Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1922-09-11
TRAIN BARELY
ESCAPES WRECK
Birmingham Special Nearly
Runs Into Freight
Wreck.
Alexandria Men Engineers of Freight
Wrecked on Rockfish Trestle Yes
terday-Train Service Resumed at
O'clock.

The Birmingham Special, bound for
Washington, Baltimore and New York,
narrowly escaped destruction yester-
day shortly after noon as the result
Of the wrecking Of two extra" freight
trains on the trestle near Rockfish,
Va, on the Washington division Of
the Southern Railroad. Engineers
of the wrecked freights were AleXan-
dria men, J. c. Crump and George
Chisholm.
Less than % minutes before the big
passenger train of crowded Pullman
and day coaches came laundering to-
ward the trestle freight train stand
ing on the trestle and six cars had been
wrecked, one Of them. full Of wheat,
being hurled TO the river bed nearly
100 feet below.
II. D. Wright, station agent and
telegraph operator at RockfiSh, which
is about % miles south of Charlottes-
vile, heard the collision and rushed
out. He saw three men rolling down
the step bank toward the river and the
freight car full of wheat crashing to
destruction behind them. Another
freight car hung in splinters over the
edge of the trestle. The nose of the
engine Of the rear train was buried
deep in the third car of the train that
had been hit.
Wright, with Ashby Baber, conduc-
tor, and Jesse Mitchell, tiagman OF
this train. rushed down the north
bound track with warning flags. They
realized that No. 80, the Birmingham
Special. would be coming along at full
speed in a few minutes One of the
wrecked freight ears had been thrown
directly across the northbound track
The Birmingham Special was al
ready several hours late and was try
inc to make up time. If she had been
20 minutes earlier there would have
been scores of fatalities, the railroad
men saidt When the three men finally
stopped the big passenger train the
front of the engine was just at the
edge of the culvert and the wreckage
not more than 100 feet away.
The three men who escaped INJURY
bv rolling down into Rockfish river
had been asleep in a cabooSe at the
rear of the freight train that was
struck. They were "deadheadlng,'
having Just bbp relieved from duty
after a sixteen hour stretch. Lynn
Anderson. conductor, woke up FIRST
and heard an engine coming oehlnd'
He awoke George Latin. engineer,
and Brakeman Schelhorn. They asked
no questions. All three leaped for
their lives. and they were not mo-
ment too soon. All suffered bruises
and sprains.
Both wrecked freight trains were
"extras," consisting of loaded ana
empty cars. Both were southbound-
The first one. of which J. c. Crump'
was engineer, had stopped on the tres
tie for repairs to a broken alrhose'
The second train, George Chisholm,
engineer. is said to have been .tlppng
behind at 12' miles an hour. Cmshoim
declared his b"1kes would not work
in time to avoid the smash. n,
The Birmingham Special with ITS
1913 passengers. was held up at ROCK
fish most of the afternoon. Wreck
ing trains with derricks came from
Monroe, Va, to clear the tracks and
the passengers spent the day watcn-
ing them work and marveling at their
escape. The tracks we're cleared OF
the wreckage at 6 o'clock yesterday
afternoon and regular service was
resumed Over 200 bushels of wheat
Law in a heap along the banks OF the
little river.
Rockfsh is kown among railroad
men as a bad place. There have been
several wrecks the,a. About 20 years
ago 35 people were killed when pas
senger train piled up almost in front /
IF the depot.