The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1913-03-31
FIREMAN KILLED
WHEN C. Y. ENGINE
SLID INTO RIVER

which was not under water. | cannot
swim. The other men were either on
that or getting on.
Finally all seven of us were perched
on that roof, the only one missing being
Perrett No one had seen him from the
instant we took the plunge We could
barely see the bank and none Of us were
strong swimmers. We managed to rip off
the running boards on top of the buggy
and hammered them together into a sort
OF walk and this reached from the top
Of the caboose almost to the shore. We
got ashore that way and set flag 10
stop SG if she should be coming and hur-
Tried here to Mr. Loomis's. where we tel
ephoned the news.
Driscoll, who was on the running board
between the engine and tender, had
clear outlook and probably owes his escape
to that fact and that the tender did not
buckle up against the engine and pin him
in. Like LittleiieId he was under water "a
| few seconds, going down with the engine
! but coming up and was able to make his
way through the water to the caboose up
on the roof Of which lie climbed.
| The five who were in the cabooSe man
| aged to get ont of one Of the rear win
dows which was not entirely under water
and out of the rear door, and they. too.
| climbed upon the roof There all of the
marooned united in pulling off the run
ming boards on the roof Of the car and
patching them together into a plank walk
| that extended as far as they could make
it to the shore
Fireman Pcrrett had been railroading
about year, and his run was out of Brat
| tlebOro. He leaves mother, whose home
| : said to be in Winchendon, Mass, a
| brother, Charles, an engineer on the Fitch
| burg division of the Boston < Maine run
ming out of Boston, and another brother,
| Herbert, a fireman on the Central Y er-
mont road out of Brattleboro. He also
| leaves a sister, whose home is i'm North
Walpole y. II.
The engine, AS, is consolidated com
pound OF the heaviest type used on this
| division. Engineer Eittieheld Is BEGIN
ning to consider himself among the very
| lucky ones for he has been in several ac.
.idents before and always ESCAPED with.
| out serious injury. Brakeman Ryan a
| short time ago was i'm baggage ear that
| ~olicd down an embankment. turning over
| three times on the journey, but that time
90. he escaped with not much more in
| Jury than a severe general shaking un
| len, going south, was met by Pcrlee
The first thought Of these men who had
| 80 narrowly escaped death was to warn
| 1ossible approaching trains and they knew
hat it was intended To have follow them
| gpOn its arrival at Bellows Falls the heavy
3asscuger train No. 81. composed prin.
| ipaIy of Pullmans and drawn by two
| leavy engines. Conductor OEerstrom had
ne of the crew run back 10 set the danger
ignal and the others hurried to the home
| f II. {. Loomis. whom they aroused. and
occurred the use of the telephone To send
he news of the accident to Bellows Falls
They learned that Sc had not left and
knew then that there was no danger OF
adding To the death list at that point.
| An inspection of the scene by daylight
made it readily apparent that there was
| 1othing that could be done towards raisn-
ngine or caboose until such time as a IN
.ould be made that would permit tn,
| aging Of tracks past the slide from whicl
| 4 big crane could work on the job of lift
ng the cabooso OIL the tender upon whicl
it rests and later graphing with tn,
| heavy engine 41S. a consolidated com
| Dound. the heaviest one on the division
mbedded in the mud and under from >,
40 feet of water.
Somewhere down there. probably pin
ned in the engine cab, is the body o
fireman Perrett None of the crew sav
nm, for it was each man for himself
| There was no time to help anyone else
| perrett was in the position in the cal
. | hat gave him the least time to make
| move to escape, as he was on the sid
1earest the water The engine, in tn
,pinion of Engineer Littlefield, did no
/ | urn over but slid downward almost NJ
, light with the pilot turned slightly to
| ward the river.
! For a distance of between 100 and 30
/ | eet north the tracks are gone complet,
: Y, or were yesterday noon when The r,
{ 1 $ormer reporter reached the scene. Th
| lock signal near that point was partl
, n the river and two of the telegraph pole
we're down as were the wires they carr
{ d. Linemen were then at work tryin
{ o repair that damage and a gravel trai
rom the north was waiting opportunt
20 dump its carloads for new roadbed
{ A big gang of trackmen were straigh
{ | ming out the ends of the tracks that r
{ | uained on land and laborers were excava
y | ng into the bank and tossing the di1
il nto the hole made in the roadbed Man
d ours of work faced the repair crews b
{ ore it would be possible to lay even or
| rack past the scene. On top of the hiq
II ank sat a number of men, women an
: hildren. curiously watching the work
n epairing so far as possible the damal
II | one by the high water OF the past wee
Feams were hitched to trees near Il
u ghway 90 yards back from the ban
/, vhile their owners and others were wate
j, ng the novel scene and specializing
n | ,ow much could be seen when the wat
a ad returned to normal level
: Tis particular point is known in ra
J. Dad terms as Williams's siding, althous
i here has been no siding there for a nun
a er of years From height of 30 fe
], r more clay bank leads down direct
j. o the shore. of the Connecticut. the roa