1883 — July 27, “Thousand Islands” Passenger Train hits Railcar, Carlton, NY          —     17

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 12-7-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

—  23  Railroad Stories. “July in Railroad History,” July 1935, p. 31. (Dates collision July 28.)

—  22  McCarty, L.P. (Ed.). McCarty’s Annual Statistician 1885, Vol. 9.  “Chronology,” p. 87.

—  22  New York Times. “A Bad Railway Wreck. A Score of Persons Killed…” 7-29-1883, p. 1.

—  20  Herkimer Democrat, NY. “A Dreadful Railroad Accident.” 8-1-1993, p. 2., col. 2.

—  18  Blanchard listing based on NYT “A Bad Railway Wreck” with one injury death later.[1]

—  17  Ballard. “In 1883, train wreck killed 17 in Orleans County.” OrleansHub.com, 1-16-2016.[2]

—  17  Commercial Advertiser, Canton, NY. “Terrible Railroad Slaughter.” 8-2-1883, p. 2.

—  17  New York State Board of Railroad Commissioners.  Annual Report, Vol. 1. 1884. p. 275.

Blanchard note: For fatalities we choose to rely on the NY State Board of Railroad Commissioners report which notes seventeen.

Nar

New York State Board of Railroad Commissioners: “In the Matter of the Accident at Carlyon Station,[3] on the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburgh Railroad, July 27, 1883, by which Seventeen People Were Killed and between Thirty and Forty Injured.

 

“The facts and circumstances attending the above accident, as developed by testimony taken before a coroner’s jury and Commissioner Rogers at the scene of the disaster, are as follows:

 

“The regular evening train left Niagara Falls at 7:30 P. M., being about twenty minutes late. It was unusually heavy, having some 350 passengers, principally excursionists for the Thousand Islands; and consisted of two engines, one baggage car, one day coach and nine sleeping cars, the last six being Wagner coaches. The train was in charge of Conductor E. Garrison. Train Dispatcher W. H. Chauncey, however, was also on board and on the leading engine at the time of the collision.

 

“The night was dark, rainy and a high wind blowing from the west. All went well until the train, moving at twenty-five or six miles an hour, reached Carlyon Station, when suddenly it collided with an empty freight car standing on the main track. The leading engine, after moving on a short distance, was thrown over on the north side of the track; the second engine was thrown over on the other side, killing almost instantly the engineer and fireman. The following cars piled up in terrible and deadly confusion, killing outright seventeen people and injuring more or less seriously forty others.

 

“All the circumstances attending this appalling disaster and bearing upon it have been examined with great care, and the results reached by the Board are given.  The freight car which was the immediate cause of this accident, was left on the side track Thursday morning, July 26th, about 6:30 A. M.  The testimony of the conductor of the freight train who left it, of two brakemen on the same train, of the station agent, and of two or three others was to the effect that it was left at a point on the side track about 750 feet from the point of junction with the main track. The testimony of George Whittleton, however, a farmer and resident of the neighborhood, and the person for whom the car was intended, was that it was left at a point about 1,030 feet from the point of junction of the two tracks.  In any case the car could not have moved less than about 700 feet from its original position to where it was at the time of the collision. The switch was turned off the main track, as was sworn to by J. L. Boynton, the engineer of the first locomotive, who examined it immediately after the accident. The car, therefore, must have run off the rails of the side track on to the ties of the main track and a distance of at least its own length, by reason of the impetus it had received when leaving the rails.  

 

“The engineer testified that the engine struck it square on its west end, which is corroborated by the equal bending of the two bars on each side of the front part of the locomotive, which bars probably received the first blow.  The car could have only got to the position above described in one of two ways: First, by having been maliciously placed there; or, second, by having been blown there. There was not the slightest testimony developed to show the first, so the second is the only tenable theory. There is much testimony that just before and about the time of the accident there was a strong wind blowing from the westerly direction.  The track walker of the company, Alfred Perry, who left the station about eight P. M. to walk to the west end of his beat, swears that he sat down to avoid the force of the wind. Dr. S. R. Cochrane, the coroner, a gentleman of high intelligence and trustworthiness, states he was out driving about the time, and the wind was violent. There is much more testimony to the same effect, and none of a contradictory nature.

