Lost Creek, PA Train Wreck, Oct 1888

Railroad Accidents

ANOTHER FATAL WRECK ON THE LEHIGH ROAD.

SIX PEOPLE KILLED AND OVER TWENTY WOUNDED.

The Dead and Injured Were All Hungarians Who Were Unloading a Construction Train

SCENE OF THE WRECK

Mauch Chunk, Pa., Oct. 17---News of another wreck on the Lehigh Valley Road has just been received at this city by Joseph J. Blakeslee, superintendent of the Mahanoy division. A Pennsylvania freight train ran into a Lehigh Valley gravel train on that division at 8:30 o’clock, killing six persons outright, and injuring over twenty.
A construction train was unloading ties at the Tamand siding, near Lostcreek, on the Pottsville branch, when a fast Pennsylvania freight came along and dashed into the construction cars. Of the forty Hungarians who were at work unloading ties, six were killed outright and twenty-six injured.

The accident was caused by the failure on the part of those in charge of the construction train to flag the approaching train. The freight was running on telegraph orders to make a siding and allow the passenger train to pass. In this case the rules require conductors of construction trains to guard both ends of their train. Besides twenty-six Hungarians injured, the list includes H. Howk, conductor; M.F. Peck, engineer and Charles Fry, fireman, of the freight train. It is believed that that Peck and Fry will die. The freight brakeman killed is E. W. Guildea, of Nescopeck. He was struck by the smokestack and badly mangled. The other dead are George Gubaugh, Andrew Timms, Paul Verbo, Mike Haness, Jake Sickouse, and William Putni.

Newark Daily Advocate, Newark, OH 18 Oct 1888
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Transcribed by Trish. Thanks, Trish!