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Many Wounded,
Two Killed In
Accident On The L&N Railroad
The Cannon Ball In Route
To Louisville Smashes Through
Mail Train On Christmas Eve 1888 At Bardstown
The Courier Journal -
December 25, 1888
Splinters and scrap iron
remain of what yesterday morning were two completely equipped
passenger coaches on the Knoxville branch of the Louisville and
Nashville Railway. Two corpses and an indefinite number of injured
persons left from the crowd of holiday travelers on the train
are the results of a horrible smash-up that occurred on December
24, 1888, at Bardstown Junction, Bullitt County, Kentucky.
The accident occurred about 9:00 a.m. while the morning mail
train was standing at the junction, delayed by an unusually heavy
express business, and while people from the neighborhood and
others traveling thronged the station platform.
There was not the slightest indication of danger. The train hands
were busily engaged at their customary duties. Passengers walked
beside the train, stretching and resting their cramped and tired
limbs, and the usual crowd of loungers gazed idly on, making
the scene an exact duplicate of what it is every day of the year,
except for its increased liveliness due to the season.
Suddenly there appeared from behind the curve, on the Louisville
side of the station, another train moving at frightful speed
straight down on the motionless mail train. Those who witnessed
the catastrophe had not even time to reckon the full meaning
of the situation or to think of what was to come. The oncoming
engine, too close to be stopped or slowed down, backed by a heavy
train of cars, crashed full speed into the mail train which was
puffing and blowing, ready in the next few seconds to crowd on
steam and be off and out of the way.
An instant later the destructive work was done. The moving engine,
going at the extreme limit of its speed, had struck with irresistible
force against the last car of the motionless train. It had plowed
its way through solid wood and iron the complete length of the
last coach and halfway through the next. Completely wrecking
them, it jammed the forward cars together in telescopic fashion,
while the mass of machinery, which gave force to the blow, was
buried beneath the fragments it made of the two coaches. The
whole scene was obscured by a pall of dust and steam and smoke.
The crash was deafening to those close by, and the shrieking
and sobbing of the steam and the cracking of timbers which followed
added to the horror of the calamity. The victims, fortunately,
were fewer in numbers than even the most hopeful could have expected.
Of the coaches of the obstructing train, two were completely
demolished and one other was so badly smashed that it can be
of no further service, while the engine which did the damage
was almost hopelessly wrecked. The debris covered the track and
junction platform and temporarily blocked the way of further
travel. The rails were concealed beneath a chaotic mass of broken
and twisted iron and steel and shattered woodwork. The road was
cleared, however, in a few hours, and the regular trains were
delayed but a very short time.
The L&N officials are now engaged in an investigation as
to the exact cause of the horrible affair and in endeavors to
fasten the responsibility upon the employee who was at fault.
The facts of the catastrophe are simply that the morning mail
train of the Knoxville branch of the L&N remained at Bardstown
Junction much longer than it should have, and that the train
following it found the first obstructing the single track too
late to prevent the collision.
The first train which is known as the No. 23, bound for Knoxville,
left Louisville at 7:45 a.m. December 24th, carrying the mail
and an unusually large number of passengers. It consisted of
the engine, baggage express cars, smoker, and two first-class
coaches. The conductor on the fatal trip was O. S. Ray of Louisville.
It made all the usual local stops between Louisville and Bardstown
Junction, though not in the fast time customary, this being prevented
by an excessively heavy express business. The delay was caused
by the difficulty the express messengers experienced in handling
the packages. The schedule time for No. 23's arrival at Bardstown
Junction was 8:52 a.m., but it was considerably later.
Following the mail train and leaving Louisville 20 minutes later
was the fast through passenger train for Nashville. On the time
card as No. 5 it is more commonly known as The Cannon Ball. It
makes but few stops carrying through passengers, and it went
out with Conductor M. C. Haight, Engineer Milton L. McFerran,
and Fireman Charles King. The train consisted of an engine, baggage
car, and four coaches. It made no stops between Louisville and
Bardstown Junction and having a clear track and running at an
average rate of about 35 miles an hour, it gained seven minutes
on the mail train in the 20 miles between Louisville and the
Bardstown Junction.
From the statements made by both the engineer and firemen of
the through train, the run to Bardstown Junction was made in
the usual time and without accident. To a point less than 100
yards from the station, at the junction, the track is comparatively
straight, giving a good lookout ahead. There, a sharp curve begins,
partially hiding the buildings of the station, and the buildings
completely hide anything that might be on the side farthest from
Louisville.
The road schedule gave The Cannon Ball a clear track, and the
train was headed in the direction of the Bardstown Junction at
almost full speed. Engineer McFerran expected to make his usual
rush past the station. The men in the cab chatted cheerfully
and kept the lookout but without thought of any such danger as
was in store for them.
