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Domestic News
June 27, 1905
The Semi Weekly Messenger
Wilmington, New Hanover County, North Carolina
What is this article about?
The Twentieth Century Limited train wrecked at Mentor, Ohio, on June 22, killing 19 and injuring a dozen slightly after hitting an open switch, possibly sabotaged. The switch was locked open and light extinguished. Railroad restores 20-hour schedule from 18-hour. Inquest set for Monday.
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19 KILLED IN WRECK
Lake Shore Train Plunged Into Open Switch.
REVISED CASUALTY LIST
None of the Surviving Injured Are Much Hurt.
An inspection of the wreck leads to the belief that the switch was thrown open and the light extinguished by somebody with malicious intent. Officials do not ascribe the great speed of the train as cause for the wreck. However, it is announced that the scheduled time between New York and Chicago will be twenty hours instead of eighteen.
Cleveland, Ohio, June 22. Nineteen dead and a dozen slightly injured tonight comprise the revised casualty list made by the wrecking crew last night at Mentor, Ohio, of the eastbound Twentieth-Century Limited and Lake Shore and New York Central's 18-hour train, which ran into an open switch, crushed the Mentor depot and partly burned it up, scorching several of the mangled corpses. The surviving injured are not much hurt.
The Twentieth Century Limited, according to announcement from New York, will hereafter return to a 20-hour schedule, although none of the railroad officials ascribe the wreck to excessive speed.
SWITCH THROWN OPEN AND LOCKED.
It is maintained by railway officials that the switch on which the Limited was wrecked was thrown open and locked and the switch light extinguished by some person, either a maniac or some one seeking revenge. It is still unknown who this person is, although detectives are working on the case.
A careful examination of the switch today showed that it was in perfect condition. Trainmen are of the opinion that the engineer of the Twentieth Century was deceived by the light of a switch just beyond the open switch, the light of which is said to have been out. W. H. Marshall, general manager of the Lake Shore, says the speed of the train was not a contributory cause to the wreck. He said that other Lake Shore trains travel through Mentor at a speed equal to that attained by the Limited last night, which was not, Mr. Marshall said, above 60 miles an hour.
The schedule for the train calls for a speed of 50 miles an hour at Mentor.
Coroner York, of Lake county, announced this evening that an inquest would begin next Monday in Painesville.
REVISED LIST OF THE DEAD.
A revised list of the dead follows:
JOHN R. BENNETT, attorney, 31 Nassau street, New York.
JOHN A. BRADLEY, of the law firm of Rowley, Rogers, Bradley and Rockwell, Akron, Ohio.
T. R. MORGAN, second vice president of the Wellman, Seavers, Morgan Company, Cleveland, Ohio.
C. H. WELLMAN, of the Wellman, Seavers, Morgan Company, Cleveland, died in hospital.
A. L. ROGERS, New York city, representative of the Platt City Iron Works, of Dayton, Ohio, died in hospital.
C. E. BECKWITH, 115 W. 174th street, New York.
A. H. HEAD, London representative of the Otis Steel Company, of Cleveland, died in hospital.
H. H. WRIGHT, Chicago, died in hospital.
D. E. ARTHUR, traveling man, Milwaukee, died in hospital.
J. H. GIBSON, Chicago, traveling man; died in hospital.
H. C. MECHLING, New York city with the Wheeling Corrugated Iron Company.
L. M. EIRICK, manager Keith's theatre, Cleveland.
E. E. NAUGLE, Chicago, proprietor of a railway supply house.
Two unidentified bodies, supposed to be those of I. A. Johnson of the millinery firm of Comey & Johnson, Cleveland, and Henry Trinse, barber on the train.
ALLEN TYLER, engineer, Collinwood, Ohio, died in hospital.
F. J. BRANT, head brakeman, Erie, Pa., died in hospital.
N. B. WALTER, baggage man, Hamburg, N. Y., died in hospital.
W. D. MICKEY, porter, Chicago.
PITIFUL SCENES AFTER THE WRECK.
