U.S. TRAIN SMASH.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17220, 11 December 1923, Page 7

U.S. TRAIN SMASH.

TWENTIETH CENTURY LIMITED WRECKED DRIVER IGNORES SIGNALS, AND KILLS TEN PEOPLE. By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright.—Au 3. and X.Z. Cable Assn. (Received December tl, noon). NEW YORK. December 10. Ten persons were killed in the sensational wreck of the Twentieth Century Limited, near Buffalo. Before daylight the first section of America's greatest train was speeding westwards at sixty miles an hour when the driver saw an automobile across the track in front. The chauffeur leaped out and was not seen again. The train crashed into tho car, which derailed the locomotive. The second section of the Twentieth Century was successfully halted half a mile back. The third section of the train, however, took no notice of the caution signal two miles back, and when it reached a positior half a mile behind the second section a trainman burned a positive “ stop ” signal in the face of the engineer. Notwithstanding all the precautions the engineer, John Patterson, crashed into the rear coach of the second section, killing nearly all the sleeping passengers. Patterson admits that he saw the signals, and cannot explain why he disregarded them. He had been on this run for twentyfive years, and never before had a serious accident.