Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1912-03-15
FAST TRAIN WRECKED.
goth Century Limited Plunees
Into Hudson.

bound Twentieth Century limited, the |
New York Central's crack flyer, mile
south of Hyde Park, near this city, this |
morning
Running behind schedule at an es-
timated speed of 60 miles an hour and |
rounding a curve close by the banks of |
the Hudson, the train struck rail |
cracked to the breaking point and in an |
instant five cars had left the track and |
plunged down an embankment into the |
ice covered river.
The thick ice coating of the stream,
acting as a check to the laundering
rush of the topping cars az they
ploughed through the shadows near the
bank, keeping them from sliding into
deep water, and the steel construction
of the coaches, probably prevented
far worse disaster. Had the river been
open. in the opinion Of railroad men,
the deraied cars would have ploughed
along into the river depths and many
persons would undoubtedly have been
drowned.
AS it was the ice held the cars and
while the water entered the sleepers to
the depth of the lower berths in some
of them and gave many of the sleeping
passengers an icy bath, all were rescued
without great difficulty.
Planks were run out to the windows
of the cars and passengers made their
way to shore over these improvised
bridges. A construction company do
ing work nearby was able promptly to
bring the much needed planks to the
scene.
The injured who were unable to help
themselves were carried out and all
those requiring surgical attention were
placed on board other trains of the sys-
tenn which were halted near the scene
of the accident and rushed as quickly as
possible to New York city.
The train was running in two sections,
the second but 10 minutes behind the
first. This train was booming along
swiftly toward the scene where the
broken rail which had wrecked the
first section and roadbed torn up for
300 yards or so where the deraled cars
had bumped over the ties, had set dan
gerous trap for it.
Frank Lee, conductor of the wrecked
train, stepped into the breach here and
saved a second possible disaster Lee,
who lives in Buffalo, was standing on
the rear of the observation car when
the wreck occurred and was pinned
undernes tn some seats. His head was
badly cut and he was otherwise bruised.
He managed to eXtricate himself and
bleeding as he was from his injuries ran
back to flag the second section.
Many of the passengers on the train
had thrilling stories to tell.
1T was the worst wreck | ever saw,
and the escape of the passengers was
marvellous, said ]. J. Burnett, a New
York Central official of Chicago. 1--WE
can all be thankful that we were in
steel cars instead of the old type of
wooden ones"
F. w. Andrews, a prominent build
ing contractor of New York, was in
the dining car, one of the wrecked
cars and next to last on the train, with
dozen other passengers and the
walters.
1--WE were running mile minute"
said Mr.. Andrews, when the train be-
gan to rock very hard. This was
caused by the cars ahead leaving the
tracks. Then the floor seemed to
rise up under us. We were thrown
from our chairs. Women screamed in
terror. Glass flew from the windows.
Chairs, tables, crockery, men and
women were thrown in a mass to the
floor toward the end of the car. There
was an awful crash and we were shak-
en- about like dice in box as the car
river. got hold of transom stick
and broke window through which
we escaped, one after another, with
assistance from the rescuers outside. {"
AS an instance of the way passengers
in the sleeper got out of the wreck,
w. A. Cameron of Chicago, a passen-
ger in one of the sleeping GERS who did
not awaken fully until he felt the shock
of the water into which the car had
plunged, said that as he scrambled from
his berth he saw woman in the berth
next to his also getting free. He went
to her assistance and the two together
reached the uppermost side of the car
and Cameron, selling a curtain pole
from one of the berths, punched the
glass out of one of the windows through
which they emerged to the open air and
thence got safely to shore.
The train which was wrecked left
Chicago at its usual schedule time yes
terday afternoon. 1t was little late