Terrible Railway Disaster. OVER TWENTY LIVES LOST. A Collision Followed by a Fire.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 191, 12 February 1887, Page 2

Terrible Railway Disaster. OVER TWENTY LIVES LOST. A Collision Followed by a Fire.

One of the most horrible accidents ever chroociled occurred near Republic, Ohio, at 2 o'clock on the morning of January 4th. At 1 o'clock an east-bound frieght train, in charge of Conductor Fletcher, pulled out of this city, having received orders to side-track at Scipio siding, to allow the east-bound express to pass. After the passenger train had gone, the conductor being without special orders, exercised his own judgement and determined that, inasmuch as he had half an hour to spare to make the switch at Republic, little less than five miles distance, baf ore the arrival of the faßt express from the east* due at that point at 2 o'clock. When he pulled oat the night was bitterly cold, ana muob difficult was experienced in keeping up Bteam in the engine, Finally

at a point half a mile weßt of Repulio the train came to a standstill, being unable to move further. Juet here was made the mistake which resulted in the loss of many lives and the destruction of thousands of dollars' worth of property. Although the conductor must have known that; he was eoroaching dangerously near the time of the express, be did not send out a signal until after his train had come to a standstill and he found it impossible to move further. He then started torward with a lantern himself.

The Collision. At this point there is a sharp curve, and Conductor Fletcher had not proceeded more than tht> length of twenty cars when he saw the headlight of the approaching express rounding: the curve not more than forty rods distant and running at the lightning speed of sixty three miles per hour. Horror stricken with the knowledge that a frightful accident could not be avoided, h*e flashed his light in the face of the engineer, Lem Eastman. The latter at the same moment saw the light of the freight engine, and giving a wild shriek o f the whiatle for down brake, he reversed his engine and jumped for his life, crashing throngh the window of the cab, carrying the glass and saeh with him, and alighting in a heavy snow drift. He escaped serious injury, hia hurts being confined to a slight wound upon the knee. As soon as he realised the danger, he called to Mb fireman, William Grederioks, to save himself. The latter wae engaged in stoking the fire, and raised up and hesitated amomenttoglanceforward, asiftoestimatehisdanger. This was fatal, as at that instant the crash came, and poor Fredericks was pinned and crushed by a mass of the wreck. The effect of the collision can be better imagined than described. The engines of the two trains reared into the air and then settled down upon the tracks driving into each other until the cylinder, touched. The force of the impact jammed the baggage cars into the tender of the fast train, the express car into the baggage, and the smoker into the express.

The Wreck in Flames. In lees than five minutos from the moment of the collision, and before any ornanized effort at rescue could be made the fire from the overturned stoves communicated to the woodwork and the flaracß broke out, their roar mingling with the cries' of anguish of the imprisoned victims. The trainmen and uninjured passengers were powerless to rescue the sufferers. The express train was in charge of Conductor Tom Haekell, Engineer Lem Eastman and William Fredericks, firemen, and consisted of Engine 726, a mail and baggage car, the express, smoker, a coach and two deepen?. The freight train was in charge of Conductor Fletcher, Engineer Kiler and \V. J, Cullison, fireman, aad consisted of Engine 925 and sixteen loaded and a tew empty gondolas. The smoker contained twelve to fifteen passengers, some of whom were immigrants. Three men escaped alive, but their names were not learned. Baggage-master W. F. Gates of Newark was the only man in bis car, and he wa=! hurt in both legs, his left leg being cut in several places and a eplinter, or rod, being run into hia right foot.

A Terrible Fate. C. P. Bradley of Washington, D. C, was found hanging from tho window of the smoker, but his legs were fast and he could not be removed. There he remained until he was burned to death, and hie charred remains fell to the ground, a black and shapeless mass. He was conscious and gave his address to the bystanders, and also said that he was an officer of the Knights of Labour organisation. He gave his watch and other valuables he could get from his pockets to | Conductor Fletcher of tho freight train. Joseph Postlothwait, aged 57, and hte 1 sons— Spencer, aged IS, and Henry, aged 11— were sitting in the pame seat in the amokev, and their charred remains wi-vo found in the ruins of the caii*. Postlefchwait, with his wife, two boys, a seven-year-old girl by a former wife, a little boy of 5 and a baby girl of 2 year" had feold their farm of ISO acres in Wotzoll country, W. Va , and were moving to Chillicotbu, Mo , near where Postlothwaita had a brother living, and wbero ho could make j hip- future home. He had about §500 in cash, a check for $600 and several notes in hi=> possession, and the«o were burned with his body, leaving the widow with three children, and no clothing except wh^fc she wore, and 50 cents in money. Her husbapd and two boys had loft her but a few moments before and gone from tho coach to the smoker. Postlewaire as a melted medal found in the wreck indicates, was a soldier in the Union rank i in the late war, being a member of Company A, Seventeen Regiment, West Virginia Infantry.

The Fireman's Sufferings. William Frederickp, firoman of the expreas, was naught between the tender and engine, and lived for two hours, but it was found impossible to effect hip release. His mother is a widow, and lived in Washington, D. C. He was a member of the brotherhood of Fireman, which organization took charge of his remain?, which weie removed to an • undertaking establishment find prepared for burial. His face in death depicted the agony of his sufferings. M. H Parks, who?e address could not be learned, wa9 also wedged in the wreck, and burned to death after handing his money, letters end cards to one of tho railroad eraploves His body was consumed, as were tho«e of peveral others whose names are nob known, and perhaps never will be.

Scene of the Disaster. "When your reporter reached the scene of the accident at 1 o'clock to-day the ruins of the baggage car, express, smoker and coach were still burning, and pcores of hands were endeavouring to clear the track there, and thare could be eeen pools of blood and pieces of half-burned and frozen human flesh, and workmon were still findinerporitons of bodies in the burning wreck. All the mail, exorepe and baggage were burned, including large eums of money. The pcene at the undertaker's establishment was one calculated to make the stoutest hearts quail. Nine shapelepfl trunke of human beings were stretched out in a row. There were and hie two Bon& side bv side and neven others, none of whom could be identified, and near them a mass of flesh and bonea that may have been parts of the bodies of different people.

A Passenger's Story. At the depot was found William F. Smith, of Waynesborough, Pa,, who was a passenger in tho coach next the sleepor. He was sitting in the front part of the car, and when the collision occurred he was thrown violently against the front door of the car, but was noh injured in the least. Ho said he did not think at the time that there had been a collision, but he believed that the train had run off the track. Ha helped the ladies in the car to gather up their wraps, and said that when he went back to his seat to get his hat he noticed the smoker in flames and caw an immigrant jump from the car through the roof and wall oi flames. He natd that no one in tho coach was hurt seriously, but ODeman had his hand burned slightly by falliog against the stove. After getting out of the car, he helped to uncouple the two sleepers and push them down the track so that they would not ba burned. He

then picked up Postlethwaite's little girl, who was wandering around in the enow, and carried her to the depdt at Republic. W. S. Price, the baggage master, was burned to a crisp. His home is in Wheeling. No doubt many more perished in tho wreck, a8 a number of persons who escaped and the remains recovered is not equal to the number reported in the car. The number actually lost may never be known. A number of watches were found in the wreck,