1892 — June 25, Trains Collide, Western Express, near Union Station, Harrisburg, PA– 12

–12  Adams and Seibold. Great Train Wrecks of Eastern Pennsylvania. 1992, p. 95.

–12  New York Times. “The Harrisburg Victims; Another Death Added…,” 6-27-1892, p. 2.

–12  Railroad Car Journal, “Morals of the Harrisburg Collision.” August 1892, p. 186.

–12  Simonds. The American Date Book. 1902, p. 95.

 

Narrative Information

Adams and Seibold: “….A dozen people died in what was the first major train wreck in Harrisburg….

“Roaring around a sharp curve was the second section, on a collision course with the first section….In the day coaches of both trains, most passengers were in various stages of sleep…

“…The second section thundered into the steel Pullman car at the rear end of the first section, shoving it through the three wooden day coaches in front of it. It was a classic, and cataclysmic telescope collision….The day coaches of the first section were reduced to rubble within seconds as the engine shoved the Pullman through them….

“…[Engineer Hugh] Kelly was arrested and later found guilty of not having his train under control as it entered the yards that night…[however] the fault of the crash was not all his. Fireman Neill of the second section, later testified that when that train reached Steelton,[1] a white signal was displayed, and there were no torpedoes[2] placed on the track. The train was running about 35 miles per hour, and through the driving rain, the track ahead seemed to be clear. About 100 yards away from the rear of the first train, the red flag of danger was first noticed by the crew of the second section. It was too late.

“At that point, engineer Kelly, a 21-year veteran…whistled, reversed his engine and put his air brakes in emergency…[authors note the train needed 500 yards to stop]

“….Robert Brown, the flagman of the first section….[was also punished]

“But the brunt of the responsibility for the wreck was borne by H.S. Hayes, the telegraph operator at the Steelton tower. The 22-year old Hayes was found guilty of gross negligence for permitting the second section of the express to enter the block between Steelton and Dock Street, Harrisburg, before the first section had left. He was held on a criminal charge of manslaughter….” (Adams and Seibold. Great Train Wrecks of Eastern Pennsylvania. 1992, pp. 95-98.)

Railroad Car Journal: “A disastrous rear end collision occurred on the Pennsylvania Railroad, at Harrisburg, shortly after midnight on the morning of June 25, resulting in the death of twelve passengers, and the injury of twenty-three others. The first section of west-bound express was delayed on account of switching operations east of the Harrisburg station, and, after a short delay, the flagman who had been sent back was called in, and the train started again. It had proceeded only a very short distance when it was run into by the second section at a speed of about forty miles per hour.

“The accident was due doubtless to the failure of the particular system of signaling in use on that road, and the negligence of an operator; but, without going further into this part of the case, there is something radically wrong with a system of signaling which necessitates the sending back of a trainman to protect the rear end of a train, when stopped near a station; a distant signal, which could not be thrown open unless the section ahead was clear, should much more effectually accomplish the same end….The extensively advertised ‘protection by block signals’ of the Pennsylvania does not protect apparently; but it will doubtless continue to be so advertised in large type.

“Moral number one, then points to a defect, and necessity for a remedy in the P.R.R. system of signaling.

“There is another important feature about this collision. The rear car of the first section was the private car of Mr. George Westinghouse, having on board the owner, his family and Mr. Robert Pitcairn. This car was only slightly crushed at the rear, and none of its occupants were injured except the porter very slightly; the cars ahead of it ere, however, terribly wrecked, and the scene among the dead and wounded was peculiarly heartrending. Mr. Westinghouse’s car is of extraordinarily strong construction, and transmitted the force of the collision to the cars ahead without itself suffering much damage. The moral to be drawn from this fact is that more cars should be build on the lines of George Westinghouse’s car; cars which will protect passengers to some extent when signals fail or operators are careless.

“But is it not time moral number one obviated or neutralized moral number two?” (Railroad Car Journal, “Morals of the Harrisburg Collision.” August 1892, p. 186.