 

“The grade of the side track from levels carefully taken since the accident shows that from the point where the car was probably standing, the track is practically level for 150 feet; then comes a rise of three-tenths of a foot in twenty feet; it is then practically level for 125 feet; then a gradual descent of one and one-eighth feet in 200 feet; then a gradual ascent of three-quarters of a foot in 200 feet; from which point to the point of junction with the main track it is level.  

 

“Had the brakes been properly set, the question arises as to whether the wind was strong enough to have blown the car along the track.  Since the accident experiments have been conducted under the supervision of a member of the Board, for the purpose of determining this question as nearly as possible.  Superintendent Bissel, of the New York Central and Hudson River railroad, kindly put an empty freight car and locomotive at the disposal of the Commissioner.  Prof. P. H. Dudley supplied a dynamometer with which the tests were made. The dynamometer is substantially a strong spring scales which is put between the draw head of the car and locomotive, and registers the traction, either directly in pounds, or in hundredths of an inch, afterward reduced to pounds.  It was shown that the traction necessary to start and move an empty box freight car weighing 20,500 pounds, with the brakes set so as to keep the forward trucks from turning, and the other conditions as nearly similar as possible to those incident to the car in question, at the time of the accident, was about 2,000 pounds. The surface exposed by the end of an ordinary car of the above description, including the trucks, etc., is about eighty-five square feet. (The exact measurement of the car in question could not be obtained, as it had been burned.)

 

“A wind, therefore, sufficient to have moved this car would have had to exert a pressure of twenty-three and a half pounds to the square foot. A pressure of this amount, according to Sweaton’s tables (Trautwine Eng. P. E., p. 120) is exerted by a wind about half way between a violent storm and a hurricane blowing with a velocity of between sixty and eighty miles an hour. Such a wind would produce considerable damage to growing crops, houses and trees. The evidence of George Whittleton and several others was that no particular damage had been produced by the wind on the night in question.  We are, therefore, led to the conclusion that the wind on that night was not strong enough to have blown this car along had the brakes been properly set. This conclusion is corroborated by the testimony of H. M. Britton, the general manager of the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg railroad, who stated under oath, and speaking as an expert, that in his opinion the wind was not strong enough to have blown that car had the brakes been set as he could set them. If the brakes were entirely loose, however, a pressure of 200 pounds would have been sufficient to move the car. This would have been exerted by a brisk wind with a velocity of twenty to twenty-five miles an hour, and a pressure of three pounds to the square foot.

 

“The testimony as to whether the brakes were set is as follows: The conductor of the freight train, Daniel Cronan, who left the car on the morning of July 26, states that he saw Marvin, a brakeman, on the car at the brake wheel, and thinks that he must have set it or the car would have gone farther than it did.  His statement is corroborated by that of two brakemen on the same train, and by Wm. Barry, the station agent, all of whom state they saw the brakeman on the car, but each one admits that he had not examined the brakes himself.  George Whittleton states that he examined the brakes so far as to see that the chain from the brake lever to the rod was taut, but did not test it with his hands or feet.  It is rather a curious fact, however, that Marvin the brakeman, who is sworn to have set the brakes by numerous witnesses, forgets whether he did or not; and could not remember anything about leaving the car at the station on the morning in question.  Under the closest cross-examination he reiterated his entire forgetfulness of the whole transaction. It appeared that this was only his third trip over the road. Unfamiliar with the localities it is possible that the circumstances of leaving the car at this station may have entirely escaped his memory. If he remembered that he had not set the brakes, it was as much perjury to swear that he did not remember as to swear he had set them. There was nothing alleged against his character, although nothing was known particularly in his favor. It is but fair to assume that his testimony was to the best of his knowledge.  The printed rules of the company state as follows: “The station agents will be held responsible for the proper position and security of their switches, and the cars on their side tracks.  Before leaving the station at night they must see that all standing cars are out of the way and secured against the possibility of their being blown out on the side track.”

 

“Wm. A. Barry, the station agent, admits that he knew of this rule, but says that he had not examined the brakes since he first saw them set, and that he left on the night of the 27th at seven P. M., without taking the precautions required by the company.  He was clearly to blame in this, although it is only fair to assume that he had no appreciation of the fact that his apparently slight negligence might lead to such frightful results.

 

“It is an illustration of the necessity of impressing upon railroad employees that they must obey the rules of the company to the letter in all matters affecting the safety of the operation of the road, whether such rules appear to them unnecessary or not.  While many such acts of negligence may, and probably do, often happen, without discovery, serious results to the traveler, or punishment to the employee, when loss of life is the consequence, the only safe rule looking to the protection of the public, and maintenance of discipline on the road, is to discharge the employee.

