The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-02-27
Heavy Coal Train PIunges
Thru Steel PullmanS.
All Occupants of Sleeper Killed
Bodies Mangled.
PASSED SIGNAL IN A FOG
Passenger Train Standing on
Track at Mount Union, Pa.
Former Football Stars Entire
Family Meets Death.

Altoona, Pa, Feb. 27.-At least
twenty persons were killed when the
east bound Mercantile express ON the
PENNSYLVANIA railroad was run into
shortly after midnight by fast pref
erence freight train at the little noun
tain town of Mount Union, forty-three
miles east of here. Several others
were injured. Those most seriously
hurt were taken to the Blair memorial
hospital at Huntington, twelve miles
west of Mount Union.
The express train stopped to dis
charge passengers at Mount Union
and members of the crew were testing
the air brakes when without warning,
the heavy freight crashed into the
passenger train from the rear A
dense fog prevailed.
Alongside of the express train at
the station was an recommendation
train carrying workmen from the
Mount Union Powder plant and TINS
train had barely moved away from the
station when the crash occurred
! There were three sleepers attached
to the Mercantile express, all of steel
construction AS the freight engine
pIowed into the passenger train, the
rear coach of the latter telescoped the
second passenger coach which was
split asunder by the impact. The
freight engine was literally welded 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 Huntington, bearing
| physicians. were hurried to the scene.
An examination of the wreck showed
! Ra1leWnOd- the third SleeDer.
had split apart and that the car ahead
/ was forced clear thru it, while the
third car from the rear of the train
! had plowed into the second car. Tele-
scoping of the car was of such force
! and character that all those within
the Bellewood were made prisoners.
| The train crew and the uninjured
passengers We're unable to reach them
to give aid to any that might have
| escaped death.
| Following is a list of the identified
dead:
! CHESTER A MINDS. 25 years old,
Ramey, Pa.
MRS. DORIS MINDS. IS. his wife.
CHESTER A. MINDS, JR.. Their
infant son, two weeks old.
MISS MAUD MINDS, %. Confer,
\. Y, sister of Mr.. Minds.
! M. A CASLISCH, Confer, N. " a
brother-in-law of Mr.. Minds.
| MRS A. SEGUR DELLING, Cleve-
! land, o., MIS-. MINUS SlSleI-
! RICHARD OWEN. Z.
! DOROTHY OWEN. 6.
| JEAN OWEN, A, nephew and nieces
| of Mrs. Minds.
CHARLES LEVINE, 35. New York.
! p Is. POLLARD, Sc. New Y -rk.
| MILTON HYMES. 474 West 15sth
street, New York
! N BRIGHT, negro porter.
7. s KELLY, Brooklyn.
| H. A. ROFFLER, Prattsville, Wis
.-rT7<Y
| ton, Ill.
| G. NJ. MEDSKI, New York.
p. R. TANNING, Prattville, Wis.
! Body supposed to be that of Mrs.
flaming because of a letter congratu-
! lating her on her marriage. On this
body was a Bible bearing the name
Miss Ellen P. Hayt. Denver.
Blame Engineer.
All of those killed were in the car
| Bellewood.
| An official of the Pennsylvania rail-
road here early today said the list of
dead might exceed twenty, as fourteen
| bodies had been recovered and at least
six were known to be dead in the
wreck.
|. Early today railroad officials were
inclined to place the blame for the
wreck on the engineer of the freight,
A T. Cook of Harrisburg, whose leg
was crushed. 1t was his duty, said
an official to get off his engine, walk
ahead and look at a signal in case of
! fog, rather than run past it.
Minds Family on Way to Funeral.
| Philadelphia, Feb. 27.-Information
! from Pennsylvania railroad sources
shows that twenty persons were killed
1 in the wreck. 1t has been learned
that in addition to those already ac-
counted for, two small children were
killed. AS no tickets were required
for them, they were overlooked when
the passengers were checked up by
the train crew.
| The four children killed with Mr.
and Mrs. Chester A. Minds comprised
| their three weeks old infant and a
nephew and two nieces, Richard Owen
Z. Dorothy Owen, 6, and Jean Owen. 4
Minds, who was a coal operator and
| former member of the football team
! of the University of Pennsylvania, was
taking his family to Utica, N. Y, to
attend the funeral of Mrs. Minds's
| father. All of the dead were occu-
pants of the sleeping car Bellewood.
A T. Cook of Harrisburg, engineer
of the freight train, was the only one
Of the freight crew injured His en-
CINE and six cars were wrecked and
derailed, several of the cars going
over an embankment into the street