Year: 1861




The Hackensack and New York train, which
left Jersey City on Wednesday, with twenty
passengers. plunged through a drawbridgs
about seven miles from Jersey City. The
light was exhibited to show the draw was up,
but the engineer in charge had never seen the
bridge in that condition, and either did not
understand or did not see it.


AS soon he discovered the peril he gave
the signal whistle to have the brakes put on,
reversed the engine, but saw that Ii was all
over. OF the brink of the draw down plune ed
the engine and tender, with a roar and crash
that were heard more than two miles away
The engine divided the waters, went some
thirty feet below the surface, and was follow
ed by the car, which probably turned partial
ly over in its descent, but was again rig hted
by striking upon the bowsprit of schooner
that was just on the point of passing through,
the collision tearing open a long strip in the
roof OF the car All this, of course, happened
in almost as short space as it can be thought
of indeed the car had rested its forward end
upon the sunken engine before the parted wa


ters had returned to their place. The car,


which was n very long one was left with its
forward end, up to about the first ventilator,
immersed in water, and the rear end resting
upon the edge of the draw, and a an angle OF
about forty five degrees.


Some of the passengers ciGng to their sea ts,
and others were thrown about. The con-
ductor was at the time standing in the GEN.
tire of the car, when the shock and descending
motion of the car sent him nearly twenty five
feet forward through the door of the smoking
saloon, an apartment taking up seven feet of


the length of the car. The water which was
rushing in through the outside door, shut this
inner door behind him, and he, with the
brakesman, were nearly up to their chns in
an icy element, and cooped up within this
limited compartment. The conductor Sc
cured a hold upon the ring through which the
bell rope passes against the roof. 1t is said
that quite an earnest struggle took place be-
tween them es to who should have possession
Of this bit of iron-now the brakesman and
then the conductor secured it for alternat te
moments


A bystander says that as the car fell in 20
the chasm, cries and shrieks arose, mingled
with and continued after the noises of the


water and the crash of the falling train.
The passengers, consisting of three ladies
and fourteen men, who had been n ore or less
jostled about, soon climbed mp the ascent and
emerged through the rear door, having sus-
tanned little injury beside the fright save tn
in one case a lady had one or two teeth knock
ed out. Meanwhile the three uufortunates
in the little smoking room We're screaming for
help and seizing by turns the anchor in the
roof. couple OF axes had been brought from
the schooner close by, and a hole cut through
the top of the room, which gave the men Z
little air, or possibly they would have suho-
| Gated. One of the windows of the car, said TO
have been two or three feet under water was
broken open by the brakesnan, and the three
men successfully passed down and crawled
through it, being picked up at once. They
are DeneVeu 10 nave Oeen IN the water from
fifteen to twenty minutes. One had become
crazed, and il was with difficulty that he
could be restrained from jumping back into
the river.


The engineer, according to his own account t,
went down with the engine, one hand holding
upon the "throttle-v valve" and the other up
on the 'reverse lever He rose to the sur
face about one hundred feet distant from
the spot where he went down. He got
hold OF a rope, wound it about him, and final.
ly succeeded III crawling up on portion of the
pier that jutted out and formed a little shelf.
He was taken in nearly Il frozen condition
The engineer was injured more than any one
else, but he is merely bruised Il little about the
hands, and received a flesh wound on the ou t.
| side of the left hip. The escape OF all these
passengers from death. or even serious injury,
seems about as miraculous as any ything on re-
cord. 1t is nearly 20 feet from the floor of the
| bridge to the surface of the water; the water
| is about q feet deep, with soft, mry bottom,
| into which it is thought the engine has sunk
| from 10 TO Is feet. That the passengers were
| all saved is attributed to two causes First
| the material Of which the car was made. Had
| it been a wooden car, it would probably have
| broken into two parts, spilling out nearly all,
| the splintering timbers, bruising and crushing
| q portion. Second, the large windows of the
| car. which allowed the egress of the three
| persons in the smoking car.