LIVES LOST IN A WRECK. Washout Near Atlanta, Ga., Causes Horrible Railway Disaster

LIVES LOST IN A WRECK.Washout Near Atlanta, Ga., Causes Horrible Railway Disaster.VICTIMS CAUGHT IN A TRAP.Local Train Goes Down in a Gulch Near McDonough – Sleeping Car on the End Pins Down the Wreckage – Flames Add to the Disaster – Only Those in the Sleeper Escaped Death.Atlanta, Ga. (Special). -- A passenger train on the Macon branch of the Southern Railway ran into a washout one and a half north of McDonough, Ga., and was completely wrecked. The wreck caught fire and the entire train, with the exception of the sleeper, was destroyed. Every person in the train, except the occupants of the Pullman car, perished. Not a member of the train crew escaped. Thirty-five persons in all were killed.

The list of killed is as follows:

WILLIAM A. BARCLAY, conductor,
Atlanta; J. E. WOOD, conductor, Atlanta;
J. H. HUNNICUT, conductor;
J. T. SULLIVAN, engineer, Atlanta;
W. W. BENNETT, baggage-master, Atlanta;
T. F. MADDOX, cotton buyer, Atlanta;
W. J. PATE and twelve year old son, Atlanta;
H. R. CRESSINAN, Pullman conductor;
GEORGE W. FLOURNAY, Atlanta;
C. C. HIGHTOWER, Stockbridge, Ga.;
W. W. PARK, Macon, Ga.;
ELDER HENSON, traveling man, supposed to have been from Florida;
J. F. FLORIDA, Nashville, Tenn.;
W. O. ELLIS, bridgeman, Stockbridge, Ga.;
D. Y. GRIFFITH, Superior;
J. H. RHOADES, flagman;
JOHN BRANTLEY WHITE, fireman;
WILL GREEN, extra fireman;
W. L. MORRISETT, pump replacer;
W. R. LAWRENCE, foreman extra gang;
ED. BYRD, colored, fireman, Atlanta;
ROBERT SPENCER, train porter;
four unidentified bodies and eight negro section hands.

The wrecked train was a local known at No. 9. It left Macon at 7:10 p. m., and was due in Atlanta at 9:55 p. m. The train reached McDonough on time, 8:50 p. m. A train from Columbus, due to connect with the train from Macon at McDonough, was late and the wreck train did not wait for it.

The train ran only a mile and a half from McDonough, when without warning it plunged into a washout sixty feet deep and 125 feet wide. Camp's Creek had swollen because of the recent heavy rains and cut out the railroad embankment until the culvert through which it flowed was transformed into a gorge, through which a raging torrent surged. The train, consisting of a baggage car, second class coach, first class coach and a Pullman sleeper, was knocked into splinters by the fall. The wreck caught fire in a few minutes after the fall and all the coaches were burned except the Pullman car.

Every person on the train except the occupants of the Pullman car was killed in the accident. Not a member of the train crew escaped. A blinding rainstorm was on. The windows of the coaches were closed and when the passengers went down they were either drowned in the torrent or burned with the wrecked coaches. As the wreck began to go to pieces under the destructive work of the flames and flood bodies floated out and were carried down stream by the current. The storm did not abate in fury. Flashes of lightning added to the steady glow of the burning train. All through the night the rain continued.

The dawn revealed the most disastrous railroad wreck the South has known in many years. An hour after the trains' plunge into the gorge several of those who escaped from the wreck walked into McDonough with the news. Parties were organized at once. Nearly the entire male population of the town went to the scene to render assistance to those imprisoned in the wreckage. Little could be done by the rescuers, however, as the fire kept them at a distance.

At daylight the bodies that had floated from the gorge were gathered up. Some of the bodies were terribly burned, while others were crushed beyond recognition. The only means of identification in the majority of the cases were letters and papers in the pockets of the victims in the catastrophe.

Only three ladies were on the train: two escaped. The bodies of the dead were brought to Atlanta. No blame attaches to the railroad, as other trains had passed the spot in safety only a few hours before the collapse.

The Cranbury Press New Jersey 1900-06-29

THIRTY-FIVE DEAD TRAIN ON SOUTHERN RAILWAY WRECKED IN GEORGIA.

McDonough, Georgia Train Wreck
June 24, 1900

THIRTY-FIVE DEAD TRAIN ON SOUTHERN RAILWAY WRECKED IN GEORGIA.

