Bad September in 1899

Sun Dec 20 10:39:30 EST 2020

Our favorite turnip farmer has been posting his collection of photos from
Glade Spring (and beyond) in the Radford Division group on Facebook (a good
group to follow if you like useful content on Facebook). He posted a copy
of a photo of a wreck at Glade Spring in September, 1899, with scant
details. This started a search in the newspaper archives at the Library of
Virginia (https://virginiachronicle.com/ -- a great time sink).

The search turned up the first article below and an adjustment in search
terms and dates turned up the details of a bad wreck at Narrows and in
Dingess tunnel. It is interesting to read the different interpretations of
the wreck at Narrows, with different embankment heights and the types of
cars that were involved.

Bruce in Blacksburg

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*Times*, Volume 14, Number 172, 2 September 1899, pg. 5

*BIG FREIGHT WRECK.*

*Engines and Cars Piled Up in Front of Glade Spring Depot.*

BRISTOL, TENN., September 1.--Special.--Freight train No. 86, on the
Norfolk and Western railroad, which left here soon after midnight bound for
Roanoke, came into collision with a double-header extra freight west-bound
at Glade Spring early this morning.

The regular train got beyond the control of its crew and crashed into the
extra directly opposite the Glade Spring depot. Engineer Gilchrist was
seriously injured, and Herman Ashbury, telegraph operator at Glade Spring,
narrowly escaped with his life.

The crews saved themselves by jumping. Both engines were badly damaged and
a large number of cars were torn to pieces and thrown into a confused heap.
Several cars were hurled against the depot, partially demolishing the
building.

One car came into the telegrapher's room. The property loss is heavy.

 *Daily Press*, Volume 4, Number 212, 7 September 1899, pg. 1

*DEATH RIDES ON N&W*

*Two Frightful Accidents on the Rail Yesterday.*

*SEVEN KILLED IN A TUNNEL*

*Passenger Train Jumps the Track ana Rolls Down an Embankment, Causing Loss
of Two More Lives. Many Persons Injured.*

(By Telegraph.)

WILLIAMSON, W. VA., Sept. 6.–Seven persons were killed by a freight train
wreck in Dingess tunnel, on the Norfolk & Western, to-day.

The dead are:

FRANK R. ARCHER, brakeman.

CHARLES BOOTH, brakeman.

JOHN CHAFFlN, fireman.

Four tramps, names unknown.

*TWO LOSE THEIR LIVES.*

ROANOKE, VA., Sept. 6.–One of the most serious accidents in the history of
the Norfolk and Western railroad occurred this morning near Narows, a
station on the Radford division. Two coaches of an east-bound passenger
train jumped the track and rolled down a thirty-foot embankment. Two
persons were killed and twenty eight more or less injured.

The dead:

A. B. LUCK, a contractor, of Roanoke.

An, infant, name unknown. Bluefield. W. Va.

*INJURED WILL RECOVER.*

All the injured will recover. Their wounds are mostly cuts and bruises.
They were albie to be moved and some continued on their journey. A party of
eight were brought to Roanoke tonight and received the necessary medical
attention.

It is said the spreading of a rail caused the accident. A wrecking train
with physicians from Roanoke was sent to the scene of the wreck this noon.
Traffic was delayed only a few hours on account of the wreck.

––-

*Tazewell Republican*, Volume 8, Number 36, 7 September 1899, pg. 1

*FRIGHTFUL WRECK.*

*Near Narrows on New River.*

*TWO FIRST-CLASS CARS THROWN DOWN EMBANKMENT.*

Mr. A. B. Luck, Railroad Contractor, of Walton, Luck & Co., and an Infant
Child Died From Injuries. A Number of Passengers Severely Injured.

Passenger train No. 41, which left Bluefield yesterday morning at 9
o'clock, was wrecked a short distance west of Narrows, in Giles county.
Three cars left the track while the train was running at a speed of about
twenty-four miles an hour, and the two first-class coaches rolled down an
embankment. The cars turned over several times, eventually landing in the
county road which runs at that point parallel with the railroad. The
engine, and baggage and mail cars did not leave the track.

>From the most reliable accounts received none of the passengers were
instantly killed, but two died during the day.

The dead are:

A. B. Luck, of Walton & Luck, railroad contractors.

Jamee Everett Martin, Jr., son of Dr. James E. Martin, postmaster of
Bluefield, W. Va.

The injured, so far as we have been able to ascertain, are as follows:

Mrs. Frank McCulloch, a sister of Dr. Martin, cut on head and body.
Injuries very serious, but not thought to be fatal.

Mrs. J. H. Tanner, considerably bruised.

Master Fred Tanner, arm broken.

Mrs. George N. Speiden, painfully cut and bruised.

Mrs. E. Edmunds and child.

Mrs. Love, considerably bruised about head and body.

Mr. E. Edmunds, cut and bruised.

Mrs. Cal. Horton, bad gash cut in head and painful injuries.

