Preble, NY Train Wreck and Fire, Dec 1895

PASSENGER TRAIN ON FIRE

Wreck on the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad.

IT WAS DELIBERATELY PLANNED

New-York and Philadelphia Express Crashes into a Freight Train at Preble, N. Y.

ENGINEER AND FIREMAN ARE KILLED

Possibly Others Have Shared Their Fate---At Least Twelve of the Passengers Badly Injured.

SYRACUSE, N. Y., Dec. 2.---The New-York and Philadelphia Express on the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, which leaves Syracuse at 10:10 o'clock at night, was wrecked this morning at 12:30 o'clock, half a mile north of Preble Station, twenty-six miles south of this city.

There seems to be no doubt that the work was caused by deliberate intention, and not by carelessness.

The engineer and fireman of the train were killed, and possibly others. At least twelve of the passengers were badly injured.

The Dead.

Those known to be dead are:

ROOF, WEBSTER, of Syracuse; fireman.
YOUNG, GEORGE, of Syracuse; engineer.

The train which consisted of one baggage car, one mail car, two day coaches, and a sleeper, was running at the rate of fifty miles an hour when the wreck took place. The siding at Preble had been opened to allow a freight train to get out of the way of the express, and the switch was left open.

The passenger train crashed into the freight cars on the siding, completely telescoping three of them. The engine and tender of the express were completely demolished, and the engineer was killed instantly.

Roof, the fireman, was taken from beneath the wreck of the engine and died soon afterward.

No sooner had the wreck occurred than the baggage car, which was reduced to kindling wood in the collision, caught fire from the engine.

The panicstricken passengers barely had time to get from the cars before the whole train was in a blaze. The scene of the wreck was a half a mile from any farmhouse, and the passengers had to depend on their own resources to assist themselves and their injured companions.

There were about fifty passengers on the train, including the members of "The Bowery Girl" theatrical company.

A wrecking train with physicians on board was sent out from Syracuse at 1:30 o'clock.

The body of Engineer Young has not been found, as it is covered by the wreck of the engine.

It is impossible to get fuller particulars this morning, as the scene of the wreck is half a mile from any telephone or telegraph office.

The New York Times, New York, NY 2 Dec 1895
__________________

Transcribed by Linda Horton. Thank you, Linda!