 

Newspapers

June 25: “Harrisburg, Pa., June 25. – The western express on the Pennsylvania railroad, leaving New York at 6:30 o’clock in the evening, and Philadelphia at 9:30, is due in Harrisburg at 12:15 o’clock.  Friday, however, it was several minutes late leaving Philadelphia, and had not made up the lost time when it reached here…

“As the train rolled into. Harrisburg it was stopped a few minutes at Dock street, east of the station, to allow some shifting in the yards, the flagman being sent back to signal the second section, which was following close behind. He was soon called in and the train had just started when the second section dashed around the sharp curve a few yards away.[3] Then came a horrible grinding and crushing sound, and immediately after the groans and shrieks of the injured and dying passengers.  It was an awful moment, and the only wonder is that so many escaped from the terrible wreck…

“It was but a few minutes until the industrial establishments in South Harrisburg supplied an army of willing men who did all in their power to rescue the imprisoned men, women and children and alleviate their suffering. The firemen and police force, under Mayor Fritchey’s direction, also did excellent service and assisted in getting the injured to the city hospital as soon as possible. Physicians and surgeons were summoned and labored throughout the night to relieve the pain of the injured passengers. The total number dead is ten….

“The injured number about twenty persons. With probably one or two exceptions all will survive. The locomotive plowed its way through the rear of the private car of Mr. George Westinghouse, inventor of the air-brake, but not a single member of the Westinghouse party was scratched…. Engineer Hugh Kelly and Fireman Harry Neal, both of Philadelphia, sat in the cab of the locomotive which buried itself in the Westinghouse car. As their train rounded the curve at Dock street they realized the awful blunder that somebody had committed, but it was too late to avert the catastrophe. With a piercing whistle the engine crushed into the first section and the baggage car behind, pressed forward by the ponderous Pullman sleepers, capped the locomotive with its splintered fragments. The smokestack was also knocked off, and the locomotive practically dismantled.  As if by a miracle the cab, in which sat the engineer and fireman, was not touched, and they escaped to tell of their wonderful deliverance. Both were stunned by the tremendous concussion.

“It was in the day coaches that the awful carnage took place. Many passengers were asleep and were awakened by the horrible, crashing and grinding of the timbers, the breaking of glass and the hissing of escaping steam, while others did not have time to realize the fate that was about to overtake them.

“F.G.0. Ehle, of Buffalo, and two or three friends were in conversation when the accident occurred and he says the scenes in the car were beyond description. Passengers were thrown violently forward and wedged in among the broken and splintered seats.  Two men in the rear of the car were instantly killed and others were terribly injured….” (Logansport Journal (IN). “Travelers Slain; Terrible Result of a Collision…,” 26 June 1892.)

June 26: “Harrisburg, Penn., June 26….The sixth death, making the list of dead twelve, occurred at the hospital this morning. The twelfth victim was Ferdinand Colberg of Brooklyn, N.Y….

“The remains of Miss Lizzie Blair, who was the companion of her aunt, Mrs. Granger, en route to Seattle, were sent to Philadelphia this afternoon. The body of Prof. G. L. Smith, Principal of the Normal school at Baltimore, was shipped to Canandaigua, N. Y., to-night in charge of a brother and the wife of the lamented instructor… Friends also left to-night for Columbus, Ohio, with the remains of Robert S. Raymond, the dealer in horses, whose partner, H. B. Sensabaugh, is at the hospital. He sat in the same seat with Raymond.

“Special reference was made from the pulpits to-day to the death of Richard Adams of this city, who was highly esteemed as a man and a citizen. Daniel Mason’s body was sent to Hagerstown, Md., last night. He was a telegraph operator in the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company at Huntingdon, and was very popular. He was killed while returning from Boston, where he had gone to arrange for his approaching marriage to Miss Charlotte Mendum….

