State

The Worst Railroad Wreck Captain Kwlirli is an aid railroadman him¬ self, and we believe you'll be interested in liis dcvscripf ion of the worst wreck that ever occurred in the state. OX tin* opposite page is u photo¬ graph of what was the worst wreck to have taken place in the history of railroading in North Carolina. On August 27. 1801. train No. 9. oil the old Richmond and Danville Railroad, left Salisbury for Ashe¬ ville and Paint Rock at 1 :4Г» a.in. There were live cars on the train, con¬ sisting of one baggage car. two coaches, one sleeper (the "Saluda") and a private car (the "Daisy”), which was used by Supt. V. E. McBec. The latter ear, however, was not occupied by any of the railroad officials on this par¬ ticular trip. The Train Crew The engine was No. 166. The train erew consisted of Kugineer W. A. West, Fireman Warren Fry, Con¬ ductor J. F. .Spaugh, Haggagemaster Hugh Liuster, Flagman < ’. L. Slmaf and Train Porter Doe Wells. Bostain bridge was located three miles west of Statesville. It was a high, concrete structure. .Inst as the train hit the bridge, it left the rails and the entire train plunged to the bottom— 70 feet Imlow. The cars were smashed to Hinders. In those days, of course, nil cars were of wooden construction. Four members of the crew were killed, including Engineer West, Fireman Fry. Bag- gngemastor Linster and Porter Doc Wells. Eighteen passengers also lost their lives. There were passengers on board the train from Pennsylvania, South Caro¬ lina, Virginia and other states, whose names probably would have no special interest to the readers of this article. But among the North Carolinians who lost their lives — in addition to the train crew — were W. M. Houston, of Greensboro; J. B. Austin, of Hickory; A. Davis, of Statesville; Walter E. Winslow, of Asheville; Charles and Perry Barnet, of Asheville; Samuel Herman, of Asheville; Mrs. George McCormack and daughter. Mrs. Julia Foust, of Cleveland; Mrs. Sue Poole, of Willinmston, and Henry Patter¬ son (colored) of Salisbury. By J. Л. 1BOLICII Among the injured were Conductor J. F. Spaugh. of Salisbury; Ben Smith, of Rcidsvillr; Flagman Charles F. Shonf. of Lexington; State Auditor George W. Sander I in, of Raleigh; and Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Sink, of Lexington. The Sinks were •*ii their bridal tour, having l>een mar¬ ried the evening before. < 'ol. Beuebou Cameron, of Raleigh, was one of the two men on the train who was unhurt. Engineer West left two young sons, and u- soon as they Were old enough to work, they were given jobs on the railroad. Their names are Claude and Harry and they are both popular passenger conductors oil the Southern Railroad OUt of Asheville. Hugh Lilister was a brother of Mrs. Harry Greer. Sr., of Statesville, and was one of the outstanding men in that section. Conductor Spaugh and Flagman Shonf were badly injured, but both regained their health and were able to work for a while, but not for long. They died shortly afterward- from effects of their injuries. Officials of the Southern -aid that the track had been tampered with. Spikes had been pulled and the rail was laid loose. Several men were arrested and qiU'St ioned. but no convictions re¬ sulted. In those day- there was no rock ballast, nor were there any tie plate.-. All rails were GO pounds in weight. Last Word From Statesville I had gone home to Catawba County, near Newton, to attend the Balls < ’reek < ’amp Meeting and was at Newton on i he morning of August 27, waiting to catch the train to Ashe¬ ville. At that time I was a switch engineer at Asheville. Night Oper¬ ator J. W. Re i -ter told u- at the Newton station that the train had left Salisbury more than an hour late. When the train left Statesville, which was the last telegraph office east of Newton, wo all got ready, thinking that it would Ik* there in about thirty minute-. At about о o'clock a. in., the opera¬ tor told us very excitedly that the train had fallen "IT the Bostain bridge and that practically everybody aboard had liccn killed. In a very short while there was a big crowd at the station, for the news spread rapidly. I hoarded the next train going east and arrived at the bridge at about 7 :30 a. m. As long as I live. I’ll never forget • ho sight that greeted us there. The wr«H*kage was terrible. Men were busily at work, getting out the bodies. There were only two men on the train who didn’t get hurt. О . . them, a- I have already said, was Col. Benehaii Cameron, and I don’t recall the name of the other one. However, he was tin* one who Walked back to States¬ ville. about three miles away, ami gave out news of the wreck. Business Suspended That morning all business was mi- pended in Statesville and everybody Went to the scene of the wreck to assist in any way they could. It was 8 a. in. before all the dead and injured were taken OUt. Engine No. 166 «a- what wa- kiiown as a ‘’Cook engine," and would l«* considered a lightweight today. I tern Use it weighed only l.*< ton--. There were no derrick- to aid in picking up the wreckage and all of the work had to be done with block- ami-tackle and cables. It took live days t<* get all of the stuff out, al¬ though actual traffic on the tracks wa- re-nmed in a few hours. There have Ikk many change- in railroads and railroad personnel since tlio-c days. At the present time there are only three |teople on the Asheville divi-ion of the Southern Railroad win* Were ill tin* service in 1S91. Thcv are three tine engineers, running pas- -enger trains between Salisbury and Asheville — -J. H. Sullivan, Frank Cline and his brother, John Cline. 7