New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-12-05
MANY IMPRISONED
BY SUBWAY CRASH
800 Passengers Held in
Darkness Under East i.
River After Collision.
LITTLE DAMAGE
TO STEEL CARS
Traffic Blocked but Few Injured
in Accident Near Bowling
Green Station.

\ ten-car subway express train came I'D
out of the East River tube from Brooklyn
and sdeswiped the last three cars of a
northbound Broadway express on the
switch just south of the Bowling Green
station about II o'clock yesterday morn
ing. The Broadway train careened into
the station, but the accident put the
forward truck of the Bronx Park express
out of business, and three hundred men.
women and children were imprisoned In
the dark tube to Brooklyn for more than
an hour. Some of them were badly fright
ened, but, strangely enough, no one was
seriously injured.
1t took an hour to remove the wreckage
and open up the northbound tracks abovei
Bowling Green. II was almost two hours
before service from Brooklyn was rel
newed. The lights went out in the Brook
lyn train, and power was turned off tho
third rail. Trains entering the Borough
Hall station and Hoyt street station, in,
Brooklyn. were thrown into darkness butt
passengers persisted in entering them.
When they learned what the trouble was
they swarmed out, ant, after gettinga
their money back, boarded surface cars
and elevated trains for Park Row, both
Of which were badly overcrowded for sew
eral hours.
Charles Ellis, motorman Of the Bronnt
Park train, asserted that the signals were
all right for him to enter the single NORTH
bound tracks. Frank Hedley, general
manager Of the marlborough, said the
Broadway train had been signalled to-
enter and the train from Brooklyn should
have waited. He exonerated John Quin,
motorman of the Van Cortlandt Park
express, and announced that Ellis was au-
tomatically suspended.
Mrs. Kathryn Mccain, about sixty
years DID, appeared to be suffering con-
siderably from shock. She kept moaning
for some one to send for her son. Neil T.
Mccain. of the Western Union Telegraph
Company. She refused the services Of an
ambulance surgeon. and finally went to
her home, No. 81 Fourth avenue, Brook
Ign.
Among others in the head car was r.
T. Mayhem, a blind newspaper man, who
goes to his work in Manhattan every day
accompanied by his wife. H. o. Weis-
mann, a real estate man, of No. Ss2
Somers street Brooklyn, was escortinS
his sister. Mrs. John Ryan, back from the
funeral of George a. Hearn. They were
among the few who walked from the train
in to the lighted Bowling Green station.
1.-THE bottom of Mrs. Ryan's gown was
brushing the wooden covering OF the third
rail. and although | knew the power was
| off il made me very nervous said Mr..
Weismann. suddenly a squirt of flame
shot out toward her feet. but it apparent
| w did no harm" Carl Schmidt. Of No.
| 80 West 3Sth street, Manhattan received
cuts on his right hand from flying glass.
| Ellis the motorman, was uninJured, As
his cab was on the off side of the car
The last few cars of the Broadway
train that were sideswiped bore evidences
of the contact especially the wooden ones.
! The steel cars were unlnjured, except for
a few minor dents and mars. The point
where the tracks come up out OF the
East River tube and unite with the South
| Ferry loop tracks lying TO the west are
hidden from view OF the motorman or
a train emerging from the tube. Inc
delicate red and green signals control the
movements of trains and are supposed TO
nravent lust such accidents as that or
yesterday.
Nous Of the tie-up was communicated
N all stations in Manhattan as far north
as Van Cortlandt Park, and signs an
nouncing the discontinuance OF trains 10
Brooklyn were placed over the ticket VIM
dows I'm less than half an hour after the
accident occurred.