“The body of the Rev. Da Costa Pomerene of Philadelphia was sent to friends at Millersburg, Ohio, and that of E. M. Whitlock, chief clerk to the General Agent of the Pennsylvania Company, was shipped to Cleveland, Ohio. The bodies of Mrs. Urah Heebner and her son, Willfried Heebner, were sent to Norristown to-night. The grief-stricken husband, although painfully bruised and lacerated, left the hospital with his little granddaughter, Sadie Cox.

“Friends of Charles E. Lee of Allegheny City ordered his remains shipped to that city, and they were sent last night. The other body is that of a young man 5 feet 6 inches in height, with light mustache and brown hair. There was nothing on his body by which he could be identified except a few lead pencils and a comb. It is said the remains are those of John S. Black, a machinist, and also of an operator named Clark, both of Altoona. Clark’s brother-in-law saw the body to-day and declares it is not Clark’s and two relatives have said it is not Black’s Tonight, however, Chief Clerk Bent of the Pennsylvania Railroad said the body had been positively identified as that of John C. Black.

“Maggie Smith, W. T. Eastwick, and Percy M. Landis will be able to leave the hospital for their homes to-morrow, which will reduce the number in that institution to eight, twenty less than were admitted on Saturday morning….” (New York Times. “The Harrisburg Victims; Another Death Added to the Record Yesterday,” 6-27-1892, p. 2. )

June 29: Harrisburg, Pa, June 29. — The coroner’s jury investigating the recent railroad disaster in this city rendered the following verdict:

First We find that H. S. Hayes, the Steelton operator, was guilty of gross neglect in allowing second section of No. 9 to run on the block before the first section had left the block between the Steelton and Dock street towers.

Second — Robert M. Brown was guilty of grossly neglecting his duty as a flagman in not going back far enough and placing caps on the track and remaining until second section arrived to flag it.

Third That the engineer, Hugh Kelly, is charged with gross neglect in not having his train under full control on approaching Dock street tower, and running past danger signal and running into the first section, causing the wreck.

Fourth—We censure the Pennsylvania Railroad company for allowing a local freight to  be on a passenger track on the line of an approaching passenger train.

“Engineer Kelly wan placed under bail for future appearance, if wanted.”[4] (Trenton Times (NJ). “The Verdict at Harrisburg,” June 29, 1892, p. 4.)

 

Sources

Adams, Charles J. III and David J. Seibold. Great Train Wrecks of Eastern Pennsylvania.  Reading, PA: Exeter House Books, 1992.

Logansport Journal, IN. “Travelers Slain; Terrible Result of a Collision…,” 6-26-1892. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=83085288

New York Times. “Eleven Passengers Dead,” June 26, 1892, p. 1. Accessed 9-8-2017 at: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9503E4D81538E233A25755C2A9609C94639ED7CF

New York Times. “The Harrisburg Victims; Another Death Added to the Record Yesterday,” 6-27-1892, p. 2.  Accessed 9-8-2017 at: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9405E0D81538E233A25754C2A9609C94639ED7CF

Railroad Car Journal, “Morals of the Harrisburg Collision.” Vol. II, No. 11, August 1892, p. 186. Google digital preview accessed 9-8-2017 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=hWo9AQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Simonds, W. E. (Editor). The American Date Book. Kama Publishing Co., 1902, 211 pages. Google digital preview accessed 9-8-2017 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=JuiSjvd5owAC

Trenton Times, NJ. “The Verdict at Harrisburg,” 6-29-1892, p. 4. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=3497749

 

[1] Steelton is a borough in Dauphin County, PA, 4 miles southeast of downtown Harrisburg.

[2] A device that explodes when run over by a train making a very loud noise, thus alerting crew to possible danger.

[3] As Adams and Seibold note, this was flagman Robert Brown: “He hadn’t had a chance, or, he felt, a need to place torpedoes or flares on the track.” (pp. 95-96)

[4] Adams and Seibold write that “Kelly was arrested and later found guilty of not having his train under control as it entered the yards…” (p. 98)