The scenes following the wreck were appalling. The night was dark save for the light from the blazing wreck of the coach which was crushed and splintered on top of the engine. Men swarmed about it, combating the flames with the means at hand, groping their way through the blinding, scalding steam that rose in clouds, hunting for the injured whose piteous cries were such as chilled the hearts of those who heard them. The water supply was small, and the means at hand for fighting the flames were pitifully inadequate, but the zeal of the rescuers wrought great things for the first few minutes.
Pullman Conductor J. J. O'Neill, with his force of porters, did valiant work in helping care for the injured as they were taken from the wreck.
Redding blankets and sheets were stripped from the bunks of the four Pullman coaches, and used for the relief of the sufferers.
Conductor Alexander Hammond, who escaped, started the work of rescue and led his fellow trainmen and the less seriously hurt of the passengers in deeds that were truly heroic.
STORY OF THE FIREMAN
The wrecked train was making nearly 75 miles an hour when the accident occurred, according to Fireman Aaron Gorham, Norwalk, who, badly bruised but otherwise uninjured, miraculously escaped death.
"We were speeding like wind," said Gorham, "when the engine left the track. It occurred so quickly that I little knew what happened until we crashed into the Mentor freight house. I neither heard nor saw the engineer after that. The engine overturned and somehow the tank managed to fall upon me, but not heavily and I was sheltered by it. I lost consciousness from that terrible blow which I had received upon the head and I knew nothing until I was dragged from underneath the wrecked engine."
Conductor Alexander Hammond, of the Limited, said:
"I rushed back to the switch immediately after the wreck. It was open and locked open. I tried it and found that it worked all right. The switch light was out. Not a wheel rolled over the switch since No. 10, the eastbound Chicago and Boston train, went through forty-five minutes before."
CAUSE OF THE WRECK.
D. C. Moon, assistant general superintendent of the Lake Shore road, after investigating the cause of the wreck, made this statement today:
"I have made a careful and thorough examination. The switch was open. I am satisfied that somebody, having a key, opened the switch with malicious intent. The train did not jump the track."
A quantity of first class mail matter was destroyed by the fire, which consumed all except the two rear coaches. The mail was largely composed of through packages from the west and destined for eastern points.
BOY MAY HAVE CAUSED THE WRECK.
It is possible that investigation tomorrow will develop that a boy meddled with the switch at Mentor last night and caused the wreck of the Twentieth Century Limited. William Usher, ticket agent of the Nickel Plate road, and James Barnes, of Willoughby, reached the wreck ten minutes after it occurred. On the way to the wreck they met a boy carrying a lantern. The boy said that he had been down to shut a switch. The men went on to the wreck and found the switch open and locked. The men are of the opinion that the boy thought there was a freight ahead of the Twentieth Century and opened the switch to let it through to take a siding.
H. S. Storrs, general superintendent of the Lake Shore, said that the clue would be investigated tomorrow, although he is inclined to doubt the story that a boy had possession of a key and could turn the switch.
BACK TO 20 HOUR SCHEDULE
Announcement by Officials of the New York Central and Lake Shore Railroads.
New York, June 22. President Newman, of the New York Central and Lake Shore railroads said today that the twenty-hour schedule of the Twentieth-Century Limited train on the New York Central-Lake Shore line, will be restored in place of the 18-hour schedule, on which the train had been run ning for only a few days. President Newman said:
"Since the sad accident which happened on the Lake Shore I have had a consultation with the operating officials who have explained that the accident was caused by a misplaced switch and was not due to the speed of the train and they assure me that the present schedule can be safely and easily maintained. While I agree with the operating officials that there is no physical reason why the schedule should not be continued nevertheless in my judgment the time of the Twentieth Century Limited should be restored to twenty hours and it will be done at once."
OFFICIAL ACCOUNT OF WRECK
Report Telegraphed to President Newman--Every Effort Being Made to Locate the Person Who Misplaced the Switch.
Chicago, June 22. The following official report of the wreck was telegraphed today by Vice President W. C. Brown, of the New York Central lines to President W. H. Newman, at New York.
Train No. 10 east bound, passed Mentor at 8:35 p. m., at which time the switches were all set for the main line. No. 26 followed No. 10 fifty minutes behind her, and no trains passed Mentor in either direction, between the time No. 10 passed there and the arrival of No. 26. The operator was on the platform with two men, named James Collins and W. M. Leuders, both of whom live in Mentor, when No. 10 passed, after which the operator went into the office and remained until about the time No. 26 was due, when he again went out on the platform and saw No. 26 coming two or three miles away.
