The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1909-05-19
EARLY ACCIDENTS
ON THE ERIE RR.
Ed. Harold Motifs "reminiscences =
Death OF Last Survivor Of First
Erie Disaster er-Testing Car
Wheels with a Hammer
G. W. Dimmick as an
Inventor.

Ed. II. Mott, probably the best posted
man living as to the historical haps and
mishaps of the Erie Railroad, will be
read with interest:
The death of EX-Sheriff c. w. Dim
mick recalls the fact that he was the
last survivor of the first railroad disas-
ter of note that ever occurred in this
country. 1t was on the New York u
Erie Railroad, now the Erie Railroad,
July "a, 1916, when the road was less
than five years old and was still running
wheeled cars and cabless locomo-
tives without "cowcatchurs. The car
wheels were cast with spokes instead OF
solid centers.
This first serious railroad accident oc-
Cured at Seaman's Bridge, near Mon
roe, Orange county, \. Y. y broken
wheel on one of the cars d,rNiIed the
train as 1t was passing over the bridge.
The bridge broke down. One car fell
into the creek, distance OF fifteen feet.
Other cars were jammed together in the
manner that originated the term OF 'tel-
escoping" of cars in collision. Three
persons were killed instantly. Three
subsequently died of their injuries.
Twenty others were seriously hurt, some
of them crippled for life.
The train contained two cars of stu
dents from Middletown private school,
e.. 1nt; .l,.,
companying the school on an excursion
to the Elysan Fields, famous pleasure
resort of that day, now II busy part Of
Hoboken. Mr.. Dimmick, then a lad,
was a pupil of that school, and one of
the excursonsts. He was among the
injured. The dead and wounded were
all excursionists, and members of lead
ing families OF the locality and of New
York city. Among the latter, wounded,
was young Ogden Hoffman, son of Og-
den Hoffman, the famous New York
lawyer of that day.
This being the first bad accident on
any of our railroads it became notable
throughout this country and abroad.
From it grew the first damage suit against
a railroad to recover for injuries sus-
tanned in an accident to train, and in
the trial of that suit originated prac-
tice in railroading that became univer-
sal on railroads the world over. The
suit was brought by Thomas w. Oliver,
of Bloomingburg,- ,-Sullivan Co., N. Y.
He was among the badly injured in the
accident. His contention was that the
accident had been caused by cracked
wheel on one of the cars, and the pos
siblitv of the company's ability to have
become aware OF the flaw so that the
unsafe wheel could and should have
been replaced by sound one, which
the company denied, was established by
the evidence OF two car wheels produced
in court by divers counsel. One of
these wheels was sound one. The
other was cracked to correspond with
the cracked wheel that caused the wreck,
there being no denial OF the flaw in that
wheel, as it was an exhibit in evidence.
The wheels in court were subjected to
the smart tapping of hammer. The
damaged one gave forth dead, flat
sound, the undamaged one clear,
ringing sound. The testimony of these
novel witnesses for the claimant was ac-
cepted as indisputable proof that the
company could have known OF the flaw
in its car wheel by proper Inspection
which the court ruled it was the com
pany's duty to provide. Oliver was
awarded Judgment of $40, 900, and from
that testimony of the car wheels came
the custom of testing car wheels by tap
ping them with hammer by an inspec
tor appointed for that purpose, at GER
tain stations during trains trip over {
railroad, a custom that became univer
SAL and is still maintained on many
railroads. That accident also led to tht
abandonment of the Ross Winan's cas-
iron spoked car wheel, and the intro
use.
Other damage suits followed the Olive
suit, and the Erie's first accident to
passenger train cost the company owe
100000.
Sheriff Dimmick was the inventor of
device to be used in the making of mac
RENE lace, when that old art was re
vived in this country by big line
thread manufacturing concern som
years ago, device that changed tn
method of making the lace from a cum
bersome and tedious one to one thi
made it light and speedy task thf
popularized it so that macreme lac
making became a household craze a
over the country, as well as protitab
commercial industry.
Mrs. Dimmick, who was a daughtt
of the late Judge Rodney S. Church, {
Brooklyn, was one of the first ladit
who took up the pastime of macrem