Tiffin, Ohio Train Wreck
January 4, 1887
TERRIBLE SMASH-UP ON THE BALTIMORE & OHIO
ROAD.
TIFFIN, O., January 4. -- The fast train on
the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, at an early hours
this morning, collided with an East-bound
freight near this city, wrecking both trains.
Nineteen bodies have been taken from the wreck;
more are injured. Three coaches are burned.
Physicians have gone to the scene from here. The
weather is very cold, the thermometer about 10
degrees below zero.
PARTICULARS OF THE DISASTER.
The fast train on the Baltimore & Ohio, which
left New York about 9 o'clock yesterday for
Chicago with five coaches and four sleepers, all
well-filled with passengers, collided with an
Eastern-bound freight seven miles east of this
city, about 4 o'clock this morning. The fast
train was about fifty minutes late and was
running at the rate of sixty miles an hour.
Passing Republic, a small station, like a flash,
they rushed along to the curve one mile west of
the town, when suddenly the engineer saw the
freight train, under full headway within one
hundred yards of him. He at once applied the
brake, reversed his engine, but it did no good
and the next instant
THE CRASH CAME telescoping the coaches
and piling them up on each other. To add
consternation to the horrible scene fire broke
out in the smoking-car and soon spread to the
other cars. Many were killed outright, while
others, wedged in among the broken cars, were
slowly consumed by the flames. The screams of
the wounded and dying were heartrending, but no
assistance could be given until a farmer,
awakened by the crash, came and with other
neighbors
WORKED LIKE HEROES to save the
perishing. At this writing nineteen dead bodies
have been recovered and they lie burned and
disfigured in the snow beside the track. Help
was sent from Republic and this city as soon as
the news was received. It is a fearful sight and
recalls the Ashtabula horror of the winter of
1877. It is impossible to give the names of the
killed or wounded at this time. The cause of the
disaster is as yet unknown.
IDENTIFYING THE DEAD.
The total number of passengers on the wrecked B.
& O. train was sixty-five. Ten dead bodies have
been taken out and three more are believed to be
in the ruins. The names of the dead, as far as
identified, are as follows:
A. C. BARTLEY,
Washington.
WILLIAM FREDERICK, Washington.
Fireman of the express.
JOSEPH OSTERMAN and two sons of
Martinsburg, W. Va.
ALL IN THE SMOKER KILLED.
MRS. OSTERMAN
and two other children were saved. The smoker
was entirely consumed and all passengers in it
killed. All the mail and express matter was
destroyed. The corner [sic] has gone from Tiffin
to hold an inquest. There are about a dozen
wounded, who have been taken to Republic, where
they are being cared for by the citizens.
TIFFIN, O., January 5. -- The scene of
the wreck on the Baltimore & Ohio is fast losing
its horrible shape, and by noon to-day every
vestige of the disaster will disappear. The
track, which was torn up for twenty yards, has
been replaced. The dismantled engines and broken
cars have all been removed and traffic is again
resumed. All that remains to tell the tale is a
few charred timbers which are being covered
to-day by the gentle snow, and the horrible
burned trunks of nine bodies which were
disfigured beyond recognition. These have been
cared for by the undertaker at Republic and will
be kept as long as possible, so that friends may
identify them. Every piece of burnt clothing,
keys and everything that was not utterly
destroyed, has been gathered up to aid in the
identification of the bodies. These will be held
by the Coroner, who will immediately institute a
through [sic] investigation. The responsibility
of the accident is now placed upon the Freight
Conductor, FLETCHER,
who pulled out of a siding four miles west of
Republic without orders, intending to make the
siding at Republic for the passenger train. He
missed his calculations just one mile, and the
ashes of the unknown victims testify to his
criminal carelessness. Telegrams from many
points are constantly arriving making inquiries
for friends supposed to be lost. Most of them
are happily assured of the safety of their
friends, but not a few are still in doubt.
The Rolla New Era Missouri 1887-01-08
Submitted & transcribed by Stu
Beitler Thank you,
Stu!
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