"The operator says that he looked at the switch lights and they were white and the switches were properly set for the main track. He then returned to the office.
If this is correct, between that time and the time No. 26 headed in on the side track, some one threw the switch for the side track, and locked it in that position.
No. 26 headed in the full length of the train on the house track, the engine leaving the rails about four coach lengths from the switch crashing into the freight house, setting it on fire and turning the engine end for end, and telescoping the composite car, which took fire from the burning freight house.
The conductor of No. 26 immediately examined the switch and called the attention of General Passenger Agent W. J. Lynch of the Big Four who was on the train, to the fact that it was set and locked for the side track and the light extinguished.
The switch is not damaged and worked perfectly after the accident. The composite car, which was telescoped by the engine was burned. No other cars in No. 26 turned over.
Every possible effort is being made to locate the party who misplaced the switch.
No. 26 was on time, and as a matter of fact, was running at a slower speed than No. 10 when she passed through Mentor, as No. 10 was late.
The result would have been the same had any other of our through trains entered this open switch.
(Signed) W. C. BROWN."
Lake Shore Train Plunged Into Open Switch.
REVISED CASUALTY LIST
None of the Surviving Injured Are Much Hurt.
An inspection of the wreck leads to the belief that the switch was thrown open and the light extinguished by somebody with malicious intent. Officials do not ascribe the great speed of the train as cause for the wreck. However, it is announced that the scheduled time between New York and Chicago will be twenty hours instead of eighteen.
Cleveland, Ohio, June 22. Nineteen dead and a dozen slightly injured tonight comprise the revised casualty list made by the wrecking crew last night at Mentor, Ohio, of the eastbound Twentieth-Century Limited and Lake Shore and New York Central's 18-hour train, which ran into an open switch, crushed the Mentor depot and partly burned it up, scorching several of the mangled corpses. The surviving injured are not much hurt.
The Twentieth Century Limited, according to announcement from New York, will hereafter return to a 20-hour schedule, although none of the railroad officials ascribe the wreck to excessive speed.
SWITCH THROWN OPEN AND LOCKED.
It is maintained by railway officials that the switch on which the Limited was wrecked was thrown open and locked and the switch light extinguished by some person, either a maniac or some one seeking revenge. It is still unknown who this person is, although detectives are working on the case.
A careful examination of the switch today showed that it was in perfect condition. Trainmen are of the opinion that the engineer of the Twentieth Century was deceived by the light of a switch just beyond the open switch, the light of which is said to have been out. W. H. Marshall, general manager of the Lake Shore, says the speed of the train was not a contributory cause to the wreck. He said that other Lake Shore trains travel through Mentor at a speed equal to that attained by the Limited last night, which was not, Mr. Marshall said, above 60 miles an hour.
The schedule for the train calls for a speed of 50 miles an hour at Mentor.
Coroner York, of Lake county, announced this evening that an inquest would begin next Monday in Painesville.
REVISED LIST OF THE DEAD.
A revised list of the dead follows:
JOHN R. BENNETT, attorney, 31 Nassau street, New York.
JOHN A. BRADLEY, of the law firm of Rowley, Rogers, Bradley and Rockwell, Akron, Ohio.
T. R. MORGAN, second vice president of the Wellman, Seavers, Morgan Company, Cleveland, Ohio.
C. H. WELLMAN, of the Wellman, Seavers, Morgan Company, Cleveland, died in hospital.
A. L. ROGERS, New York city, representative of the Platt City Iron Works, of Dayton, Ohio, died in hospital.
C. E. BECKWITH, 115 W. 174th street, New York.
A. H. HEAD, London representative of the Otis Steel Company, of Cleveland, died in hospital.
H. H. WRIGHT, Chicago, died in hospital.
D. E. ARTHUR, traveling man, Milwaukee, died in hospital.
J. H. GIBSON, Chicago, traveling man; died in hospital.
H. C. MECHLING, New York city with the Wheeling Corrugated Iron Company.
L. M. EIRICK, manager Keith's theatre, Cleveland.
E. E. NAUGLE, Chicago, proprietor of a railway supply house.
Two unidentified bodies, supposed to be those of I. A. Johnson of the millinery firm of Comey & Johnson, Cleveland, and Henry Trinse, barber on the train.
