake
in placing a cipher after the three
in the number OF the train, instead
of a four
The morning was dull and misty
in the Western New Hampshire
Mountains and the long freight train
with a score of heavily loaded cars
numbered up the long grade toward
West Canaan at the usual speed. On
the other side of the curve was the
Quebec express, sliding down the
single track with her load of pas
sengers and the four heavy sleepers
in the rear.
Engineers Jumped.
The freight train was on straight
piece of track, about a mile in length,
and the Quebec express had rounded
curve into this stretch when the
! two engineers saw the headlights of
the opposite train burst out of the
fog. Both engineers set their brakes
and then jumped, while the two great
locomotives crashed into each other
and, locked in firm embrace, rolled
into the ditch.
The baggage car in the rear was
hurled back into the passenger coach
like a great ram, and tore it asundeI
from end to end. AS it did so the
rear end of the car rose up so that
when it stopped at the forward end
of the smoker, which was behind the
passenger coach, it was we'll inclined
Only a few windows were broken in
the smoking car, and none of the
Pullmans were injured.
But the Inflated passenger coach
was crowded with more than so peo
pie. Shortly before the accident 6
few of the men had gone back into
the smoking car in the rear. leaving
straight seats.
One of those who escaped said thai
as the train was rounding a curve
someone in the front of the car be
gan to sing, so that nearly everyone
was awake when the crash came
Those who were in the other cars re
covered their dazed senses, jumped
out to the side of the track and hur
ried to the demolished passenge
coach, where groans, cries and Shrek
were rending the air.
Gold Mine Disaster.
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