Norwich bulletin., 1916-02-25
A THIRD MAN
 IN ENGINE CAB
(continued from Page one)

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 man was occupying the engineers seat | On the other side of the cab were two men, one sitting in the fireman's seat and the other standing beside him"
 Nothing to Obstruct View. The air, Mir. Heath said, was clear and there was nothing to obstruct view of the signal. Soon after the train passed him he heard one long shriek of an engine whistle and three short ones-then the crash.
 During a pause in the questioning. the. witness declared This matter or trains running by yellow boards (cau- ton signals) at a high rate of speed is common occurrence"
 Trains Were Three Minutes Apart.
 Then he added the engineers have a mile or more to get ready for the next signal. The wrecked trains passed the signal near which he stood, about | three minutes apart. He added: Trains frequently go that way. Two ] went by that way today"
 George s. Clark of Milford, who saw the collision from a nearby field. testi- | fled to seeing the express come to a sudden stop and the extra train shrieking around a sharp curve. It | did not appear to slow down, he said An instant later the crash came | W. M. Spalding, engineer of freight in | volved in the wreck, said that he mo- | on the passenger tracks that it was | set against the extra.
 | At this point c. c. Elwell of the state public utilities commission, put to the witness a hypothetical question | Taking into consideration all the | conditions on the day Of the wreck what would you have done had you been engineer of Train 5 ?"
 Would Have Shut Of Power.
 'T would have shut off power at the distant signal" was the reply. l Much attention was given by the 1 investigators to a short length of air hose, the bursting of which stopped l the express and paved the way for the wreck. At one end of the hose there | was a jagged hole and the iron nipple showed evidence of having been | scraped. J. E. Sheehan, general car | inspector of the company, one of the ! witnesses, was unable to say how it l could have happened.
 | Interpretation of Rule Sought.
 Interpretation of the rule requiring engineers to prepare at a distant sig nal, when set against them, to stop at | of the witnesses. All agreed that | whether the engineer should shut off power at once or slow down was a matter of judgment, dependent on con- | ditions at the time, including the speed of the train, its makeup, weather | home signal.
 Hearing Will be Continued Today.
 The hearing lasted until late in the day and will be continued tomorrow, ! wheu it is expected some of the com pany may be expected to testify. H. w: Belnap. chief of the division of | safety of the Interstate Commerce Commission, who. did most of the questioning of witnesses, said after adjournment that it was the intention to make a complete investigation of all phases of the wreck. Asked if they intended tC inquire into the matter of train dispatchinS, MT. Belnap replied that he had not a word to say beyond the fact that a complete investigation would be made.
 Tests Will be Made.
 At the conclusion of the taking ot testimony, tests will be made of the | signalling apparatus by experts of the commissions, to determine its efficien- cy and the results will be embodied ir the reports.
 Coroner Eli Mix devoted much ot his secret inquiry today into the req sons why Harry Sweeney of Stamford was in the engine cab of the extra train. Sweeney was employed in the electrical department of the road al Stamford in coupling trains. On the day of the wreck, he resigned his jot about three hours before the accident occurred in which he was killed. The coroner said tonight that railroad off, cials did not give Sweeney permission to be in the cab.
 Mir. Mix declared that his investiga- | tion showed that the air brakes o1 the extra engine had been set. It was highly improbable, in his opinion. that Engineer Curtis was dead at his throt- tie before the crash. The coroner will examine two more witnesses tomorrow l and he indicated that his report migh
 be made public next Tuesday.