Luzon, New York Train Wreck
February 13, 1907
ENGINE BOILER EXPLODES AND TWO MEN DIE
Engineer of Passenger Train is Fatally Injured.
FOUR COACHES ARE DERAILED
Bodies of Victims Hurled Far Into Field – Dozen
Passengers Are Hurt, but None of Them Seriously.
MIDDLETOWN, Feb. 13. – The boiler of the
engine pulling an Ontario & Western Railroad
passenger train which left here this afternoon
at 3 o’clock exploded near Luzon, Sullivan
county. The train was running at the rate of
forty miles an hour. The fireman and an
unidentified man, who was riding in the cab of
the engine, were killed, the engineer was
fatally hurt and several other persons were
seriously injured.
The dead:
MARTIN MULLEN
of Middletown, fireman.
Unidentified Man.
The injured:
Engineer GADWOOD
of Walton; believed fatally.
Conductor CHARLES E.
DOELL of Middletown; shoulder broken
and internally injured.
Baggagemaster, PETER
RILEY of Middletown; bruised about
back.
A dozen of the passengers were hurt, but none of
them seriously. Dr.
PERCY DEADY of the Loomis Sanitarium,
Liberty was on the train and attended the
injured.
The body of Fireman
MULLEN was blown 100 feet into a
field, and his head was torn off. The unknown
man in the cab was blown to pieces.
Engineer GADWOOD
was also thrown into a field by the force of the
explosion.
The engine was blown to pieces, and the baggage
car was badly damaged. Four coaches left the
rails and went into a ditch.
A relief train having surgeons on board has gone
to the scene of the wreck, which is thirty-three
miles north of here. The dead and injured have
been conveyed to Luzon.
The wrecked train left New York at 12:30 o’clock
this afternoon.
The unidentified man is believed to have been
Engineer J. D. VALQUETTO
of Cadosia, who was learning the road
and was seen to board the engine here.
The explosion is believed to have been due to
the pipe between the tank and the engine
freezing, which prevented the water feeding into
the boiler properly.
The Post Standard, Syracuse, NY 14 Feb
1907
Transcribed by
Cheryl.
Thank you, Cheryl!
The unidentified man in the cab was blown to
pieces. He is believed to have been
Engineer J. D.
Valquette, who was learning the road,
and was seen to get on the engine here.
The Washington Post, Washington, DC 14
Feb 1907
According to the 1900 Census for Walton, Delaware County, NY,
Engineer Gadwood is William Gadwood.
In 1910 he was 32 (born Jun 1867) and lived with his wife Elnora and
children Harold J., 11, Ruth A., 6, and infant Frank C.
Charles E. Doell is listed as Charles W.
Doell in the 1900 Census. He lived on Lincoln
Street in Middletown, NY with his wife Mary A. and daughter Mary A.
He was 40 in 1900 (born Apr 1860).
Also, according to the 1900 census, J. D. Valquette could be
James Valequett, 23, a French
Canadian who was a railroad fireman in 1900. He lived with his
wife, Nora and infant son, Edward in Hancock, Delaware Co., NY.
Other French Canadian families in the same area were listed as
Vallequtte and Valiquette.
 Search
for more information on the Luzon Train Wreck
and other disasters in the Historic
Newspapers Collection. The number of
newspapers on line has recently doubled - search
over 1000 different newspapers. Use this
Free trial to search for your ancestors.
Search for ancestors in
Luzon, NY among billions of names at ancestry.com. Use this
Free trial to search for your ancestors.
History of
Sullivan County 1873 Read it online at ancestry.com.
Use this
Free trial to search for your ancestors.
|