On the station platform at the junction a considerable crowd
of the country people of the vicinity had gathered. The baggage
master and the express messengers were still struggling with
the numerous packages which caused their train to be late, but
not one of all these heard a sound to indicate the coming of
The Cannon Ball. The first intimation of the approaching calamity
was when the through train thundered around the curve and began
the race to death over the few yards of track which separated
it from the mail train pulled up at the station directly in front.
There was no time to warn the passengers who had remained in
the coaches of the delayed train. Wild shouts were directed at
them by the more fortunate people on the platform, but the ill-starred
occupants of the cars were only confused by the attempts to save
them.
Only the engineer and fireman of the approaching train were visible.
They showed by their actions that they were fully aware of their
situation. They were too near the obstructing coaches to hope
to stop their own train, for it required the briefest possible
space of time for the crash to come, and it was with a feeling
of relief that the horror-stricken bystanders saw Fireman King
rise and prepare to jump from the cab window of the swiftly approaching
train. He at least might be saved was the thought of those who
were capable of thinking at that terrible moment.
The leap was made with the determination of a man who realized
completely the terrible chances he was taking, and a second later
the fireman struck the roadside and began rolling down the incline
of the embankment. He seemed to be safe and so was lost sight
of instantly, the attention of all being concentrated on Engineer
McFerran now on the engine. He had immediately, after sighting
the mail train which blocked his way, put on the air brake and
reversed the engine. The speed of No. 5 when she first showed
around the curve was not less than 35 miles an hour, and it was
probably the same when she struck the rear coach of No. 23. The
distance to be covered after the brake was put on was too short
for any perceptible effect to have been made on the immense weight
of the oncoming train.
The engineer was still seated and looking fixedly ahead when
the crash of the mighty blow sounded on the ears of all within
a mile of the spot.
The Cannon Ball's cow-catcher first lifted the rear platform
of the last coach. The engine plowed and butted through wood
and metal alike as if it were only paper. The coach was split
from end to end, the fragments falling on either side. The resistance
offered by the one coach had no apparent effect on the impetus
of The Cannon Ball, and the locomotive split and tore its way
to the middle of the second coach before its progress was stopped.
The forward coaches were thrown one against the other, with force
enough to completely smash away the platforms at the end of each,
stoving in the woodwork at the rear of the smoker. All the glass
was broken, and the seats were piled in heaps on the floor.
The grinding and cracking of the solid material ceased as the
momentum of the No. 5 engine was lost. The infernal shrieking
of escaping steam, the dense volumes of vapor, combined with
the dust and smoke from the locomotives, threw a leaden funeral
pall over all.
The first shock of horror experienced by the witnesses to the
terrible affair ended when a call for volunteers to assist in
rescuing the victims from the wreck was raised, and then the
humane work of saving life was begun.
By a miraculous chance the coaches attached to the Cannon Ball
were but slightly damaged, none even leaving the track, and the
passengers escaped without injury beyond a few bruises and a
general shaking up.
The rescuing party gave attention first to the coach which had
been in the rear of the mail train, but the discovery was made
that the coach contained not a single person at the time of the
collision. Had anyone been in it his or her death would have
been certain, as the car was torn into pieces and scattered on
both sides of the track.
In the middle of the second coach the locomotive of No. 5 was
imbedded, the machine being tightly wedged between the fragments
of the car, which was split in half. The boiler had been burst
and twisted out of shape by the force of the blows received.
From rents in the boiler the scalding steam escaped and filled
the interior of the coach and made approach impossible until
the intensely hot vapor had partially cooled.
From the south end of the fatal coach, which was almost jammed
right against the baggage car, people were seen to squeeze themselves
to an escape. Interest was centered at once on the giant engine
and the pile of ruins around it. A window glass was broken with
a crash and a man's head appeared. He was rescued, but he was
scalded. He was a Miller. A man was pried out from the timbers
of the engine cab. It was no easy matter to extricate him, for
the hot steam was denser there than elsewhere. It was Engineer
McFerran, more dead than alive. A woman, whose life had been
instantly crushed out, was dragged from under a pile of debris.
A boy who was mangled beyond recognition was fished out from
under broken seats and shattered timbers near the woman. They
were afterward identified as Mrs. Mary Perkins and Willie Houston,
both of Hodgenville.
As the steam gradually lost its deadly heat and those who had
been but slightly injured or were unhurt got away from the trap
of death, an entrance was made to the coach and the scalded and
maimed people were brought forth. Miss Mary Kinnaird of Louisville
and Johnny Mount of La Grange were the worst injured; while Mrs.
J. R. Mount of La Grange, Mr. Phil. B. Thompson of Shepherdsville,
and Miss Bertha Robner of East Bernstadt were found to be seriously
hurt. Others were released only bruised and stupefied. Among
them were: J. P. Heckelman, S. K. Adams, Ella Adams, and Mrs.
