New Britain herald., 1917-02-27
TWENTY KILLED IN
 PENNA. R. R. WRECK
Ten on Way to Funeral Numbered
 Among Victims FREIGHT HITS EXPRESS
Heavy Train Crashes Into Rear of Sleeper and Wiping Out Occupants Steel Coaches Telescoped Like Cardboard Boxes.

1 Altoona, Pa, Feb. 27.-At least l twenty persons were killed when the east-bound Mercantile express on the Pennsylvania railroad was run into l shortly after midnight by a fast pre- ference freight train at the station at the little mountain town of Mount Union, forty three miles east of here Several others were injured. The most seriously hurt were taken to Huntingdon, twelve miles west of Mount Union.
 The express train had stopped to discharge passengers at Mount Union and members of the crew were testing the air brakes when, without warn Ing, the heavy engine crashed into the passenger train from the rear A dense fog prevailed.
 There were three keepers attached to the Mercantile express, all of steel construction. As the freight engine, packed by heavy train, ploWed into tho passenger train, the rear coach of the latter telescoped the second pas senger coach, which was split asunder by the terrific impact. The freight engine was literally welded to the pas- senger car. None of the passenger coaches left the track but six of the freight cars, coal laden, were hurled down 8 forty-foot embankment.
 Cars Mass of Wreckagc.
 Little headway could be made in reaching the dead and injured, owing to the three sleeping coaches being almost inextricably massed together An examination of the wreck showed that the third sleeper of the train had split apart and that the car ahead was forced clear through it, while the third car from the rear of the train had plowed into the second car. The telescoping of the cars was of such force and character that all those within the sleeper were made pris- oners. The train crew and the unin- jured passengers were unable to reach them to give aid to any that might have escaped death The wreck blocked tracks number and 2 and caused a shut down Of traffic for several hours.
 All of those killed were in the sleeping car which was telescoped.
 An official of the Pennsylvania roao here said the list of dead may ex- ceed twenty, as fourteen bodies have been recovered and at least six are known to be dead in the wreck
 Engineer Is Blamed.
 At this time the railroad company is inclined to place the blame for the wreck on the engineer of the freight, A. T. Cook of Harrisburg, who had a leg crushed. It 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 1t.
 Chester A. Minds who with his family was killed, was a coal opera tor in the Cleartield region of Penn sylvania. He was travelling to Utica, N. Y.. to attend the funeral of his wife's father. Minds was football star on the University of Pennsyl- vania team and a brother of John II. Minds, famous years ago as captain of the Pennsylvania team.
 A list of the dead:
 Chester A. Minds 25 years old, Ramey, Pa: Mrs. Doris Minds, 29, his wife, Chester A. Minds. Jr. their in- fant son two weeks old; Miss Maud Minds, 2S, Confer, N. Y., sister of MT. Minds; M A. Caslisch, Confer, N. Y. a brother-in-law of Mrs. Minds; Mrs. A. Dellin. Cleveland, Mrs. Minds sister; Richard Owen, ': Dorothy Owen, 6; Jean Owen. 4, nephew and
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