Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-03-30
At LEAST 80 KILLED
WHEN TRAINS CRASH
Three Of New York Centrars
Crack Flyers in Wreck
Near Cleveland.
MORE THAN FORTY INJURED
Federal, State and Railroad Of
flcials Immediately Begin
Investigation.

hcials Immediately Begin
Investigation.
CLEVELAND. .. March 29-Wt,h :,
toll OF at lcas, thirty persons dead and
forty or more injured. Federal. State
and railroad officials to-day began an
investigation into the cause tlat this
morning early led iiCo the mos, dis
hSirous wreck in the history OF the
New York Central Railroad
Thrc. trains. including the Twen-
hcth Century Limited. westbound, the
New York's palatial flyer, and two sec
;ions Of No. Sc. known as the Chicago
Pittsburgh Limited, castbound came
together in collision near Amherst. o..
thirty miles west Of Cleveland
REPORTS generally credited were that
>th" first and second sections Of no Sc
were proceeding AT q rapid rate and
At some points We're culy II mile or so
apart. When the second section
crashed into the first section, the Twtn-
,icth Century Limited piled into the
wreckac" o! tn. two trains which
bulgcd over or two tracks. and the
three We're thrown INTO an iudcscrih-
able mass.
The Erc-' LoaCne. ana engine and No
So we're toppled over and wreckage
VAS pilcd thirty feet in the air Two
cars were smashed 10 junk Fourteen
coaches overturned
NIGHT IS ONE ALMOST
or INI<Y BI.ACk NESS
The Twentieth Century, notwith-
standing its impact with the debris
s-,,
unscuthcd. and proceeded on it's west
ward journey, its passengers unin-
jured. except for a severe shaking up
y pail OF fog from Lake Erie had
settled down over Northern Ohio. and
the night was of almost inky black
ness. This, with the alleged failure
of towerman to do his duty under the
rules, was ascribed By some of the
railroad officials as the cause of the
wreck. The tawerman, II wac said
had been without sleep most OF the
time since Sunday, his wife being i'll.
and requiring his attention when he
was not on duty.
y block signal set suddenly against
"a speeding train, and another train fol-
lowing closely in the East" block is
believed TO lie at the rea! cause Of
the wreck
W NJ. schiT, superintendent of the
road. said:
The tpwcrman can have nothing TO
DO with the cause of this wreck The
explanation lies between the engineers
and the block signal system.
We tested out the block system
signal this morning after the wreck
and found il working perfectly. After
the wreck. Engineer Hess ana his
brakeman. q. y. NJ. Gates. with brake
man OF the Twentieth Century Limited.
walked back To the signal which Hess
tenginccr OF the second section) drove
by. They all say they found the signal
WAS red. or blocked then"
SCENES OF CONFUSION
FOLLOW CATASTROPHE:
Scenes OF terrible confusion followed
tho catastrophe Many OF the injured
pinioucd in the wreckagc called pitc-
ousiy for help. Cniniured passengers,
half-clad emerged from the slcepers
and joined with Irainmen and others
III the rescue work. \ fire in the
wrcckare brought the first rays Of
light on the scene OF desolation and
death Fircmcn from Amherst soon
qucnchcd the flames. The fire VAS in
unenchcd the flames. The hrc was in
on. coach on train No ST. General
Manager Moon in an official statement
said this coach was a modern, steel
coach car" Passengers and others
who were on the scene To-day did not
all agree as 10 the correctness OF this
statement, many OF them contendinS
the coach was OF wooden construction.
Those who disputed the assertion that
the coaches were all Of solid steel
pointed To the fact that death coach" :"
as they termed it. was torn into small
fragments which burned like tindcr
The wreck occurred shortly after 2 \.
NJ. but ii was nearly o'clock before
organized relief work was established
To days wreck served to recall mem
ories of the wreck of the Twentieth
Century Limited on June II. l?Oi. at
Mentor, o., about twenty miles east
Of Cleveland. when nineteen persons
lost their lives. The Twentieth Cen
tury was making its second run un!er
the new fast-time schedule \ maniac.
ii was asserted by railroad officials,
turned switch that wrecked it.
Hospitals in Lorraine and Elyria to-
night We're filled with injured from
the wreck. and it generally was be-
day would be Increased
Hospital trains were run from Clcve-
land. Elyria and Lorraine to the scene
Of the wreck. Hundreds OF villagers
from Amherst and nearby did heroic
work in Carrying for the dead. diving
and wounded. 4 little morgue at Am
hcrst was quickly flicd. but other
buildings were made available. Many
OF the dead were manglcd beyond rec
oGnition, some OF them so far thar
Identification may never he established
STATEMENT ISSUED
BT GENERAL MANAGER
General Manager Moons statement,
issued this afternoon, read
about ago this morning first No.
ST. the Chicago Pittsburgh passenger
train. was stopped at the intcrlock ing
CONTINUED on Second Pagc.)