T. J. Jennings all of Louisville; and E. R. Dickerson and Miss
Bertha Flownbacker of Bardstown. A large force of willing workers
soon turned over the debris thoroughly and satisfied themselves
that no one else was left beneath.
The dead and wounded were carried to houses nearby, and the local
physicians gave them attention at once. Before long a telegram
from Louisville announced that a special train with surgeons
was on the way.
In the meantime, King, who had jumped from the engine, had been
found and carried to a house. He was unconscious and apparently
very badly hurt. Nothing much was done after the injured had
been relieved as much as possible. The wrecking crew and the
surgeons from Louisville arrived with General Manager Harahan
about 10:00 a.m. The wreckers went actively to work to clear
the track, and the surgeons attended the wounded.
Engines and cars were sent out from Louisville in the greatest
hurry to replace those disabled, and the two trains that had
been wrecked proceeded on their ways, No. 23 down the Knoxville
Branch and No. 5 on to Nashville. In the afternoon arrangements
were made to bring those of the injured to town who wished to
go, and shortly after 3:00 p.m. a number of the victims and the
two dead bodies were started toward Louisville. Mr. Heckelman
and Mr. Adams and Miss Adams had come on the noon train.
Those who remained and who were cared for at Bardstown Junction
until they could proceed homeward were Mrs. Mount and her three
children, Mr. Johnson, and Miss Bertha Robner. The others all
left southward.
Johnny Mount was very seriously injured internally and may die.
He is about ten years of age. When he became conscious after
the accident he at once asked for his dog, a very diminutive
animal to which he was much attached. The youngster had left
his mother who was seated in the center of the coach and was
standing close to Mr. Miller when the crash came. Mrs. Mount
received several bruises but her two other children were uninjured.
Mrs. Dr. T. F. Jennings of 909 East Jefferson Street, Louisville
was only slightly bruised and her baby was not even scratched.
Miss Robner was a member of the Swiss Colony at East Bernstadt
and had been with the family of Mr. J. G. Metcalf for some time.
She was on her way home to spend Christmas with her parents.
Her injuries are very severe and one leg broken, in addition
to bruises on her body.
J. P. Heckelman, who lives at 26th and Dumiesnil streets, was
badly bruised about the back and head. Miss Ella Adams of 410
20th Street, Louisville, had her arm crushed and received severe
injuries about the head and face. Her brother, S. K. Adams, was
only slightly hurt.
The announcement that a special train bearing the dead and hurt
would arrive at the Tenth Street station at 5:00 p.m. in the
afternoon caused the depot platform to assume an unusually animated
appearance for an hour before that time. There were 200 or more
people about, some ordinarily curious, others morbidly so, while
a few were relatives and friends of the victims of the catastrophe.
Under instructions from the railroad company, an undertaker's
wagon, containing coffins; and four carriages stood waiting for
the expected train. It came in promptly, and there was much running
about and crowding to get a peep into the coaches. There were
two of them and a baggage car, the engine pulling the train in
reverse; the two coaches first and the baggage car in the rear.
A reporter who boarded the train on the edge of the town found
that there were but the two dead and four of the injured on board.
In the first coach was Milton McFerran, the luckless engineer
of the Cannon Ball train and Clinton S. Miller recently of Lebanon,
who was being brought to his home. Both of the poor fellows were
frightfully injured and so bandaged in lint and cotton as to
hide their features completely. Several persons bent over McFerran,
who lay upon two cushions, doing all they could to comply with
the inarticulate demands that came from a crevice in the mass
of cotton and oiled silk about the sufferer's head. They gently
held him so that the painful effect of the train's movement might
be mitigated. He had borne the long and agonizing ordeal with
heroic fortitude.
Mr. Miller sat upright, resting his legs on the opposite seat
where a friend kept watch. He made a strange picture as he sat
there disguised in a profusion of bandages and cotton, and an
occasional deep sigh was all that evidenced the great suffering
he was undergoing. All his front teeth were gone, his head, face,
and hands were badly scalded, and his left arm was broken. As
an illustration of his coolness and fortitude, Dr. Satterwhite,
who kept a close watch upon both the men, related that when he
came across Miller, at the house to which he had been removed
near the scene of the accident, he found him smoking a cigar.
To see a man in such a condition finding consolation in a cigar
gave the physician a sensation.
McFerran was scalded on the head, face, and hands, had inhaled
the steam, and was bruised and mangled from the frightful plunge
in which he had clung to his engine with the fearlessness of
a martyr. He is desperately hurt and, while he may recover, it
would seem that the chances are against him.
The second coach on the train was that in which the passengers
who were injured sat when the collision occurred. Both ends were
demolished, and it was carried along by chains. There was no
one in it, and it was filled with debris of the car that was
smashed to smithereens. When the door was opened, a dead body
covered with coarse clothes was lying on the floor. A solitary
train employee guarded the remains, which were those of Mrs.
