Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-07-08
WOLVERTON silent
ON Wreck INQUIRY
Refuses to Say What Action He
viii Take Following Exon.
GRAFTON of ToWerman
VISITS SCENE OF CRASH

The Camden County Grand Jury. In
all probability. will be compelled to
conduct n rigid inquiry into the wreck
of the Atlantic City filer at Winslow
Junction last Monday. despite the con-
clusion Of the four investigating bodies,
which blamed Harry c. Wescott, the
dead engineer Of the fier, for the
crash.
Prosecutor Wolverton this morning
declined cmphatically to make any
statement concerning his action. He
said he would study the evidence and
base his action on what he found in
the .s:cnographic notes taken at the
hearings.
John DeWalt the towerinan who
threw the switch for the Cape May
| freight train and sent the flier. crew
and passengers down the deep embank.
nlent. was virtually exoneratcd by the
investigators. Michael Egan, assistant
train dispatcher at Camden, also was
cleared Of all b.amc.
Wolverton Inspects Scene
Prosecutor Wolvcrton was in the
party which went to Winslow Junction
last night in special train composed
Of one coach and an engine and in
spected the wreck scene.
The officials arrived at the scene of
the fatal wreck late last night. The
setting was exactly the same as that
on the night of the wreck with the ex-
ception that the moon was shining and
on the night of the wreck it was rain
ing.
In the party were George +. Ingram.
| assistant general passenger agent OF
the Philadelphia and Reading. who was
in charge: Prosecutor Wolverton; In
| terstate Commerce Commissioners A.
F. Duffy. A. \. Banks and T. y. john
son James Mayberry. Of the New Jer-
sey Public Utility Commission T. s.
| Lewis. superintendent of the Atlantic
City Division, and +. l.. Lewis, traf-
fic manager.
The special train with the officials
in front Of the long distance signal.
which is said to have been ''set
against" the engineer Of the wrecked
| fier.
An operator was stationed at the
signal and ms the members of the COM
mittee called for display of the vari-
Gus signals he changed the lights,
showing to the committee that the sig.
nal was in proper working order.
Then the special assumed the role
Of the Owl Filler and proceeded past
the signals just as they are supposed
to have been set that night and pro-
ceeded to a point past the curve where
the wreck occurred.
This first trial run was made with
the switch set so that the train would
have proceeded OH to Atlantic City.
Prosecutor in Engine Cab
Then the investigators returned to
the point with the switch set to turn
their train to Cape May. as 1t was
when the ficr made its fatal plunge.
Prosecutor Wolverton rode in the
engine cab.
mile ahead" he said, land I'm sure
that on n night like the night of the
wreck, with heavy rain falling, tho
lights could have been seen at least Il
half mile distant. l am convinced that
the engineer was dead or at least did
not possess all his faculties when the
train passed along that point
The officials next went to the tower
and the mechanism of the various con-
troll devices were fully explained and
the towerman on duty was questioned
The party went to Atlantic City for
dinner and returned about midnight. at
The crew of the flyer had been noti-
fed that the train was to receive
signal to stop at Winslow Junction.
AS the flyer steamed up the officials
In the tower set the signals the same
as they had been set on the hight of
the wreck. and the train came to a halt.
Some of the officials then boarded the
flyer and returned to Atlantic City.
while others returned with the special
train to Camden.
Mr.. Ingram explained that there were
two stop signals against the train as it
rushed on to disaster, as well as two
precautionary signals.
Engineer WescOtt must have been
i'll, in the opinion of Mr.. Ingram, who
expressed the belief that it would have
been impossible for an engineer in pos
session of his normal faculties to have
run past all these signals.
When the wreck scene was inspected
1t was made complete in every possible
detail even to the train of cmpties
awaiting on the siding. 1t was the
same train Of cmpties which the tower
man said he had thought was on it's
way when the flier dashed through the
switch set for Cape May.
The Official Statement
The official report follows: Train
No. 33. scheduled to pass Winslow
Junction at II IL =. NJ. (Standard
time), was preceded by passenger extra,
engine 120. This passenger extra was
running ten minutes in advance Of train
No. 80 and maintained the same schcG-
ule as train No. 33. train No. 33 being
ten minutes late. Passenger extra
passed WinsIOw Junction at II rs u.
NJ. The accident to train No. 33 oc.
Cured at II :2S p. NJ. One signal stop
was made by each train at Magnolia,
a distance Of 1871 miles north Of Wins
low Junction.
after the cXt"n train passed Wins
low Junction. Towerman De Walt. who
had nor observed the classification lights
OF engine 100. designating this as an
extra train and believed that it was
train No. 81. Immediately placed the
signals governing the Atlantic City route
at the stop position, set up the switches
and cleared signals for the Cape May
route.
after doing this he reported the
time OF the extra train rs passing Wins
low junction Mt II rs p NJ. tn the
train dispatcher at Camden. rrporting
It as train No. So Train Dispatcher
Eagan states that he immediately notl-
fed Towcrman De Walt that the train
reported by him as No. 33 was extra
train. engine 100. The towcrman
states that he did not hear this over