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[Illustration]




  THE
  ASHTABULA DISASTER.

  BY
  REV. STEPHEN D. PEET,
  OF ASHTABULA, OHIO.


  _ILLUSTRATED._


  CHICAGO, ILL.:
  J. S. GOODMAN--LOUIS LLOYD & CO.
  LONDON, ONT.: J. M. CHUTE & CO.
  1877.




  Copyright, A. D. 1877,
  By J. S. GOODMAN and LOUIS LLOYD & CO.


  OTTAWAY & COLBERT,
  PRINTERS,
  147 & 149 Fifth Ave., Chicago.

  BLOMGREN BROS. & CO.,
  ELECTROTYPERS,
  162 & 164 Clark St., Chicago.




PREFACE.


The narrative of the greatest railroad disaster on record is a task
which has been undertaken in the following pages. No event has awakened
more wide-spread interest for many years, and the calamity will not
cease to have its effect for a long time to come. The author has had
unusual facilities for knowing the particulars, and has undertaken the
record of them on this account. A familiarity with the locality, the
place and the citizens, personal observation on the spot during the
night, and a critical examination of the wreck before it was removed
in the morning gave him an exact knowledge of the accident which few
possessed. This, followed by intercourse with the survivors, with the
friends of the deceased, and the representatives of the press, and
by correspondence, which resulted from his assistance in identifying
bodies, and searching for relics, all added to his acquaintance with
the event and its consequences. The author is, however, happy in making
an acknowledgment of assistance from the thorough investigation of
the coroner’s jury, from the faithful presentation of facts by the
reporters of the press, especially those of the “Inter-Ocean” and
the “Cleveland Leader,” also from the pictures taken by the artist
Frederick Blakeslee, and from the articles published and sent by
various friends, which contained sermons, sketches and biographical
notices. He has to acknowledge also encouragements received from Capt
T. E. Truworthy of California, and his publishers J. S. Goodman and
Louis Lloyd & Co.

The discussions before the country in reference to the cause of
this accident, the author has not undertaken to give. These have
been contained in the “Railroad Gazette,” the “Railway Age,” the
“Springfield Republican,” the New York and Chicago dailies, and many
other papers.

Prominent engineers, such as C. P. Buckingham, Clemans Herschel, E. C.
Davis, L. H. Clark, Col. C. R. Morton, E. S. Cheseborough, Edward S.
Philbrick, D. V. Wood, F. R. Smith and many others have passed their
opinion upon it.

The accident at first seemed to involve the question of the use of iron
for bridges, and whether the European system was not better than the
American, and a comment upon this was given by Charles Collins, when he
testified that $25,000 more would have erected a stone bridge. Yet as
the discussions continued, the conclusion seems to have been reached
that riveted iron bridges might be safe if properly constructed, and
the engineers appointed by the State Legislature of Ohio, reported that
they “find nothing in this case to justify our popular apprehension
that there may be some inherent defect in iron as a material for
bridges. We find no evidence of weakness in this bridge, which could
not have been discovered and prevented.”

The erection of iron bridges with the trusses all below the track as
contrasted with so-called “through” bridges has also been discussed.
In this case the tendency to “buckling” where the track is supported
by iron braces rather than suspended from them was most apparent, for
engineer Gottleib testified there was not a single brace which was not
buckled.

The danger from derailment and the fearful result which must follow
in high bridges like this is sufficient argument for the addition of
guards, or some other means to prevent trains from going off.

These questions, however, are for railroad engineers to settle. The
responsibility of the railroad companies to the American public is a
point more important. The “Iron Age,” speaking of this disaster says,
“it is a disquieting accident.” It says also that: “We know there are
plenty of cheap, badly built bridges