ALLEN TYLER, engineer, Collinwood, Ohio, died in hospital.
F. J. BRANT, head brakeman, Erie, Pa., died in hospital.
N. B. WALTER, baggage man, Hamburg, N. Y., died in hospital.
W. D. MICKEY, porter, Chicago.
PITIFUL SCENES AFTER THE WRECK.
The scenes following the wreck were appalling. The night was dark save for the light from the blazing wreck of the coach which was crushed and splintered on top of the engine. Men swarmed about it, combating the flames with the means at hand, groping their way through the blinding, scalding steam that rose in clouds, hunting for the injured whose piteous cries were such as chilled the hearts of those who heard them. The water supply was small, and the means at hand for fighting the flames were pitifully inadequate, but the zeal of the rescuers wrought great things for the first few minutes.
Pullman Conductor J. J. O'Neill, with his force of porters, did valiant work in helping care for the injured as they were taken from the wreck.
Redding blankets and sheets were stripped from the bunks of the four Pullman coaches, and used for the relief of the sufferers.
Conductor Alexander Hammond, who escaped, started the work of rescue and led his fellow trainmen and the less seriously hurt of the passengers in deeds that were truly heroic.
STORY OF THE FIREMAN
The wrecked train was making nearly 75 miles an hour when the accident occurred, according to Fireman Aaron Gorham, Norwalk, who, badly bruised but otherwise uninjured, miraculously escaped death.
"We were speeding like wind," said Gorham, "when the engine left the track. It occurred so quickly that I little knew what happened until we crashed into the Mentor freight house. I neither heard nor saw the engineer after that. The engine overturned and somehow the tank managed to fall upon me, but not heavily and I was sheltered by it. I lost consciousness from that terrible blow which I had received upon the head and I knew nothing until I was dragged from underneath the wrecked engine."
Conductor Alexander Hammond, of the Limited, said:
"I rushed back to the switch immediately after the wreck. It was open and locked open. I tried it and found that it worked all right. The switch light was out. Not a wheel rolled over the switch since No. 10, the eastbound Chicago and Boston train, went through forty-five minutes before."
CAUSE OF THE WRECK.
D. C. Moon, assistant general superintendent of the Lake Shore road, after investigating the cause of the wreck, made this statement today:
"I have made a careful and thorough examination. The switch was open. I am satisfied that somebody, having a key, opened the switch with malicious intent. The train did not jump the track."
A quantity of first class mail matter was destroyed by the fire, which consumed all except the two rear coaches. The mail was largely composed of through packages from the west and destined for eastern points.
BOY MAY HAVE CAUSED THE WRECK.
It is possible that investigation tomorrow will develop that a boy meddled with the switch at Mentor last night and caused the wreck of the Twentieth Century Limited. William Usher, ticket agent of the Nickel Plate road, and James Barnes, of Willoughby, reached the wreck ten minutes after it occurred. On the way to the wreck they met a boy carrying a lantern. The boy said that he had been down to shut a switch. The men went on to the wreck and found the switch open and locked. The men are of the opinion that the boy thought there was a freight ahead of the Twentieth Century and opened the switch to let it through to take a siding.
H. S. Storrs, general superintendent of the Lake Shore, said that the clue would be investigated tomorrow, although he is inclined to doubt the story that a boy had possession of a key and could turn the switch.
BACK TO 20 HOUR SCHEDULE
Announcement by Officials of the New York Central and Lake Shore Railroads.
New York, June 22. President Newman, of the New York Central and Lake Shore railroads said today that the twenty-hour schedule of the Twentieth-Century Limited train on the New York Central-Lake Shore line, will be restored in place of the 18-hour schedule, on which the train had been run ning for only a few days. President Newman said:
"Since the sad accident which happened on the Lake Shore I have had a consultation with the operating officials who have explained that the accident was caused by a misplaced switch and was not due to the speed of the train and they assure me that the present schedule can be safely and easily maintained. While I agree with the operating officials that there is no physical reason why the schedule should not be continued nevertheless in my judgment the time of the Twentieth Century Limited should be restored to twenty hours and it will be done at once."