 

“While Barry bears a good reputation for integrity and sobriety we feel that his retention under the circumstances would be a bad example and subversive of discipline hereafter.

 

“It appeared that there were no air brakes on this train and that they are not in use on the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburgh Railroad.  H. M. Britton, the general manager, however, states that it was the intention of the company to equip all the passenger rolling stock with them; that orders had been given before the accident to put them on the locomotives and six cars.  It is proper to state that the present president and general manager had held their respective positions but a few weeks before the accident.  

 

“The engineer of the leading locomotive states that he first saw the car standing on the main track about four rods ahead; blew for brakes and reversed his engine. Just before the collision the fireman had opened the grate door to put in coal. The bright light dazzled the engineer’s eyes for a moment so that probably he did not see the car as soon as he would have but for this fact.  He is to be commended in the highest terms for his courage, presence of mind and the performance of duty in the face of danger.  He states that he could not have stopped the train if he had had airbrakes; but it is our opinion that the violence of the blow, the subsequent momentum of the rear cars of the train, and the extent of loss to life and property would have been greatly diminished by their use.  

 

“The position of the cars in the wreck after the collision was as follows: The box car was lying on the north side of the track; the leading engine on its side directly behind it, the second engine bottom side up on the south side of the track, pointed at an angle of about forty-five degrees; the baggage car “20” was lying full length on top of the second engine, and was broken in two; coach “55” was at an angle of forty-five degrees on the track and was run through the middle by the sleeping car “De Kalb.” Sleeping car “De Kalb” was cut down by “No. 55.”  The next sleeping car, “Ontario,” was “telescoped” by the one on the rear, “St. Lawrence.”  The six Wagner sleeping cars in the rear were not much damaged, except the forward one, by striking the sleeping car St. Lawrence. It appears, therefore, that the great weight and momentum of the cars in the rear hurled the leading cars together and on top of one another in the manner described.

 

“In collisions of this nature, the damage to the forward cars is, to a great extent, proportionate to the number and weight of the cars on the rear.

 

“The conclusion to be drawn under this head is, that it is unwise and unsafe to draw passenger trains so heavy as to require two locomotives, unless equipped with air brakes.  With this device, the momentum can be almost instantly checked.  Where the number of passengers is such as to require a train of this length, it is better to divide it into sections, following each other at safe distance, taking great care to give information ahead that the train is thus divided.  

 

“From the testimony of H. M. Britton, it appears that the track walker walks but twice over the track in a day.  He starts from the east end of his beat about one p. m., walks to the west end, a distance of six miles, meeting the east-bound passenger train; he follows this train back to the east end of his beat, arriving at 12 P. M., and sees that all is clear for the passage of the early morning passenger train to the West, which passes over this particular beat between four and five o’clock in the morning. Between twelve o’clock at night and one o’clock in the afternoon of the next day, there appears to be no regular inspection of the track, except such as may be given by the section boss, although, in the meantime, three passenger and two freight trains move over it. It seems to us that it would be safe for the section boss to go at least once over the entire track as soon as he goes on duty in the morning.

 

“In conclusion, the Board is of opinion that William A. Barry, the station agent at Carlyon, is censurable for not having complied with the printed rules of the company, which made it his duty to see that the car on the side track was secured against the possibility of being blown on to the main track, before leaving the station at night, and should be discharged.

 

“2d. That the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railway Company was at fault for running so heavy a train at night, propelled by two engines. There ought to have been two trains following each other at safe intervals.  Even with air brakes, a “double-header” ought not to be run unless connections are so made as to enable the forward engine to apply the brakes.

 

“3d. The Board recommends that all passenger coaches and engines be equipped-with automatic airbrakes; that the track be inspected more frequently; that the road direct its attention toward the adoption of a safety switch, which shall prevent the accidental return to the main track of cars switched therefrom.” (New York State Board of Railroad Commissioners.  Annual Report, Vol. 1. 1884. p. 275-279.)

 

Railroad Stories: July 28, 1883. “23 killed, 40 injured in Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg R.R. accident at Carlton, N.Y.”  (Railroad Stories.  “July in Railroad History,” July 1935, p. 31.)

