From the
Catskill Mountain News, June 23, 1916
MAIL TRAIN AND WILD CAT ENGINE
MEET HEAD ON
One Dead and Several
Injured in Accident at Arkville Friday Afternoon
ENGINEER OF WILD CAT FORGOT HIS
ORDERS
Accident Attracted Hundreds
From this Section
The Ulster &
Delaware eastbound mail train met engine 29 in a head on collision
about a quarter mile east of the Arkville depot last Friday evening
at 5:30 o'clock and the accident resulted in the death of Morrel
Hoag, fireman of engine 29 and the injury of several other
passengers and trainman.
Hoag was caught in the
cab of the engine and crushed. He was released about an hour after
the accident but died from his injuries as he was being put aboard a
train for Kingston. Ferris Layman, the engineer, was also caught in
the cab, but was easily taken out. He was taken to the Kingston
Hospital suffering from a fracture and dislocation of the right
shoulder, a broken right elbow and right ankle. It is said that he
will recover. Neil Flynn, a mail clerk of Kingston, suffered a
crushed right hand, all the fingers being broken and a part of the
thumb requiring amputation. William T. Norwood, another mail clerk
was badly shaken up and suffered a scalp would. Sebastian Shultis,
an aged man of Arkville, was thrown against a door in the smoker and
stunned. Several other passengers were badly shaken up and suffered
from minor bruises and cuts.
That greater death toll
did not develop is due to the fact that engineer Harry Lauren of the
passenger train had slowed down for the Arkville yard and slammed on
the brakes when he saw the engine bearing down upon him. The trucks
of the passenger train did not leave the rails. The fronts of the
engines were badly damaged. They had plowed into eachother about 1
1/2 feet and it took the wrecking crew from Kingston until nearly
daylight the next morning to get them apart, and in the Arkville
yard.
Railroadmen think that
Layman of the light engine forgot that he was to meet the passenger
train at Arkville. It seems that he was given orders to meet the
special official's car at Roxbury and he was so anxious not to delay
that train he forgot all about the regular passenger train. It will
be recalled that there was a head on collision near Halcottville
some years ago and it was said at that time that haste among
railroad men to get out of the way of the official car was one of
the contributing causes of that wreck. One man was killed at that
time.
Many at Arkville saw the
two engines come together with a terrific roar and the news soon
spread. Hundreds of people hastened to the scene by automobile and
an hour later there must have been 1,000 people at the scene
watching the efforts of some of the bystanders to get the injured
fireman out of the cab. Master Mechanic DePuy of the D. & N.
went to the scene of the wreck and quickly told the men who had been
laboring without avail to release the injured man, how to get him
out. Otherwise he would have died where he was caught.
Dr. Telford and Dr.
Allaben of this village and Dr. Gaul of Halcottville were among the
first to arrive at the scene of the accident and they took care of
the injured until the train for the hospital was ready. The body of
the dead fireman was turned over to Borsch's Sons of this village
and made ready for burial. It was sent to Oneonta Staurday evening
and the funeral was held on
Monday.
