New-York tribune., 1910-12-20
WRECKS COST FORTUNE
NJ Central Paid 81 900, 900 in
Damages for Tunnel Disaster.
100000 FOR ONE DEATH
Two Accidents Followed Change
in Power Forced by Earlier
Catastrophe.

| Disasters in and near this city. particu-
! larly in the Park avenue tunnel have been
| big item of expense to the New York
Central. For the famous tunnel wreck Of
January g. 1902, alone, the company paid
approximately s1,o00,Oo0 in damages.
That catastrophe was due to the presence
of smoke in the tunnel and was the final
blow in the abolition Of steam power on
that stretch of track. A Harlem local, on
that occasion, telescoped the rear of a
New Haven accommodation at 56th street.
Fifteen persons were killed and thirtysix
hurt.
Among the larger verdicts was one for
s1O0 900 in favor Of the widow of William
Legs, general manager for B. Altman &
Co. who was killed in the collision Walter
c. Coffin, father of Everett Coffin, fifteen
year-old victim, got judgment for Sl2,5Oo
after refusing a $4,000 settlement. The
widow of H. G. Damon. assistant general
manager. of the American Bridge Company,
obtained a verdict for 10000 for her hus-
bands death.
By a peculiar irony Of fate, following
this disaster which brought about the
change of motive power two Of the worst
accidents on the Central in this city, the
N-~
1907, We're believed to be indirectly due to
the application of electricity. The Wood
lawn wreck took place near the Woodlawn
Road bridge at 20eth street, when the
White Plains and Brewster express. driven
by electric motors, jumped the track, kill
ing twenty-three persons and injuring near
ly one hundred and fifty more.
The investigation that followed seemed
CHI hat he
not been properly adjusted to the new
power. That wreck, too, cost the Central a
fortune in damages, just how much alto
gether has not been estimated
AS far back as September %, 1882, the
Park avenue tunnel figured in an expensive
rear-end collision. when commuters train
from Port Chester was run into and tele-
scoped by special train from Tarrytown-
A score of passengers were killed and
injured Again, on February 20. 1891, at
ssth street. New Haven local. ploughed
into shop train which was bound for the
Mott Haven yards six were killed. several
of then. being burned to death. and eight
were badly injured.
Another but less disastrous collision with
in the city limits occurred on December 19.
1905. when the Poughkeepsie local and the
Stamford local came together at 1o4th
street One passenger was killed and thir-
ty-one were injured
One of the heaviest settlements for dam
ges made recently by the New York Cen
tral was $4,000, paid to Mrs Spencer Trask
for the killing Of her husband in col
lision at Croton last January.
A city official said last night that no suit
would lie against the city for damages
caused by the explosion. He suggested,
however, an interesting speculation as to
whether the owner of the automobile which
was demolished by having car hurled
upon it by the force of the explosion could
collect any damages from the New York
Central Railroad
He brought to mind the decision of the
Court of Appeals some four years ago to
the effect that while the owner of a farm
could collect damages for fire started by a
railroad, the owner of any adjoining farm
to which the fire might have spread could
not collect damages from the railroad.