The San Francisco call., 1913-09-02
No WARMING ON
.TRAtH. ASSERT
TRAM CREW
Engineer and Conductor
Say They Eeard No Ex-
plosion of Torpedoes

ley line. which runs parallel to the
steam tracks at this poiiat. was util-
ized also in bringing the injured to
this city. Special cars run by the
Connecticut company were made into
improvised arnbzlances and the sim
jured were brought to the New Haven
hospital in tire care Of the doctors
and nurses, who had rushed from
this city to the seene. Ambulances
carried a few OF the injured TO. the
other hospitals. s-
Coroner Eli Mix of this city. " ho
was one of the first officials on the
/ scene, began at once TAX ing the testi-
mony of the train hands and others
bearing on the cause of the wreck.
This stretch Of read is being
equipped at the present time with a
new system OF, signals- TO replace. the
old style banjo signals. which had
i been in use for many yssrrs.
These signals had been condemned
following wreck on the line of road
between this city, and Hartford by the
Connecticut public. Utilities commits
sion. 1t was recently announced. fol-
lowing tife' series. Of wrecks on the
road. that the signal system would be
Today. is the first of the admins
tration csf.Pgesfdent. Howard y. Elliott
of the Ne% Haven road, succeeding
President Charles S. Mellen, whose
resignation followed a series of at
tacks on the administration of the
read, which was augmented by a n UNI
her OF fatal wrecks.
Conductor Adams of train No. SO
said that his train. stopped at the
signal few minutes after o'clock.
Engineer Miller told the coroner
that ags soon as he spfed the banjo
signal set against him he put on the
brakes It was TOO late 10 be or
any avail. as he was already upon
the White Mountain express and It's
load Of human freighS. He denied
he heard the torpesfoes explode.
"a passenger on the wrecked train.
who refused TO give his name, told
the coroaer that he had heard the
explosion OF two torpedoes, signal
TO stop. just before;the crash oceurr ed.
Attorney C. B. Danazer. a lawyer Of
Meriden swhe reached the scene soon
after the crash,~ gave some important
testimony bearing: on the cause of the
wreck He said that he is familiar
with the-ftrafns running over the
road and remembers hearing the Bar
Harbor- express come through this
morning, 1T was held up by signal
just below his house
He says the torpedoes were put out
then as a. warning. A few minutes
later he heard the White Mountain
express come bowling along and run
over ard explode the two torpedoes.
This would indicate that there was
ample warning to the White Noun
tain express that. they were following g
another train.
They We're standing there but min
ute when the crash came.
The wreck was one Of the worst
in the history of the road in point
of horror Two: Of. the heavy Pull
man sIeepers were ripped wide open
and third partly -te1esooped- The
passengers on the. sleeping car were
nearly all. just getting up for the
day. There was none Of them dressed.
and the bodies of the dead were torn
and mangled so that identification
was almost impossiBle.
Joseph W. Boardman Of East Hart
at Savin Rock, Conn, was one OF the
first to arrive from the scene of the
wreck ..
Boardman said the scene at the
wreck was one of horror.
Some sever or eight of the killed
were hurled into a melon patch beside
the spot where the train stopped. Mr..
Boardman and a Mr.. Demore helped
TO bring the bodies to the improvised
llO1 ut. s1-lCES -NtIe Ivy U OlE1CT DOdtcS
on top of the. mammoth superheater
engine of the heavily laden White
Mountain express, and Mr.. Boardmap
expressed his belief that 10 or more
were under. the engine. which stood
painting amid a mass. of wreckage. as
though surveying the damage it had
wrought
III was terrible sight" said Mr.
Boardman.. Bodies are strewn- about
arms, legs, teeth. clothing. money and
watches lay scattered over the
ground. At the right of the fourth
car Of the White Mountain express
TIE banjo. signal. light burned-stil
flashing its red signal, which should
have stopped the onrushing train.
Victims of the" wreck who stii
zived were begging for water. saw
three or four die as. a result of theil
mortal hurts -
so severe was the impact of the
collision that three or four pieces oi
bedding from the shattered sleepers
were thrown to the top of the tele-
phone and telegraph wires.
For some reason the wreck did mo-
take fire, and thus the victims were
saved from the added horror Of flames
which, had they followed the collision
undoubtedly would have added full
score TO the dead"