The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1911-08-30
VETERAN TELLS
Of VALLEY WRECK
j. Edward Cook Describes
Catastrophe in Graphic
Terms
WITH DAUGHTER NELLIE LAST
FRIDAY ON THE ILL-FATED
TRAIN

last Friday near Manchester, n. Y,
on the Lehigh Valley Railroad, in
which thirty people were killed and
scores injured, which have filled col
umns in the daily papers, were not
exaggerated in the least, according to
j. Edward Cook, a veteran of the
Civil war, of Honesdale, who, with
his daughter, Miss Nellie Cook, were
on the Inflated train.
Mr.. Cook and his daughter board
ed the express train at Rochester
Junction and secured seats in the
first of the three day coaches that
remaining on the track, and safe
ly passed over the trestle near Man
chester. To a Citizen reporter Mr..
Cook related the following narra-
tive of the awful wreck:
We were seated in the train
having pleasant time conversing
one with another, relating little in
cidents that different ones had ex-
perienced and seen while at the en-
campment at Rochester. The train
slowed down as we passed through
Manchester, but as it was an eX-
press, we did not stop. Then all of
sudden the heavy train came to a
stop. There was a slight jar which
we felt but we were not injured by
/ the impact. Our car, two passen-
ger cars, baggage car and the
huge locomotive had passed safely
over the trestle. A young man and
myself were among the first on the
scene with axes to aid the unfort-
| unate ones that were pinned under
the cars. A lady approached me
and asked me if / had any stimu-
liant with me. l volunteered to go
| and assist in caring for the injured
but she said, You are too old a man
for such work, besides there are
| enough young men here to look af-
ter the injured l returned to my
daughter Nellie, who was made very
nervous by the sheck and remained
with her until the train started
about two hours after the wreck oc-
Cured
The newspapers gave a number
of different accounts of the wreck
1t was the worst thing l ever wit
messed. / have travelled a great
| deal in my life but never saw any
thing as terrible as this was 1t
was an awful sight.
% The dining car, full of people,
who were eating their dinner, pass
ed over the trestle and then fell
down an embankment of 40 feet.
Another car stood on end in the
stream. The front end of the next
car swung around across the
tracks, followed closely by another
! car. A soldier in the last car of the
train applied the emergency brakes
and prevented the rear cars of the
train from piling up. The cars came
to a sudden stop.
cit was an hour and a half be-
fore a doctor arrived Then others
came and the people on the train
assisted in caring for the injured.
My daughter and l counted So bod
les that were laid along in a row
on the gravel bank, all supposed to
have been dead. / have learned
since that there is not as many, but
as to the exact number l do not
know.
Judge Wilson returned home
on Thursday, but Mrs. Cyrus Wood
en- and Mrs. Charles Myers are still
in Rochester.
The shock was severe one. In
war we expected to see blood shed
but its coming so unexpected as ii
did last Friday, it unnerved us both
l have not yet recovered from the
shock and my daughter, Nellie, is
also suffering from it. 1t was an
experience 1 do not wish to repeat
and one that 1 will always remem.
ber.
In that the two large locomo-
tives and our car passed over the
rails it hardly seems possible that
} there was spread rail at first, but
the heavy weight of the engines
and loaded cars probably weakened
the track and it gave way"