Putnam patriot. [volume] (Putnam, Conn.) 1872-1962, 1916-09-01

SetIlEiS III All Ihi Is VI tLC City Idli-
road locomotive, running away from
is crew, on the Shore Line division of
the New Haven road between Worces-
ter and New London, sideswiped a
freight train standing at the Putnam
railroad station at 4 O'Clock Wednes.
day morning. Three empty box cars
were thrown from their trucks and
toppled over onto the east bank of the
cut about 500 yards south of the sta
ton while the engine was thrown up
on its side up against ledge on the
west side, forming perfect wedge be-
tween the twenty-foot entertainments.
The division was entirely blocked. No
- one WAS hurt.
Almost before the crash came, word
was on the way for the wreeking crew
for railroad men in the yard knew the
crash was inevitable before it came.
The first wreeking crew to respond
came from Readville. Later in the
morning the wTecker from Midway
put in an appearance. By noon the
trick had been cleared, two of the
wrecked cars put back on the iron
ready to be taken to the shops and the
engine, a sorry-looklng sight, was
ready for the hospital or the junk heap,
10 be decided after more thorough
diagnosis. Passengers on morning
trains were transferred around the
wreck.
The accident was q peculiar one if
the story CLEANED from meagre facts
ted by railroad men is TO be believed.
The engine that caused the damage is
said to have been left standing alone
for a moment when, from some un-
known cause, the throttle suddenly
few wide open and the locomotive
dashed down through the railroad
yard at forty miles an hour, into the
standing train.
The engine was in charge of Engi-
neer Jerry O'Connor, Fireman Patrick
Beirne and Flagman James Gilhooley,
all of New Haven. These men had
made the run from New Haven to
Worcester as part of the crew of the
eastbound Bar Harbor express. AS
they were short of crew at Worcester
the three men were ordered to take en-
CINE No. 1883, an old-styled, small type
of engine, and to run it light to Put
nam, put it in the round house and re-
turn with crippled engine they would
find waiting there.
The engine was sent out ahead OF
the westbound Bar Harbor express.
When it reached Putnam it was STOP
ped at the coal chute for coal and then
proceeded down toward the station ex-
pecting to be switched over onto a
track that would allow it to be run to
the round house. Finding the track
set for the main line the engineer
brought the locomotive to stop near
the semaphore signal near the May
street crossing Knowing that the
Bar Harbor was not far behind the |
men got down from the cab and the /
hagman started back along the track.
Suddenly the ithrottle few out, the
wheels began to revove, sending out
sparks of fire, and the machine was
soon under good Roadway speeding
down through the yard alone. An at
tempt was made to catch 1t and IL
might have been accomplished had
not the engineer fallen down.
In the meantime long freight train
northbound to Worcester had pulled
in and run as far north as possible so
that it could pass the Bar Harbor at
the station. While the road is sim
gle track division there are two tracks
at the station which come together
north and south of the station onto the
single main line. Half of the freight
was on track No. 4 at the station put IL
was so long q train that the other hall
extended onto the main line south OF
the station where the tracks come to-
gether at the mouth of the cut. Inc
runaway engine, which gained mo
mentum Of forty TO fifty miles an hour
during its short run through the yard,
crashed into the freight at an angle,
amidships, and both cars and engine
were thrown from the track and top
pied over.
Ii is said that railroad men knew OF
the light engine but expected it was
following the Bar Harbor instead OF
preceding it. When they saw what II
was coming through the yard they
knew at once that the crash would fol-
low in a matter of seconds. The sig
nal was set for the Bar Hsrbor, which,
il is said, was already coming down
through the north end Of the yard, and
word was sent for the wrecker. There
was crash, a ripping OF WOOD ana
grinding of iron and all was still. No
whistles were blown or bells sounded
and because there was no unusual
noise preceding or following the crash
people awakened from sleep did not go
out to see what the matter was beliey.