WRECK AT ATHOL.

Engine and Five Freight Cars Derailed---Wreck Crew Has Ten Hours Task Clearing Up.

The Boston & Maine wreck train was called out from this city early Sunday morning and the crew were given a 10 hours' task in clearing up a bad freight wreck which had occurred in the freight yards at Athol half an hour after midnight, in which a large freight locomotive tipped over and slid down a small embankment, five freight cars also jumping the rails, two of which tipped over with the locomotive. The derailing arrangement at the foot of a grade, which in some unexplainable manner had been set caused the accident. No one was seriously hurt and the locomotive or cars were not damaged to any great extent the chief damage being the fact that the west bound track of the main line was blocked by one of the derailed cars which had swung around across the track and remained there pending the arrival of the wrecking equipment.

The freight was bound from Boston to East Deerfield with an East Deerfield crew including Engineer Barrington, Fireman Ferran, and was in charge of Conductor Barnhardt. The train was side tracking to set off some cars in the Athol yards and when the locomotive struck the derailing arrangement, it left the iron and after running into the soft dirt along side the track, toppled over and slid down a short embankment pulling five cars from the iron before the train came to a stop. The train was running slowly and none of the equipment suffered much injury. The engineer and fireman went down the banking with the engine and the only injury was a sprained thumb received in the tumble by Fireman Farran. Brakeman Gaffney of the train and had his feet pinched and slightly bruised. The wreck occurred near the plant of the Diamond Match company and the wreck train arrived back in this city early in the afternoon. The locomotive landed in soft dirt and was not injured.

The Fitchburg Sentinel, Fitchburg, MA 19 Aug 1907
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Transcribed by Linda Horton. Thank you, Linda!