 

Newspapers

 

July 28: “Rochester, N.Y., July 28 [AP]. – News was received here early this morning of a terrible disaster on the Rome, Watertown & Oldenburg Ry, near Carlton, last night. As the Thousand Islands train, which was running at high speed on the main line neared Carlton last night, the engineer noticed a single car standing on the track ahead of him. He at once put on the air brakes and reversed the lever of his engine, but before the speed of the train could be slackened, the engine dashed into the obstruction and in an instant all was a scene of wreck and confusion and the air was filled with the groans of the dying and injured.  The engineer, who heroically remained at his post was fatally injured. When the crash came, the fireman who had stood by him till the last, was instantly killed.

 

“Word for assistance was at once telegraphed to Charlotte, a distance of twenty-five miles. Upon the arrival of aid the work of rescuing the wounded and taking out of the dead from the wreck was begun.  So far as can be learned at present the car which caused the disaster was blown on to the main line from a brunch track by a high wind which prevailed at the time of the accident….  

 

“Fourteen dead bodies have been taken out of the wreck at the last advices.  Among the killed

and injured are:

 

Henry McCormick, of Benton, Mich., dead;

Louis France, fireman, killed;

Archer Taylor, Watertown, baggage man, killed;

Colored Porter killed; (name unknown)…

two lads named Hall, are fatally hurt;

Train-master Chauncy, of Oswego, fatally hurt;

Engineer .Jas. McCarthy, fatally scalded…

 

“The wind and rain beggars description. The engine is totally wrecked and the fireman, Louis France, is mangled beyond recognition. From 15 to 18 passengers are reported injured. Many persons were killed outright and others were left in a dying condition. The sufferings of the wounded were terrible. A whole family, named Brooks, are believed to be buried in the wreck.” (Evening Gazette, Cedar Rapids, IA. “Dead and Dying…Carlton, N.Y…Wreck…” 7-28-1883, 7)

 

July 28: “Rochester, N. Y., July 28. – The Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad, heretofore so free from disastrous accidents, has at last met with one which has cost dearly in life and property. The news received has been very meagre all day, and the morning papers here published the most scanty details of one of the worst accidents which has occurred since the Spuyten Duyvil disaster.  The accident occurred at the flag-station on the Oswego and Niagara Falls Division of the road known as Carlyon [Carlton], 30 miles west of Charlotte [greater Rochester today], and almost directly north of the village of Albion, on the Falls Branch of the Central Railroad. The train was the steam-boat express, which runs regularly between Niagara Falls and Cape Vincent, and frequently draws from seven to 10 sleeping cars, filled with Thousand Islands excursionists from the West. Last night it consisted of eight sleeping cars, one regular coach, a smoking car and baggage car, and was drawn by two locomotives, engines Nos. 61 and 51.

 

“A terrible gale was blowing, and rain was falling in torrents. The train was running at the rate of 35 or 40 miles an hour. It was not marked to stop at Carlyon, and there was no one to warn the engineer of any danger. A box car had been left on the siding, and this car was started by the wind and blown down and upon the main track, so that it stood upon an angle, half on and half off the track.  The express train struck this car and the terrible wreck which followed was the result.  The crash was beard, by persons living near, above the storm, and they rushed out of doors to behold nothing, but to hear groans and cries for help. The front engine was flung from the track on the north side while the one following left the rails on the south side, and, turning around parallel with the train, literally made a somersault, landing in the ditch with its trucks in the air, with escaping volumes of smoke and steam coming from it. The baggage car was jerked after it and tossed as if only the tail of a kite on top of the locomotive. The smoking car, which followed, was torn from the rails and dashed into a thousand splinters. The scene was indescribable.  The first sleeper kept on the track, although it was hurled from the trucks, and the sides and ends were smashed in.  It was completely flattened out.  The second sleeper was telescoped half upon it and left its trucks and the track.  The third left its forward trucks and mounted the wreck, but stood on its rear trucks and was not demolished.

 

“Under and around the wreck could be seen heads and arms, and men and women were calling for help in most piteous accents.  For a wonder the engineer and fireman of the pilot engine were not seriously injured.  Their companions on the following engine did not fare so well.  Engineer McCarthy, one of the best on the road, was terribly scalded, and his death was a question of only a few hours.  Fireman Lucius France was instantly killed, his body being scarcely recognizable. W. H. Chauncey, trainmaster of the road, sat upon the fireman’s side of the engine, and is among

the injured, but notwithstanding his wounds he superintended the work of rescuing the victims.

