TERRIBLE RAILWAY ACCIDENT IN AMERICA.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 2530, 3 May 1876, Page 3

TERRIBLE RAILWAY ACCIDENT IN AMERICA.

Habbisbubo, Va,, March 7. A railroad aooidont, involving a heavy lots of life, ooourrod at tho narrow passage bridge in Shonandoah county, noarly midway betwceu Edinburgh and Woodstock, last night, botwoon ton and cloven o'olook, on what is known as the Valloy division of tbo Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, tho sootion leasod from the Old Orange, Alexandra, and Manassas Gap Railroad. Tho accident occurred to 'tho eastern bound train, known ns tho mixed train of freight and passengers combined, whioh leaves this part of the valley at half -past soven o'olock. Tho train loft Harrisonburg on time, and was a very long ono, oarrying oattle, hogs, sheep, flour, clover seed, &0., besides a numbor of passongors. It went woll until it .readied the narrow passage bridgo, the highest bridge in tho valloy, boing 118 foot from the bottom of Narrow Crook, from whioh its takes its name. At this point tho nocident, which makes one shudder to think of, ooourrcd. The train was drawn by ono of the Baltimore and Ohio Company's ongines, and known as a oamel baok, tho ongino being in charge of Captain J. Donnovan, as bravo and gallant on engineor as over stood at tho post of danger. A gontloman who lives near tho bridge dosoribos the aooidont as ono of tho most fearful sights ho ovor behold. Ho saw by tbo moonlight tho doomed train as it opproaohed the bridgo; saw the hugo engino as it wont down into the abyss bolow, and all tho oars with their freightage of human life and dumb creatures, take the fearful plungo upon tho rooks. Moro than a hundred foot bolow tho train of oars wore piled up for thirty or forty feot. Tho wonder is that anything on the train that had life was not in* fltautly crushed, Of the largo number of ..... .......^w____^a«sE_r '"H»_-&_-____-l

jattle, and sheop, ana ho 8»> *> a . fc a a< s£? T J -**• road between the towns, at* miles an_ stew showed a sign of life ,; , *-**W"ng. When a half, was never traversed in hs» tkae daylight broke upon the scene tae «» M were T *° n»ie« «outb of town thoy came to the" found broken into fragments, mskibj t , oe wreck f«f c °* tbe barricane's path. So compact complete. The accident has create- a ° wp bad the monster kept itself that yoa eoSd sensation all through the valley, and, doubu«s, almost measure with yoar walking-stick bad muoh to do in determing a suit for dam- from the line where aU signs of it ceased to ages which was pending in our Circuit Court where it raged in its f ary. Here its path was when it ocourred. The loss to the Baltimore abtfufc halfa-mile wide, and over this space and Ohio Railroad Company cannot now be everything was swept clean. At the centre properly estimated, but it will be very great, where the pressure and motion were the* especially if tho friends and kindred of the greatest, the very soil was ploughed up, the dead and maimed seek for damages for de* grass was torn ont of the ground, and the straotion of human life. This is the first appearance was more than anything else like serious accident that has happened on the as if a huge volume of water Jud rushed over valley division ef the Baltimore and Ohio the earthy carried everything away, wont off Railroad, and it is earnestly hoped that a the surface, and, instantly subsiding dropped moroiful Providence may save as from another, rails, logs, stwki, straws, cornstalk* and what* All unconscious of the danger ahead, this net on the ground all lengthwise, pointing m train-load of poor dumb animals and human tbe direction the storm had gone. But here beings went to a sudden and a fearful death, there was nothing but the bare fields, and the Tho bridge commenced going down as soon as suffering waa all •opposed to be at Blisabetß* the engine had fairly gotten on the first span. town. Eluabethtowa was a place without It w.as a wooden structure, old, and was valuable buildings except tbe church, which known to be unsafe for vory heavy trams, cannot bo* replaced for leas than 12,000d0f. Indeed, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Adding tbe losses to those of the town, pro* Company had been making arrangements to bably 30,00Qd0l will cover it. robuild -it, tho timbers and materials for the I ' _____ work being upon the ground.

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