Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-03-02
TWENTY ARE KILLED
WHEN FREIGHT RAMS
PULLMAN SLEEPER
Heavy Toll of Death Taken on
Pennsylvania Road Near Az
toona-ChiIdren Die With
Parents
(By Associated Press.D

(By Associated Press.)
ALTOONA, Pa, Feb. 27.-Twent,
persons were killed when the east
bound Mercantile Express on the Penn.
sylvania railroad was hit shortly after
midnight by a fast preference freight
train at the station at the little noun
tain town of Mount Union, forty-thret
miles east of here in a heavy fog. Sew
eral others were injured. Those mos
seriously hurt were taken to the Blail
Memorial hospital at huntingdon.
At noon today Pennsylvania railroad
officials said of the twenty killed seven
teen have been identified.
The express train had stopped to dis.
charge passengers at Mount, Union and
members of the crew were testing the
air brakes when the heavy freight crash
ed into the passenger train from the
rear.
Alongside the express train at the
station was an accommodation train
carrying workmen from the Mount
Union powder plant and this train had
barely moved away from the station
when the crash occurred. There were
three sleepers attached to the Mercan-
tile Express, all Of steel construction.
As the freight engine, backed by a
heavy train, plowed into the passenger
train, the rear coach of the latter tele-
scoped the second passenger coach
which was split asunder by the terrific
impact.
The freight engine was literally weld
ed to the passenger car.
None of the passenger coaches left
the track, but six of the freight cars
coal laden, were hurled down a forty
foot embankment. Relief trains from
Altoona and Huntingdon, bearing ply
sicians, were hurried to the scene.
Little Roadway could be made in
reaching the dead and injured owing 10
the three sleeping coaches being almost
inextricably massed together. The Bell
wood, the third sleeper. had split apart
and the car ahead was forced through
it. while the third car from the rear OF
the train had plowed into the second car
Telescoping of the cars was of such
force that all those within the Bellwood
were imprisoned.
The train crew and the uninjured pas
sengers were unable to reach them to
give aid to any that might have escaped
death. The wreck blocked tracks num-
Der one and two and stopped traffic for
several hours.
THE DEAD.
The identified dead:
Chester A. Minds, twenty-five years
old, Ramey. Pa.
Mrs. Doris Minds, twenty-eight, his
wife.
Chester A Minds. Jr., their infant son,
two weeks old.
Miss Maud Minds, twenty.eight, Conf
fer, N. Y, sister of Mr.. Minds.
NJ. A. Cashsch, Confer, N. Y, broth
er-in-law of Mr.. Minds.
Mrs, A S. Delling, Cleveland, O., Mrs
Minds sister.
Richard Owen, seven.
Dorothy Owen. six.
Jean owen, four, nephew and nieces
of Mrs. Minds
Charles Levine, New York.
P. B. POLAND, New York.
Milton Hymes; New York.
N. Bright, colored porter.
]. S. Kelly, Brooklyn.
H. A. Roefler, Prattsville, Wis.
L. w. Montgomery, salesman, Bloom
ington. Ill.
c. NJ. Medskei, New York.
P. r. Tanning, Prattville, Wis.
Body supposed to be that of Mrs. Fan
ming, because of a letter congratulate
ing her on her marriage. On this body
was a Bible bearing the name of Miss
Ellen P. Hayt, Denver, Col.
All of those killed were in the, car
Bellwood.
An official of the TallrOad mere SAID
the list of dead may exceed twenty
This official places the blame on the
engineer of the freight, A. T. Cook, of
Harrisburg, who had leg crushed. 1t
was his duty, he said, to get of his en-
CINE, walk ahead and look at a signal
IN case of fog, rather than run past it.
The express arrived at Mount Union
station twelve minutes late with brake
trouble. 1t was held there while the
brake was repaired, it is declared, and
the signal to start had been given wher
the freight crashed into the rear sleeper.
Cook, the freight engineman, declared
that the block signal at "Mu" tower a
mile and a half from Mount Union
showed white, indicating a clear track.
Wrecking crews and relief trains with
physicians, nurses and all first aid
equipment, were rushed to the scene
within an hour.
Wrecking- crews from Miffiin and Den
holm also were called out and it was nee
essary to raise two of the sleeping cars
vertically before the killed could be
reached Every occupant of the rear
sleeper is believed to have been killed.
1t was the first time in three years
that a passenger has been killed in a
wreck on the Pennsylvania railroad. The
ill-fated passenger train, however, was
the, same one that was wrecked at Mex
leo, Pa, last August, when it ran into
a stock ira in. killing three employees.