Wreck on the shortcut March 26, 1911: Cornwall Local “One of the Erie’s fast coal trains met with disaster new Mountainville Station about 7:00 Sunday evening. The train was made up of forty-six or more steel coal cars that weighed about fifty tons each. They were loaded with coal which was being transferred to the Pennsylvania Coal Company at Newburgh. The train was in the charge of Engineer A.B Riley with J.A. Mets as fireman and S.H. Jones as Conductor, who had come with it direct from the mines over the Jersey and Erie line to Highland Mills, where it was transferred to the Newburgh branch, via the shortcut. There is said to be quite a perceptible up-grade between Mountainville and Newburgh. The report is that the engineer should have attached another engine on a train so heavily laden before having started on the Newburgh branch as is invariably the custom when carrying such an enormous weight. However this was not done. He put on extra speed and rushed on at the top rate of thirty five miles an hour. Twelve miles an hour is said to be the average rate for freight trains. There are people in Mountainville who say that the train seemed to be flying over the rails at the astonishing rate of seventy miles an hour. The dust flew as to almost obscure objects on the opposite side of the train while it was passing the grist mill here. Just a few rods beyond the mill the center of the train jumped the track causing the train to break. The loaded cars ran along with such speed and force as to break the braces holding the iron bridge and sent it into stream twenty feet below. Seven loaded cars were thrown into the creek, altogether there were thirty-three cars twisted, broken, and smashed. Hundreds of tons of coal were scattered and heaped into pyramids and some of it washed downstream. The strong steel cars were twisted and broken into all sorts of inconceivable shapes, most of them being made utterly useless. For a quarter of a mile the ties were broken into splinters and the rails twisted and thrown in every direction. There were eight cars attached to the engine and five to the caboose that escaped destruction. The railroad officials were immediately notified of the disaster and when they arrived on the scene and viewed the wreck they said it was one of the worst smash-ups of a coal train that they have ever experienced. They place the amount of damage at $150.000. Two or three of the wrecking crews with ponderous wreck-clearing appliances are working night and day to remove the debris. They even worked Monday night in a raging storm. It is not yet known that any person was injured to any extent. , but it was thought that possibly some person or persons might have been killed , as some said they saw two men riding the top of the cars. It is said to have been the worst wreck that has ever been seen on this section. From what we have learned it is generally conceded that the catastrophe was caused by speed and that the great weight of the load caused the rails to spread, causing the train to jump the track.”
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 20:17:36 +0000
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