Pleasant Valley, Ohio Train Wreck
October 3, 1890
A FATAL BLUNDER.
An Awful Wreck Caused by a Boy's Negligence.
Eight Persons Killed and Two Badly Injured.
Eight persons killed, two wounded and a large
amount of property destroyed are the results of
one of the worst collisions that ever happened
on the Central Ohio Division of the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad. The accident occurred on a
sharp curve, one mile west of Pleasant Valley,
Ohio, midway between Newark and Zanesville, at
about twelve o'clock at night. It is attributed
to the criminal negligence of the operator, a
young man named KEELTY.
The trains in collision were a
westbound freight train, on which the engineer
was JOHN S. BUCKINGHAM;
the fireman,
W. M. FIRESTONE; conductor,
BASH, and an eastbound freight, with
JOHN CAMP, engineer;
HARRY WILSON , fireman, and
WILLIAM CROUSE,
conductor. The dispatcher had orders at Black
Hand to hold the eastbound train, and in
addition an order was made for two trains to
meet at that point. BUCKINGHAM called for orders
and was given a clean block by the operator, who
claims to have overlooked the two orders. He has
not been seen since, but evidently has decamped.
The killed are JOHN. S.
BUCKINGHAM, WILLILAM FIRESTONE, B. F. SMART,
THOMAS McCRAE, all of Newark, Ohio;
JOHN COCHRAN, supposed to be a
Cleveland printer;
GLENN BASH, an employee of the
Baltimore and Ohio at Zanesville;
GEORGE W. STONEBURNE,
of the same place, and a man whose
name is unknown. The bodies were horribly
mangled. All were taken to Newark, Ohio. The
injured are: JOHN CAMP,
leg amputated;
HARRY WILSON, hands and arms cut and
scalded.
The engines are total wrecks, being locked
together so that it is impossible almost to
separate them. Twenty-five cars filled with wire
nails, iron, steel, oats, middlings, corn,
flour, lumber, ore and empties were jammed and
splintered, all being crowded in the space of
seven or eight car lengths. The wrecking trains
were sent down and the debris cleared away. The
loss to the company will be not less than
$9,000.
Following this wreck two passenger trains were
in collision one mile west of Barnesville, Ohio,
demolishing two express cars, both engines and
the mail car.
Engineer JOHN
WHEELER and a baggageman,
“ED.” MURDOCK, had their legs broken.
The accident was due to disobedience of orders
on the part of one train. The officials announce
that one was killed.
The Cranbury Press New Jersey 1890-10-03
Submitted & transcribed by Stu
Beitler Thank you,
Stu!
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