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THE OHIO RAILWAY DISASTER. |The- New York Herald of December 80 gives an account of the terrible railway accident at Ashtabula, Obiov Ifc8ays:-»‘/ One of the most furious snowstorms ever known in this vicinity had been raging nearly all day, and deep drift* mode every pad way impassable. Be severe fras the storm that very few1 of the business places in Ashtabula kept open doors after four or five o’clock in the evening, and the trains from all directions wtere^ several hours behind time. At about eight o’clock p.m. the whole village was aroused by the general fire alarm, and the word soon spread t)aat j passenger train No. 5 from the; East had gone.through the high bridgo over = Ashtabula' with ailarge number of passengers, and that the whole train was on fire. A lurid glare in that vicinity confirmed the report, and in spite of • the terrible night nearly the whole village and all of the fire engines were soon en route to the depot, which is situated about one mile distant from the village. The train wasdue at Ashtabula at a quarter-past five, and was nearlyIt* hthree hours late.. It* had eleven cars, including one drawing-room car, three sleepers, one smoking car, two first-class coaches, and four baggage and express cars* It was drawn by two engines—the Socratesahead, followed by the Columbia, Ne. 360. Daniel Maguire, engineer of the Socrates,, relates , that the train was running at a slow rate, and just as they had, fairly crossed the high bridge, which is not mere than forty rods distant from the depot, they felt a violent jar, and in an instant the coupling between the Socrates and Columbia had broken, and the whole train was precipitated from the bridge into the river some 65ft. below. The bridge ov£r Ashtabula river was an iron trus3 bridge, and had been in use about eleven j ears. It ia supposed that the heavy droughts must have thrown the cars from the track, causing the cold irons to snap. The horrible scene below beggars all description. The span is about 100ft. wide, and through the space between flows the river about four or five feet deep, at this time thickly covered with ice. Into this space were the eleven cars and one engine and tender precipitated. The fall of 60ft. of course broke through the icy covering and shivered the ears. The seven passenger coaches altogether contained about 165 adults; besides a number of children. Most of those in the forward car are saved, with injuries more or less severe. Within a very few moments after the crash the flames burst out simultaneously from nearly every car, and before, help was at hand the flames were striving with the icy torrent as to which should devour the greater number of human lives. Mr. Frank Belknap, who was bne of the earliest at the scene, saj3 that the piteous cries for help from all the victims were enough to wring the stoutest heart. Here was a young and finely-dressed girl of about 10 years of age struggling in vain to release her hips from the weight which was crushing her slender form ; close behind her were the flames shooting onfc their forked tongues, which in another instant had enwrapped her in their furious embrace. Here was a fine gentleman of middle age, fitting bolt upright in h?3 seat and unable to extricate himself, calmly awaiting the flames, which soon claimed their victim; there were bodies floating out from the wr*ck, and others not yet suffocated , by the icy flood were attempting to their make their way to the shore. A crowd soon lrmdo their wav to the burning debris, and with the aid of axes and ropes many were extricated, placed on stretchers, and taken to the top of the hill, where the best of assistance awaited them. The hotels at thedepot were soon filled, and private houses were thrownopen throughout the town. The surgeons of the town rendered all the assistance in their power, but many perished, notwithstanding the best of wire, during the night. Others aro now lying in a suffering condition in the hotels and private residences. It is estimated that fully 100 persons have been killed in thisterrible disaster.”
Newspaper Details
London Mid Surrey Times and General Observer
London, Middlesex, GB
Sat, Jan 13, 1877
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
Maryjane B.
OH, USA 13 Aug 2019
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