Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1908-01-15
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY is, 1908.
SOUTHERN SUFFERS WRECK.
Awful Srhash-Up Near Hiram, Ga.
Several Die After Wreck.

&s.oou, eh route from chattanooga to
atlanta, loaded with tourists from
Cleveland and other Northwestern
points, on their way to Florida, was
wrecked about one mile east of this
place this afternoon shortly after Q
o'clock.
No lives were lost, but a large
injured. A b : : - '''N
A wrecking train was hurriedly
sent from Atlanta, with physicians
and officials of the road.
4 The wreck caught on fire immedi-
ately after the train left the track,
put the flames were quickly extin-
guished.
The train was composed of seven
coaches, all Of which were derailed.
The wreck took place on a trestle
which is two hundred yards long
and about one mile east of this place.
What caused the train to leave the
track Is not known, but as soon as
the wheels struck the ties, the tres
tie gave way and the timbers went
down with the train with an awful
crash.
The widest panic prevailed aboard
the tumbling coaches and heartrend-
ing screams followed the plunge and
clash.
Where the train fell the trestIe
was eight feet above the ground,
1t Is reported that the train was
running at very high rate Of speed.
Crowded Will. Tourists.
Z The illfated train was composed
principally OF Pullman cars and was
originally made up in Cleveland,
where a party Of tourists started on
their way to Florida points.
At CHATTANOOGA the rain Loft os
the third section of No. 6. The first
section, which was the regular train,
and the second section, composed of
Pullman cars, occupied by tourists,
passed the trestle short time before
the wreck In safety, and arrived in
Atlanta little more than an hour
late. -
The third section came thunder
Ing along and struck the trestle at
high speed. 1t was known to the
railroad people aa the "Coiiiver Spe-
ctal." Just after striking the trestle,
1t seemed as though every wheel
went off at once and then followed
the grinding, ripping, tearing noise,
and the whole structure went down.
Engineer Edwards, who was at
the throttle of the flying train, had
no time to jump. a..
He went down with his engine and
for hours was pinned beneath the
ponderous machine, but still alive
and conscious most Of the time.
$% The Dead.
Engineer James Edwards, 1913
Jones avenue, Atlanta, terribly scald-
ed, died at Hiram, few hours after
the wreck.
D. H. snapp, "a Cooper street, At
lanta, road foreman OF engines,
scalded, died in Atlanta sanitarlum a
few hours after being carried to that
city.
Nose Baldwin. negro flagman,
scalded, died in Grady Hospital, At
lanta, a few hours after being carried
to that city.
Three are dead and somewhere be-
tween eighty and hundred are suf-
fering from injuries received in the
wreck near Hiram.
Will Never Know Cause.
THE cause of the wreck will
never be known" said Superintend-
ent 70. e. Norris, Of the Atlanta di-
vision of the southern railway, who
was on the wrecked train and sus-
tanned painful injury to his right
shoulder. when the train went in
to the trestle it destroyed all evil
dence as to the cause Of the acci-
dent
1T is not possible that the curve
was too sharp for the engine. 1t
was one or two per cent curve,
which Is practically nothing to speak
of, and the theory that the engine
was too stiff to turn Is unfounded,
for the trucks Of the engine are so
arranged as to make a curve with
greater ease than a smaller engine
"The angel of mercy to the injur-
ed was Conductor s. /. Bingham, of
the Seaboard. From his train, which
passed almost oyer the, wreck, he
saw our plight just a few minutes
after the train went through the
trestle. Side-tracking his string of
freight cars about two miles further
on, he came back with an engine, a
baggage car and caboose. He was
the only live wire on the job. The
rest Of us were so shaken up that we
hardly, knew what to do, but he took
charge twenty minutes after the
wreck occurred, and directed every
thing until his train. with such of
the passengers who could go, left
for Atlanta.
"The first | knew of the wreck
was when | heard the emergency
brakes and lelt the jar. / was stand
Ing In the observation car at the
time with several ladies and gentle
men. The car lunged; then again,
and again, and the fourth time we
landed. We were all thrown into
one corner and had to climb out Of
the window.
"Miss Hoover was the only per-
son seriously injured in my car. Il
"Had 1t been a train Of day
coaches, instead OF Pullmans every