OFFICIAL ACCOUNT OF WRECK
Report Telegraphed to President Newman--Every Effort Being Made to Locate the Person Who Misplaced the Switch.
Chicago, June 22. The following official report of the wreck was telegraphed today by Vice President W. C. Brown, of the New York Central lines to President W. H. Newman, at New York.
Train No. 10 east bound, passed Mentor at 8:35 p. m., at which time the switches were all set for the main line. No. 26 followed No. 10 fifty minutes behind her, and no trains passed Mentor in either direction, between the time No. 10 passed there and the arrival of No. 26. The operator was on the platform with two men, named James Collins and W. M. Leuders, both of whom live in Mentor, when No. 10 passed, after which the operator went into the office and remained until about the time No. 26 was due, when he again went out on the platform and saw No. 26 coming two or three miles away.
"The operator says that he looked at the switch lights and they were white and the switches were properly set for the main track. He then returned to the office.
If this is correct, between that time and the time No. 26 headed in on the side track, some one threw the switch for the side track, and locked it in that position.
No. 26 headed in the full length of the train on the house track, the engine leaving the rails about four coach lengths from the switch crashing into the freight house, setting it on fire and turning the engine end for end, and telescoping the composite car, which took fire from the burning freight house.
The conductor of No. 26 immediately examined the switch and called the attention of General Passenger Agent W. J. Lynch of the Big Four who was on the train, to the fact that it was set and locked for the side track and the light extinguished.
The switch is not damaged and worked perfectly after the accident. The composite car, which was telescoped by the engine was burned. No other cars in No. 26 turned over.
Every possible effort is being made to locate the party who misplaced the switch.
No. 26 was on time, and as a matter of fact, was running at a slower speed than No. 10 when she passed through Mentor, as No. 10 was late.
The result would have been the same had any other of our through trains entered this open switch.
(Signed) W. C. BROWN."
What sub-type of article is it?
Disaster
Transportation
Crime
What keywords are associated?
Train Wreck
Mentor Ohio
Twentieth Century Limited
Open Switch
Sabotage
Lake Shore Railroad
Casualties
Inquest
What entities or persons were involved?
John R. Bennett
John A. Bradley
T. R. Morgan
C. H. Wellman
A. L. Rogers
C. E. Beckwith
A. H. Head
H. H. Wright
D. E. Arthur
J. H. Gibson
H. C. Mechling
L. M. Eirick
E. E. Naugle
I. A. Johnson
Henry Trinse
Allen Tyler
F. J. Brant
N. B. Walter
W. D. Mickey
W. H. Marshall
Coroner York
Aaron Gorham
Alexander Hammond
D. C. Moon
William Usher
James Barnes
H. S. Storrs
President Newman
W. C. Brown
Where did it happen?
Mentor, Ohio
Domestic News Details
Primary Location
Mentor, Ohio
Event Date
June 22
Key Persons
John R. Bennett
John A. Bradley
T. R. Morgan
C. H. Wellman
A. L. Rogers
C. E. Beckwith
A. H. Head
H. H. Wright
D. E. Arthur
J. H. Gibson
H. C. Mechling
L. M. Eirick
E. E. Naugle
I. A. Johnson
Henry Trinse
Allen Tyler
F. J. Brant
N. B. Walter
W. D. Mickey
W. H. Marshall
Coroner York
Aaron Gorham
Alexander Hammond
D. C. Moon
William Usher
James Barnes
H. S. Storrs
President Newman
W. C. Brown
Outcome
19 dead, a dozen slightly injured; mentor depot crushed and partly burned; first class mail destroyed; train schedule restored to 20 hours; inquest to begin next monday in painesville
Event Details
The eastbound Twentieth Century Limited train ran into an open switch at Mentor, Ohio, derailing the engine, crashing into the depot, causing a fire, and killing 19 passengers and crew. Officials believe the switch was maliciously thrown open and locked, with the light extinguished. Speed not a factor; investigation ongoing, possible boy involvement.