Robbers Wreck a Treasure Train

Newcastle, Pennsylvania, 1909
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ROBBERS WRECK A TREASURE TRAIN

Royal Blue Limited on the B. & O. Ditched Near Newcastle, Pa.

WERE AFTER CASH CARRIED BY TRAIN

Two Killed and Several Hurt When Train is Thrown from Track.

Newcastle, Pa., Sept. 4. -- The wreck of train No. 5, the Royal Blue limited on the Baltimore & Ohio, railroad which occurred at 12:25 this morning causing the death of two persons and injury of more than a score of others, is now believed to have been caused for the purpose of robbing the express car, which is known to have contained a large sum of money shipped from New York to western banks.

The Baltimore & Ohio officials declared the accident was a pure case of train wrecking, and immediately following the wreck stationed armed guards about the express car.

The train was west bound from Pittsburgh for Chicago and when two miles from Newcastle at a little place called Chewton, Pa., ran into a misplaced rail. Wreckers had removed two fish plates, moved the north rail inside and had pulled out the spikes. The entire train was thrown from the track. The great speed with which it was traveling caused all the cars and engine of the train to topple over on their sides and slip on with force over a small embankment.

Killed and Injured.

Following is a list of the killed and seriously injured as given out by the Baltimore & Ohio railroad company:

Killed:
CHAS A. DILL, engineer, Chicago Junction, O.
GEORGE WHEATCRAFT, train baggagemaster, Chicago Junction, O.

Injured:
E. P. Cavanaugh, chief boiler inspector, Baltimore & Ohio railroad, Baltimore.
Henry C. Millard, passenger, 54 years old, at hospital, Newcastle.
Charles Buki, Austrian, passenger, Joliet, jaw badly injured and knee sprained.
J. H. Lanson, single, 53 years old, residence Indianapolis, bad back, now in hospital at Newcastle.
Mrs. H. B. Seneff, passenger, 40 years old, Chadwick, Ill., in hospital Newcastle.
Master Kenneth Senneff, passenger, three years old, Chadwick, Ill., in hospital Newcastle.

Deliberate Case of Wrecking.

According to General Superintendent R. Finney it was a deliberate case of train wrecking. The rail on the right side was cut at the point and the spikes pulled on both sides nearly the entire length of the rail. The approach rail was moved in far enough to clear the wheels. The spikes were pulled by a bar. The bolts and nuts of the joint showed they had been removed with a Wrench. One splice bar was placed between the rails to keep them from going together. The motive for the dastardly act whether revenge or robbery, has not yet been determined. The officials of the road in Pittsburgh and the entire force Of detectives were dispatched to the scene and began a thorough investigation.

Immediately after the accident a train was made up and the uninjured passengers after being transferred continued their journey westward leaving at 5:25 o'clock this morning. The east bound tracks were not obstructed by the wreck and the westbound track was expected to be cleared about 10 o'clock.

Heroic Fireman Saves Lives.

That a hundred lives were not lost in the wreck, it was declared today was due to the bravery and quick action of fireman Purcell, who escaped death by a miraculous leap from the engine cab as the heavy engine and two cars somersaulted over a steep embankment.

When he felt the heavy engine on which he was firing, lurch and leave the rails, Purcell jumped to the right side of the cab and threw over the emergency brakes thus saving the ditching of the two Pullman sleepers attached to the flyer. The fireman's story is borne out by the fact that the brakes on the Pullman cars were found to be tightly set by wrecking crews.

Dead Number Three.

The list of casualties was augmented today by the death of E. P. Kavanaugh, chief boiler inspector of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, who died at the Newcastle hospital shortly after 11 o'clock. The total dead and injured according to the latest calculation is now three dead and seventeen injured.

Casting about for a motive for the train wreck, Baltimore and Ohio special police today attach special significance to the recent strike of the machinists employed on the road.

The railway people say the wreck was the work of railroad men, as the manner of extracting the bolts from the rails and the removal of the fish plates was done in a way indicative of experienced workmen.

Several former employes of the railroad were looked up by the special police during the morning. No arrests were made.




DENY TRAIN CARRIED MONEY

Pittsburgh, Sept. 4.— Officials of the United States Express company here stated today that no money was aboard the train No. 5 known as the Royal Blue limited, wrecked at Newcastle early today. The report that the train carried a large sum of money was said to be fiction for the reason that the express company carries no money whatsoever on that train, nor have they ever done so. The statement of the express company officials, it is believed eliminates the robbery motive of the train wreckers.

--Fort Wayne Weekly Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Indiana, September 8, 1909, page 2.