Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1908-04-16

The Accident Occurred ON tho asr,,
Vile Line of the Southern RAILWAY
Near HilIgirt, n. C. The Acc,d.,,
Was Not Due to Low Water. The
Big Engine Was Blown Into scran
Iron.
Inc explosion of locomotive on
'ne AsheVille division, brief account
vi "hicn was published, was a most
unuasual as we'll as most shocking
casualty. The Asheville. Gazette
News has the following account OF
the explosion:
Ihe remains of Engineer George
Lauderback, one of the victims of
terrible accident near Hiligirt. on the
Asheville & Spartanburg line of the
Asheville division, about Saturday
midnight, when the boiler of engine
NO. 62S blew up with frightful re-
suit, We're shipped to Augusta. Ga.
Tor iuterment. The remains of Fire
man W. NJ. Kemp, the second vic
tim OF the accident. were sent to
Gambler, ten miles from Asheyille
where the interment occurred.
The frightful accident cast
gloom over the railroad boys Of the
DIVISION The remains OF the two
trainmen were brought here and Civ
en- in charge of Browns undertaking
parlors. where the bodies were nre-
pard for burial. During the morning
many trainmen and others visited the
undertaking establishment. The ac-
cident was the one topic of conversa
ton, while much speculation was in
dulged in relative to the cause OF
the explosion.
mat the explosion was not due to
low water Is certain because Il has
been established as fact, according
to trainmen, that Engineer Lauder
back stopped at Hendersonville. lust
six miles from the scene of the acc,-
dent, for water. filling up before maxi
ing the run from Hendersonville into
Ashevtlle. 1t is said that the accident
may have been due to a defective
boiler. Such an accident as that of
Saturday night never before occurred
on the Asheville division within the
memory of the oldest railroad men
The track at the scene of the ac-
cident was badly torn up and 1t was
not until shortly before noon the next
day that the damage had been re-
paired and trains sent past the scene.
Train No. 4 from Asheville 10 Spar
tanburg was held here several hours
awaiting the clearing OF the tract
The explosion, 1t is believed, oc-
CURED while the train was making
between 80 and 35 miles an hour. II
made frightful noise and aroused
| farmers in the Hillgirt section for q
mile or more around, who came
| nocklng TO the scene to learn the
| trouble. The boiler was literally
blown 10 pieces, while the great mo-
gul of the rails was almost converted
into scrap iron. The drivers we're
blown a way and the entire engine
lifted and blown 90 feet or more from
the tracks. Four of the seven cars
constituting the extra freight were
derailed. two of them. 1t is said. be-
ing hurled clear off the right of way.
The brak eman of the freight had
a morrow escape He had. just a few
seconds before the explosion occurr-
ed left the engine or near the en-
gine and gone to the rear Of the
train. Had he remained near the
engine another minute or two a third
victim would have been added to the
list The engineer and fireman were
hurled a great distance through the
air and their bodies almost blown to
pieces.
when picked up Fireman Kemp
was disembowled and one leg and
an arm were missing. These mem
bers were found, however, some dis
tance from the body. Engineer Laud-
erback was also terribly mangled.
That death was instantaneous Ia
certain The men never knew what
struck them. Conductor w. G. Bry-
son was in charge of the extra freight.
He escaped uninjured. The freight
was headed for Asheville and was
just turning the hill at Hillgirt, 3
miles from Asheville. when the ex-
plosion occurred. In discussing the
affair one railroad man declared that
an accident almost SIMILAR occurred on
another division of the Southern
some time ago, a boiler exploding
while the train was in motion and re-
sulting in the death of the engineer
and firemen.'