Not a Passenger or Member of the Train Crew Escapes but a Few Who Were In One Pullman Car – Victims Are Burned, Crushed or Drowned.ATLANTA, June 25. ---

A passenger train on the Macon branch of the Southern railway ran into a washout one and a half miles north of McDonough, Ga., last night and was completely wrecked. The wreck caught fire and the entire train, with the exception of the sleeper, was destroyed. Every person on the train, except the occupants of the Pullman, perished. Not a member of the train crew escaped.

Thirty-five people in all were killed. Following is a list of the dead:

WM. A. BARCLAY, conductor, Atlanta.
J. E. WOOD, conductor, Atlanta.
J. H. HUNNICUTT, conductor, Atlanta.
J. T. SULLIVAN, engineer.
W. W. BENNETT, baggageman, Atlanta.
E. E. MADDOX, cotton buyer, Atlanta.
W. J. PATE, Atlanta.Son of W. J. PATE, Atlanta.
H. R. CRESSINAN, Pullman conductor.
G. W. FLOURNOY, Atlanta.
H. W. HIGHTOWER, Stockbridge, Ga.
H. H. IPARK [not sure], Macon, Ga.
ELDER HENSON, traveling man.
J. R. FLORIDA, Nashville.
W. O. ELLIS, bridgeman.
D. Y. GRIFFITH, supervisor.
J. H. RHODES, flagman.
JOHN BRANTLEY, fireman.
WILI GREEN, extra fireman.
M. L. MORRISON, pump repairer.
W. R. LAWRENCE, foreman extra gang.
ED BYRD, colored fireman, Atlanta.
ROBERT SPENCER, train porter.
Four Bodies, unidentified.
Eight Negro Section Hands.

A cloudburst washed out a section of the track nearly 100 feet in length. Into this the swiftly moving train plunged. The storm was still raging and all the car windows were closed. The passengers, secure as they thought from the inclement weather, went to death without a moment's warning.

The train composed of a baggage car, second class coach, first class coach and a Pullman sleeper, was knocked into kindling wood by the fall. There was no escape, as the heavy Pullman car weighted down the others and the few alive in the sleeper were unable to render assistance to their fellow passengers.

The occupants of the Pullman car after hard work managed to get out of their car and found themselves on the track in the pouring rain. The extent of the catastrophe was quickly appreciated. The flames were seen coming from that part of the wreckage not covered by the water. As the train began to go to pieces under the destructive work of both flames and flood, human bodies floated out from the mass and were carried down stream by the swift current. The storm did not abate in fury. Flashes of lightning added to the steady glow of the burning train and lit up the scene with fearful distinctness.

Flagman QUINN, who was one of the first to get out, at once started for the nearest telegraph station. Making his way as rapidly as possible in the face of the blinding storm, he stumbled into the office at McDonough and after telling the night operator of the disaster fell fainting to the floor. Word was quickly sent to both Atlanta and Macon, but no assistance to be had except in the latter city, and the washout prevented the arrival of any train from Macon.

The entire male population of McDonough went to render assistance, but little could be done by the rescuers, as the fire kept them at a distance. At daylight the bodies that had floated from the gorge were gathered up. One body was found a mile from the wreck and many were seen along its banks. As the dead were found they were removed to McDonough.

There are two undertakers there. Both establishments were soon full of mangled remains of the passengers.

Some of the bodies were terribly burned, while others were crushed beyond recognition. The only means of identification in the majority of the cases were letters and papers in the pockets of the victims in the catastrophe.

Greeley Tribune Colorado 1900-06-28



SURVIVORS

JESSE L. ROHR of Baltimore.

WALTER POPE of Atlanta.

J. C. FLYNN of Atlanta.

MISS MARY B. MERRITT, of Boston, Mass.

MISS CLARA ALDEN, of Boston, Mass.

E. SCHRINER, of Chattanooga, Tenn.

E. T. MACK, of Chattanooga, Tenn.

J. J. QUINLAN, flagman.

T. C. CARTER, Pullman porter.

HANDY TOMLINSON

Old Number Seven Train Crash

McDonough - Camp Creek Trestle - A train crashed into a flooded creek in 1900. The No. 7 train bound from Macon to Atlanta stopped to pick up passengers at the McDonough Station on a night during a flood. Even after being warned not to leave the engineer was reported saying "We will either be eating breakfast in Atlanta or in hell". After traveling only seven miles from the station the train plunged into the swelled waters of Camp Creek after the train trestle had washed out minutes before. Nine out of the forty-seven on board survived. You can reach the trestle if you go north on Highway 42 out of McDonough (located 30 miles south of Atlanta) and turn left onto Ivey Edwards Rd. The trestle is right off the tracks to the left and can be seen from Highway 42.