Had Miraculous Escape in Wreck
March 2, 1907
Summary
A train traveling from Chicago to New York goes off the track and results in over 50 casualties.
Transcription
Had Miraculous Escape in Wreck
No One Killed When Pennsy Flyer Plunged into River.
54 Passengers Were Injured
Johnstown, Pa., Feb. 25.- In one of the most remarkable and miraculous wrecks that has ever occurred on the Pennsylvania railroad, 54 passengers were more or less injured when the Pennsylvania special, the palatial 18-hour train between New York and Chicago was wrecked while rounding a sharp curve near South Fork, six miles from this city.
Of the injured passengers seven sustained serious hurts necessitating their removal to hospitals. They are Frederick A. Busse, postmaster of Chicago; John F. Kline, postmaster of Jolit, Ill.; Felix Isman, real estate broker, Philadelphia, taken to the Altoona hospital. Thomas Bauer, Lefayette, Ind.; J. Wood Wilson, Marion, Ind., and W. H. Baker, Chicago, are in the Allegheny General hospital at Pittsburg.
All of the injured passengers except those mentioned above were sent to Pittsburgh on the first section of the St. Louis express. The train was running about 50 minutes late and was traveling about 50 miles an hour when it reached the curve. The accident was caused by a brake rigging dropping to the track on the first Pullman coach following the engine and combination smoking car. The great speed and weight of the train tore up the tracks and steel ties for a distance of 300 feet. The engine and smoking car remained on the rails, but the three Pullman coaches plunged from the track down over a 60-foot embankment, where they rolled over and over onto the thick ice covering the Conemaugh river.
The cars did not overturn going down the steep hill. There were no trees or obstructions I the way to hinder them and they remained upright until they reached the bottom. The first car overturned and slid along on its side for quite a distance. The second car did likewise. The third car turned over completely and had its top crushed in. The fourth car is on its side. Most of the passengers on the train were in their berths when the cars left the tracks.
The cars went through the heavy ice on the river, but there was so little water that there was no danger of drowning. The locomotive and combination car remained on the tracks.
No One Killed When Pennsy Flyer Plunged into River.
54 Passengers Were Injured
Johnstown, Pa., Feb. 25.- In one of the most remarkable and miraculous wrecks that has ever occurred on the Pennsylvania railroad, 54 passengers were more or less injured when the Pennsylvania special, the palatial 18-hour train between New York and Chicago was wrecked while rounding a sharp curve near South Fork, six miles from this city.
Of the injured passengers seven sustained serious hurts necessitating their removal to hospitals. They are Frederick A. Busse, postmaster of Chicago; John F. Kline, postmaster of Jolit, Ill.; Felix Isman, real estate broker, Philadelphia, taken to the Altoona hospital. Thomas Bauer, Lefayette, Ind.; J. Wood Wilson, Marion, Ind., and W. H. Baker, Chicago, are in the Allegheny General hospital at Pittsburg.
All of the injured passengers except those mentioned above were sent to Pittsburgh on the first section of the St. Louis express. The train was running about 50 minutes late and was traveling about 50 miles an hour when it reached the curve. The accident was caused by a brake rigging dropping to the track on the first Pullman coach following the engine and combination smoking car. The great speed and weight of the train tore up the tracks and steel ties for a distance of 300 feet. The engine and smoking car remained on the rails, but the three Pullman coaches plunged from the track down over a 60-foot embankment, where they rolled over and over onto the thick ice covering the Conemaugh river.
The cars did not overturn going down the steep hill. There were no trees or obstructions I the way to hinder them and they remained upright until they reached the bottom. The first car overturned and slid along on its side for quite a distance. The second car did likewise. The third car turned over completely and had its top crushed in. The fourth car is on its side. Most of the passengers on the train were in their berths when the cars left the tracks.
The cars went through the heavy ice on the river, but there was so little water that there was no danger of drowning. The locomotive and combination car remained on the tracks.
About this article
Source
Location on Page
Upper Right Quadrant
Topic
Contributed By
Benton Camper
Citation
“Had Miraculous Escape in Wreck,” Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed May 12, 2025, https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/457.