The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1910-08-22
HEAT WAS so INTENSE,
RESCUE WAS PREVENTED
Two Tanks of Oil Exploded
and Flying Oil Scattered
Over Cars and Making a
Scene Which Almost Baf-
files Description.

n NthtAdi Ntih'hb attAEhb ftesAft ~ ~
cars, north bound, and light engine
with caboose, running south, collided be-
tween Northfeld Falls and Riverton sta
tion, yesterday morning at $3.50, killing
five trainmen, seriously iniuring two
others and hurting two more. Tne
wreckage soon caught fire, and the
flames feeding on two tanks Of oil on
the heavy train burned the bodies Of
the victims to an unrecognizable mass.
The dead are:-
Frederick Bergman Of Sc. Albans, en-
gineer of northbound train.
Joseph Lane Of New York, conductor
ON uorthbound train.
William Brunnell OF Northield, con-
dnctor on southbound train.
Leon Dubuc Of st. Albans, fireman on
soutnbound train.
Harold S. Ianigan Of New York,
brakeman on southbound train.
The seriously wounded are;-
William Wynn Of st. Albans, engineer
on southbound engine, hip dislocated,
eollarbone brokeni taken to home Of
xife's inother in Northheld.
J. r. Smith Of Montpelier. brakeman,
hip broken and head injured; taken to
Heaton hospital in Montpelier.
The other injured are:-
Charles Boat Of st. Albans, suffering
from snock; taken to st. Albans.
d. S. Hamel Of St. Albans, similarly
injured.
There were rumprs Of others missing
and that several horses on the heavy
freight were burned; but there seems
to be nothing to substantiate them.
The reports from the headquarters in
st. Adams state that there were no bills
Of horses being shipped from White
River Junction, and the rumors are dis
credited here.
The Cause of the Wreck.
The cause Of the wreck lies between
the dead engineer Of the northbound
train and the operator at Nortntied, as
tie former was to be given orders to
hold the train at Mortified until the
arrival Of the light engine, which was to
transport some Of the Vermont national
guard to Burlington for mobilization.
The operator was Philip Menier Of st.
i,lbans, a young man who nad only re-
Gently passed the examinations for the
position Of dispatcher.
1t is said that after the passage Of
the northbound freight the young OPP
orator was seen to rush out Of his Office
and after the train, trying to attract the
trainmen's attention. In tnat he failed,
and the doomed train gathered mo-
mentum al 1t left the Mortified yard
and speeded on till the crash with the
fast-moving light engine on sharp
curve. The view from either side was
shut off by the curve, as it is one Of
tine sharpest on the line. Both were
moving at a speed estimated from % to
35 miles an hour,
The Crash.
Tile light engine from the north was
running with The tender ahead, and the
force of the impact threw the light en-
qine backwards some distance twisted
the caboose of the iron, but did not
engine 50 that the Sgreafing engine from
st. Albans was able to pull the wrecked
moguI out People in the vicinity Of
the wreck claim that the engines set
up tremendous footing, followed al
most Immediately by a terrific crash,
and then the explosion of the oil tanks
The oil was hurled all over the
wrecked cars, of which there were nine
in the long train, and also over the
grass near the track. At once the flames
shot into the air, to such height that
they were easily seen from Barre. Mont
pelier and surrounding towns. It was
at once realized that d catastrophe Of
some sort had been caused
Those in the immediate vicinity
rushed to the scene of the collision, but
because Of the intense heat from the
burning debris were unable to do much
until tine FIRE company from Mortified
arrived and poured water onto the
flames. Trees. telegraph poles and the
grass around about were hiaekened and
scared within a few minutes, while the
ties on the train were also burned SO
that the wrecking crews, one from ST,
Albans and the other from White River
Junction, had to replace them in rebuild
ing the track.
Probably Killed Outright
Probably the victims Of the wreck
were Killed outright or stunned 50 that
the. dil NOT 81 Enr lrnrl The namns-