A Mrs. Terry, of Narrows, had her scalp literally torn off, but fortunately
her skull was not crushed and her injuries are not regarded as fatal.

Mrs. Spotts and child, of Pulaski, sustained painful bruises.

Miss Houk, daughter of Rev. S. D. Houk, of Princeton, had her left arm
broken.

The wounded were taken from the cars by passengers who were not injured.
Mr. Luck attempted to assist in this work, but in a short while began to
vomit and sank rapidly until 5 p. m., when he died.

The infant son of Dr. Martin died at 7 p. m.

The report is that about sixty persons in all were injured, but none
fatally except the two who have already died from their injuries.

A telegram was received at Tazewell this morning informing the friends of
Mrs. Stras that she and her child were only slightly injured.

Last night Mrs. McCulloch, Mr. and Mrs. Edmunds, Mrs. Tanner and son, Miss
Houk, Mrs. Horton, and the remains of Dr. Martin's son were brought to
Bluefield.

The other injured were taken on a special train to Roanoke.

––-

Richmond – *Times*, Volume 14, Number 176, 7 September 1899, pg. 1

*FORTY INJURED IN A WRECK*

*Two Coaches Roll Down an Embankment.*

*MANY BADLY HURT.*

*One Man Killed and Two Children Also Meet Their Death.*

*THE CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT.*

*It is Supposed to Have Been Due to the Spreading of the Rails – The Train
Said to Have Been Moving at a High Rate of Speed–List of the Dead and
Injured*

EAST RADFORD, VA., Sept. 6.–Special.–At 11:20 to-day, one mile east of
Narrows, a station on the New River division of the Norfolk and Western
railway, the regular eastbound passenger train known as No. 4, left the
track while running at a speed of thirty-five or forty miles per hour.

The embankment at the place of the wreck is twenty feet high, the county
road runs just at the foot of the bank, and New River flows along the edge
of the county road. The train was composed of engine, baggage car, express
car, one second-class car and two first-class cars.

The whole train left the track and ran about 400 feet on the ties before
the two first-class coaches broke their coupling, rolled over twice and
landed on the edge of the county road, right side up.

*COACHES FILLED.*

No one was seriously hurt except the passengers in the two cars that rolled
down the bank. These two coaches were pretty well filled, about forty
people in each coach, mostly women and several children.

I talked with two survivors of the wreck. One of them was sitting on the
seat with A. B. Luck, of the firm Walton & Luck, contractors, who was
killed.

The dead are A. B. Luck, and two babies, names not learned. There were
forty-five injured more or less seriously. Most of the wounded were brought
to Radford on a special. Those not able to be moved were well cared for by
the company at Narrows.

A special was at once sent to the scene of the accident with doctors from
Roanoke and Radford and railroad officials.

*CAUSE OF THE WRECK.*

The cause of the accident is not given out. Some say fast running, some
that the rails spread. The overturned coaches were badly smashed, and the
survivors say it seems a miracle that any were left alive. The injured are
mostly bruised and hurt internally and but a few bones are broken. The
injured are, far as learned:

W. F. Wall, hurt on head.

E. D. Foley, of Radford, back hurt.

W. B. Beach and his brother, of Farmville, badly hurt.

A party from Reading, Pa., all hurt.

A little girl from Radford, arm broken.

Mrs. Dr. Martin, of Bluefield, and child badly hurt, baby will die.

S. E. Martin, Mrs. C. L. Lawrence and children, of Radford, bruised and
shaken up.

A party of young ladies on way to school at Abingdon, bruised and shaken up.

Father Lynch, priest of Roanoke City, hurt about the head.

This is, next to the Thaxton wreck, the worst on that road for years.

*ANOTHER ACCOUNT.*

PEARISBURG, VA., September 6.–Special.–The first section of Norfolk and
Western passenger train, No. 4, was wrecked one mile west of Narrows about
11 o'clock to-day.

First and second-class passenger coaches left the track and rolled down an
embankment about thirty feet.

About forty were injured, some seriously, other slightly.

A. B. Luck, a contractor on the double track work near Radford, died in a
few hours after the accident.

An infant child of Dr. Martin, of Bluefield, is fatally injured.

These are believed to be the only deaths which will result from the
accident.

I cannot at this time ascertain the names of those injured.

The track was cleared immediately.

*THE RAILS SPREAD.*

ROANOKE, VA., Sept. 6.–Special.–A. B. Luck was a well known railroad
contractor and junior member of the firm of Walton & Luck, of this city.
The train was coming east and running on time, when the accident occurred,
being caused by the rails spreading. The first-class coach and a sleeper
were thrown down an embankment into the river. Mr. Luck was injured
internally and died about 5 o'clock.

Those most seriously injured are:

John Cover, manager of the Big Stone Gap Tannery, wrist cut, face, arms and
legs injured.

Mrs. Camper and son, of Bluefield.

Dr. Martin's baby, of Bluefield.