 

“A wrecking gang was at once sent out from Oswego, and also from Lewiston, and the work was commenced of getting out the killed and wounded.  Surgeons were sent from Oswego, and also from Rochester.  The list of the dead, so far as known this evening, is as follows:

 

THE KILLED.

(We add numbering and alphabetize)

  1. Adams, Chicago [IL]
  2. Louis J. Booth, No. 1,108 Pine-street, Philadelphia. [Or Boose][4]
  3. Louis J. Booth [PA]
  4. Bernard Bostwick, Toledo, Ohio. [25 years old; taken to the train by father.][5]
  5. Jane E. Carl, Lansing, Mich. (also listed as Jane E. Care, Ingram Co., MI)[6]
  6. Chrome, residence unknown.
  7. Thomas Dickson, Pearl-street, Cleveland [OH]. [Or Thomas Dixon, Chicago][7]
  8. Dower, Lansing, Mich.
  9. Lucius France, Oswego [NY]. (or Lute J. Francis)[8]
  10. Thomas Hoyne, Chicago [IL].
  11. [Mrs. Lefevre; died of injuries July 30.][9]

Willie Lefevin, Bay City, Mich. [We do not include; too close to Lefevre.]

James McCarthy, engineer, Oswego [NY]. [We do not include.][10]

  1. Henry McCormick, Benton. Mich.[11]
  2. Schenon, Oberlin, Ohio. [J. Scheneck, Cleveland][12]
  3. Sill, colored porter. Watertown [NY]. [Thomas Stalls][13]
  4. C. W. Stone, Battle Creek, Mich. [Commercial College; broken neck.][14]

Mr. Thorp, residence unknown. [We do not include; reference to Troop?]

  1. B. Troop, Schoharie [NY]. [Was in sleeper car with his granddaughter.][15]

Mary Troop, daughter of O. B. Troop. [Later report notes she survived.][16]

  1. Archie Tyler, baggageman, Watertown [NY]. (Or Ashley Tyler.)[17]
  2. Worthy, Saline. Mich. [Or Mrs. J. C. Wortley, Salina, MI.][18]

Unknown  young lady, of Leslie, Mich. [We do not include.][19]

 

“Those of the injured who could travel were placed in a sleeper and taken to the Falls, while the rest were taken to the neighboring houses and cared for.  One man, who lives only a few rods from the wreck, had driven his son to Lyndonville, a distance of three miles, to take the train, and got home just in time to find him a corpse. The work of removing the debris is being pushed forward rapidly, and the track will be cleared in a few hours,

 

“There are about 50 persons injured, some of whom will die. There were about 270 persons on the train….

 

“During the afternoon the Coroner of Orleans County impaneled a jury and commenced the inquest.  The station agent at Carlyon states that he set the brake when he left the car on the siding, and he is of the opinion that the car was pushed to the junction with the main track by some maliciously inclined persons.” (New York Times. “A Bad Railway Wreck. A Score of Persons Killed…” 7-29-1883, 1.)

 

July 30, Rochester Herald, NY: “From the Rochester Herald, July 30. The house of Mr. George Handy, on the town road, had the appearance of a hospital. Among the injured removed there were Mrs. Hall and her invalid daughter, of Leslie, Mich., who were on their way to the White Mountains. The health of the young lady is so delicate that the shock rendered her unable to continue the journey. The two will remain at Carlyon until Miss Hall has sufficiently recovered to continue the trip.

 

“Mrs. Lefevre, who died yesterday afternoon, was taken to the same place, and also her daughter, Mrs. R. V. Munda, of Bay City, Mich., who had sustained severe injuries in the back and chest….Eight or ten of the wounded were taken to the house of Peter Pelfer. None of them were badly injured….” (New York Times. “The Carlyon Sufferers…The Death of Young Bostwick.” 7-31-1883, p. 5.)