Mary Perkins and the lad Willie Houston.
Passing on into the rear compartment of the baggage car, a sad
spectacle was presented. Drs. George and Will Griffith stood
about the cots. A single lantern's light showed that on one cot
lay a female, but this was made known by her garb alone. Like
the unfortunates in the first coach, her head, face, and arms
were swathed in lint, cotton, and silk unbroken save that she
might breathe. A peculiar rattling sound came from the throat
as the poor girl breathed, and it was evident that hers was a
critical case. She was Miss Mary Kinnaird, daughter of Mr. John
Kinnaird of the Ninth Street Tobacco Warehouse was 18 years of
age, and before the terrible accident was a very pretty girl.
She was not only scalded on the face, arms, head, and hands,
but she had breathed the hot steam and her throat and lungs were
blistered so that it was agony to breathe.
The surgeon's needle had probed the gatherings in her throat
allowing her to live, but she was a pitiable sufferer. She lay
almost still and bore the awful pain like a brave soldier. She
may recover, but her comeliness of face is gone forever. "She
was on her way to Danville to spend the holidays," said
Mr. George Strother, her brother-in-law, "and I told her
goodbye at the breakfast table. Two hours later we learned the
terrible news."
Just opposite Miss Kinnard was the other cot upon which Charles
King, the fireman of The Cannon Ball train, who jumped just before
the crash, tossed feverishly. The upper part of his face and
his head alone were bandaged. His injuries differed in character
from the others. His skull was fractured from striking a telegraph
pole as he plunged through the air, and he was severely bruised.
He was just in the flush of strong manhood, but he made a pitiful
sight when he moved his brawny arms through the air in helpless
agony. Dr. Satterwhite says there is no depression of the brain
and that there are chances for King's recovery.
Engineer McFerran was taken to his home on Kentucky Street between
12th and 13th. Mr. Miller reached the house to which he but lately
removed on the southeast corner of 26th and Bank streets, no
worse for the long ride. King was driven to his home at 1228
Eighth Street, and Miss Kinnaird, attended by a lady and a gentleman
who were in waiting, was tenderly moved to Mrs. T. W. Mitchell's
on the southwest corner of Seventh and Chestnut streets where
her parents have apartments. The bodies of Mrs. Perkins and Willie
Houston were placed in coffins and removed to Wyatt and Crailies
Undertaking Establishment where they were prepared for burial
last night and from whence they will be shipped to Hodgenville
this morning.
General Manager Harahan returned to Louisville last night. "When
I arrived on the scene with the relief train," he said,
"I found everything confusion and everybody was doing all
he could to care for the dead and dying. Had there been a regular
coach attached to train 23 instead of the extra coach, which
luckily was being taken to train 24 to accommodate the very heavy
Christmas travel, the loss of life would have been terrible and
probably no one in it would have escaped alive. As it was, it
was first reported that one-half dozen people had been killed,
and the report was for a time believed that several bodies were
still in the wrecked car, crushed too death, or being burned.
Everybody at the wreck worked nobly, and the train men and citizens
did all in their power to help the surgeons alleviate the pain
of the suffering and properly attend to the already dead. I did
not interfere with their labors to make any investigation of
the accident and none will be made until Engineer McFerran has
sufficiently recovered to tell his side of the story. He is one
of the chief men, and nothing will be done until he can be heard.
"I can venture no opinion whatever as to who was to blame
in the unfortunate accident, for no man should be done an injustice,
and no man should be condemned until the true state of the case
is known. The rules governing the running of trains are very
clear, and as yet it is not known who violated them. The rules
say that in approaching a junction point, Bardstown Junction
being named as one of them, all trains must be under control
and for all that is now known train No. 5 was under control.
Trains have been running under these rules for years and no accident
of the kind ever occurred before. One occurring now at such a
point as Bardstown Junction is more of a surprise to me than
if it had happened at almost any other point on the line. The
grade, the country, and all the circumstances are against its
occurrence and nothing but a careful official investigation will
bring out the true causes of the lamentable casualty."
The conductors of both trains have been summoned to report to
the L&N officers of Louisville and will return when they
have made their statements concerning the cause of the accident
and the exact manner in which it came about.
Opinion among railroad men is divided as to who is responsible
for the terrible occurrence, and this will remain unsettled until
an official investigation has been held. The engineer and fireman
of The Cannon Ball claim that they saw nothing of a flagman who
should have been sent back to warn about a train already being
at the depot. It is charged that Engineer McFerran and Fireman
King violated one of the most stringent rules of the L&N
in running at the speed they did, when near Bardstown Junction,
as the orders are for all engineers to have their engines under
complete control when making such turns and when within one-half
mile of certain points among which is Bardstown Junction.
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