General Superintendent Cassel, of the Norfolk and Western and the Company's
surgeons left here at 11 A.M. to-day for the scene of the disaster on a
special car. It is regarded as a very serious wreck.

(By Associated Press.)

ROANOKE, VA., Sept. 6.–One of the most serious accidents in the history of
the Norfolk and Western occurred this morning near Narrows, a station on
the Radford division. Two coaches of an east-bound passenger train jumped
the track and rolled down a 30-foot embankment. Two persons were killed and
twenty-eight more or less injured.

The dead are A. B. Luck, a contractor, of Roanoke; and infant, name
unknown, of Bluefield, W. Va.

All the injured will recover. Their wounds are mostly cuts and bruises.
They were able to be moved and some continues on their journey. A party of
eight were brought to Roanoke to-night and received the necessary medical
attention.

It is said the spreading of a rail caused the accident. A wrecking train
with physicians from Roanoke was sent to the scene of the wreck this noon.
Traffic was delayed only a few hours on account of the wreck.

––-

*SEVEN KILLED.*

WILLIAMSON, W. VA., September 6.–Seven persons were killed by a freight
train wreck to-day in Dingees [Dingess] tunnel on the Norfolk and Western
railroad. The dead are Frank R. Archer, brakeman; Charles Booth, brakeman;
John Chaffin, fireman. Four tramps names unknown.

Salem *Sentinel*, Volume 6, Number 29, 12 September 1899, pg. 2

*N. & W. Items, Radford Division*

We are glad to again see the smiling face of Engineer Warren Linkous on the
road.

Enginemen Gilchrist and Hager, who were hurt in the recent wrecks on P. D.,
are said to be convalescent, and wc hope they will soon be well again.

Twenty enginemen will soon go to the Southern railway, as they stand a
better chance for promotion there. We have not learned their names.

Dispatcher Roop has resigned, to accept a position in Montana. Operator E.
G. Dooley has been promoted to the responsible position of train dispatcher
in Mr. Roop’s place.

Brakeman E. C. Owens, who has been sightseeing in Columbus and Cincinnati,
returned last week. Emmet says he did not know the world was half as big as
it is.

The telegraph office has been moved from Christiansburg tower to
Christiansburg station, on account of the double tracks. Houchins is now
the end of the double track, and Christiansburg station is a block office.
This cuts off one man, Mr. Bane, formerly operator at C. B. office, who
goes to Schooler as day operator.

The wreck at the Narrows last Wednesday was a serious affair. The rails are
supposed to have spread with the engine of No. 4, derailing engine, baggage
car, and smoker and throwing sleeper and first-class coach down a steep
embankment. The cars contained about sixty or seventy people, all of whom
were more or less cut and bruised. Mr. Luck, of the firm of Luck and
Vaughan, contractors, and brother to [*****], of Roanoke, received internal
injuries, from which he died at eight o’clock Wednesday evening; also, the
infant son of Dr. Martin died from injuries received. Among the others
seriously wounded are: Mrs. Comper and son, of Bluefield, Mr. John Cover,
manager Big Stone Gap Tannery. The wreck occurred one mile west of Narrows.

Operator Mitchell, at Narrows, had his hands full sending and receiving
messages, on account of the wreck, Wednesday, but he did not have time to
‘‘box ’em” for breaking him.

The “run” is rapidly picking up and the men are making good time. About
thirty extra brakemen have been hired ; more crews will be put on to do the
work, and the Division will, in a few more weeks, be booming.

Operators H. C. Grady aud A. L. Blake were recently married; the former to
a Miss Williams, of Pembroke, and the latter to Miss Lizzie Jones, of near
Christiansburg. Mr. Brady is regular day operator at Hardy and will keep
house at Oakvale. Mr. Blake is doing the telegraphing for Contractors L. H
Vaughan & Co., at Montgomery.

The general superintendent of the N. & W. railway has issued a circular
requiring engineers, conductors, flagmen, section foremen, station agents,
and operators to have standard watches, and the majority of us will be
compelled to get new ones, although many of us have better ones than we
will get.

Operator S. J. Jewell, commonly known as “The Catcher,” is the happy father
of a fine O. R. T. bop. Baby Boy.

*Alexandria Gazette*, Volume 100, Number 210, 6 September 1899, pg. 2

*Disastrous Wreck on the N.&W.*

Dingess, W. Va., Sept. 6.–At midnight last night a wreck occurred in the
Dingess tunnel on the Norfolk & Western. Through freight No. 91 was running
rapidly when it parted near the centre of the train. The sections came
together near the middle of the tunnel and 23 cars loaded with merchandise
were completely wrecked. Seven persons are known to have been killed. Two
of them were brakemen and one an extra fireman. Four tramps whose bodies
are horribly mangled are in the wreck. Frank Mercerl, conductor of the
train, was seriously hurt but will recover. Several persons had a close
call for their lives from asphyxiation after the wreck occurred.
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