Sources

 

Ballard, Matthew (Orleans County Historian). “In 1883, train wreck killed 17 in Orleans County.” OrleansHub.com, Vol. 2, Issue 3, 1-16-2016. Accessed 12-7-2024 at: https://orleanshub.com/in-1883-train-wreck-killed-17-in-orleans-county/

 

Commercial Advertiser, Canton, NY. “Terrible Railroad Slaughter.” 8-2-1883, p. 2. Accessed 12-7-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/canton-commercial-advertiser-aug-02-1883-p-2/

 

Evening Gazette, Cedar Rapids, IA. “Dead and Dying. A Freight Car Blown upon the track at Carlton, N.Y. causes the wreck of a passenger train.” 7-28-1883, 7.  Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=51986292

 

Herkimer Democrat, NY. “A Dreadful Railroad Accident.” 8-1-1993, p. 2., col. 2. Accessed 12-7-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/herkimer-democrat-aug-01-1883-p-2/

 

McCarty, L.P. (Ed.). McCarty’s Annual Statistician 1885, Vol. 9.  “Chronology,” pp. 51-94.  San Francisco and New York City, 1885. Digitized by Google at:  http://books.google.com/books?id=DXsZAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

New York State Board of Railroad Commissioners. Annual Report, Vol. 1. 1884. In: Documents of the Assembly of the State of New York. One Hundred and Seventh Session, 1884 (Vol. III. – No 25, (Vol. I.). Albany, NY: Weed, Parsons and Co., 1884. Digitized by Google at:  http://books.google.com/books?id=qFIaAQAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

New York Times. “A Bad Railway Wreck.” July 29, 1883. Accessed at:  http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9D05E4DE1330E433A2575AC2A9619C94629FD7CF

 

New York Times. “The Carlyon Sufferers…The Death of Young Bostwick.” 7-31-1883, p. 5. Accessed 12-7-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/new-york-times-jul-31-1883-p-5/

 

Railroad Stories. “July in Railroad History,” July 1935, pp. 27-31.

 

Wikipedia. “Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad.” 9-9-2024 edit. Accessed 12-7-2024 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome,_Watertown_and_Ogdensburg_Railroad

[1] We have, however, only been able to locate later references to but 15 of these names.

[2] No source citation, though it is noted that Ballard was the Orleans County Historian.

[3][3][3] We cannot find a Carylon, NY. There is a Carlton NY with is near the south shore of Lake Ontario. We located map of the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad, which shows the line traveling by Carlton. We speculate that the station might have been named “Carylon Station,” but was in Carlton, NY. See link to Wikipedia map. Another source (Ballard in Orleanshum.com) writes: “The Carlton railroad station was located on Yates-Carlton Townline Road between Ashwood and Alps Roads.”)

[4] Commercial Advertiser, Canton, NY. “Terrible Railroad Slaughter.” 8-2-1883, p. 2.

[5] New York Times. “The Carlyon Sufferers…The Death of Young Bostwick.” 7-31-1883, p. 5.

[6] Commercial Advertiser, Canton, NY. “Terrible Railroad Slaughter.” 8-2-1883, p. 2.

[7] Commercial Advertiser, Canton, NY. “Terrible Railroad Slaughter.” 8-2-1883, p. 2.

[8] Commercial Advertiser, Canton, NY. “Terrible Railroad Slaughter.” 8-2-1883, p. 2.

[9] New York Times. “The Carlyon Sufferers…The Death of Young Bostwick.” 7-31-1883, p. 5.

[10] Another source (Commercial Advertiser, Canton, NY. “Terrible Railroad Slaughter.” 8-2-1883, p. 2.) writes that the engineer jumped and survived.

[11] Also listed as one of 17 killed: Commercial Advertiser, Canton, NY. “Terrible Railroad Slaughter.” 8-2-1883, 2.

[12] Commercial Advertiser, Canton, NY. “Terrible Railroad Slaughter.” 8-2-1883, p. 2.

[13] Commercial Advertiser, Canton, NY. “Terrible Railroad Slaughter.” 8-2-1883, p. 2.

[14] New York Times. “The Carlyon Sufferers…The Death of Young Bostwick.” 7-31-1883, p. 5.

[15] New York Times. “The Carlyon Sufferers…The Death of Young Bostwick.” 7-31-1883, p. 5.

[16] New York Times. “The Carlyon Sufferers…The Death of Young Bostwick.” 7-31-1883, p. 5.

[17] Commercial Advertiser, Canton, NY. “Terrible Railroad Slaughter.” 8-2-1883, p. 2.

[18] Commercial Advertiser, Canton, NY. “Terrible Railroad Slaughter.” 8-2-1883, p. 2.

[19] Mrs. W. T. Hall and daughter from Leslie, MI noted among the injured. Was noted that the daughter had a spinal injury, “but will recover.” (Commercial Advertiser, Canton, NY. “Terrible Railroad Slaughter.” 8-2-1883, p. 2.)