Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, December 20, 1906
Head on Collision on the R.W.&O. Road
LOCOMOTIVES DEMOLISHED
The Operator Blamed - Said to Have Left the Signal Open
The Force of the Impact Shook House and Awoke Many people. Crew of the Locomotive Jumped and Escaped Injury - The Tracks were Blocked for Several Hours
Sodus, Dec. 19 --- A costly head-on collision occurred this morning at 6:10 o'clock on the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad a few rods west of the Sodus station, making scrap iron of three large mogul engines, and demolishing several freight cars. One engineer is in the Myers Hospital, one has a scalded leg, although able to get around, and a fireman is at the home of Section Agent Hyde with a crushed leg, body scalded from escaping steam in injured internally.
The cause of the collision is stated as the fault of Clarence Newton, whose home is at Stanley, who was they day operator at Wallington, three miles east of Sodus, the junction of the R.W.&O. and the Northern Central roads.
Newton had changed off for last night, taking the trick of the regular night operator, Carlton Roberts, of Sodus. He had opened the block at 5 o'clock for the New York and Chicago Limited to pass and, it is claimed, failed to close it. A freight train, No. 25, had received orders to pass through freight No. 26 at Sodus, and the operator at Wallington had received orders for No. 26 to meet No. 25 at Sodus.
No. 26, a long train drawn by two engines, No. 1734 and No. 1813, with Harnett as conductor. Dowd and Bartlett, engineers, stopped at Wallington and took water, and as the semaphore stated a clear track the train proceeded.
The train going east, drawn by engine No 1730, had stopped at the west end of the yard to take the siding for train No. 26 to pass, and as a brakeman was at the switch to unlock it, the westbound train came along the curve there at a good speed. He swung his lantern and the head engineer whistled and set his air brakes, but the trains were too near to avoid a collision. The crew of the train going east jumped from the train and were uninjured
The impact shook the houses on Belden Street so that window rattled and the noise of escaping steam and the shouts of the men soon called a number of startled people to the scene, which kept growing as the news of the wreck spread.
The head engine, No. 1734, going west, ran upon the pilot of No. 1730 and each telescoped each other, No. 1734 resting on No. 1730, with only rear wheels upon the track. No. 1813, the second engine, was thrown across the ditch and nearly to the fence, landing on its side. Engineer Bartlett was caught in the cab and suffered a broken arm, broken leg, face and head cut. He was taken to Myers Hospital, half mile away. The fireman, James Pond, had a leg crushed, was badly scalded and injured internally. He was pinned under the cab but was dug out and taken to the house of Station Agent Hyde. Engineer E. Dowd , of No. 1734, was scalded, but walked to the station and kept around.
A wrecking crane and crew from Oswego arrived at 9 o'clock, and soon after the wrecking crews and cranes arrived from Charlotte and Rochester. At 2 o'clock the road was cleared so that the 2:16 passed. The two morning trains stopped at either end of the wreck, and the passengers walked a half-mile and took the other train, so that passenger traffic was not entirely stopped, although tracks were blocked for eight hours.
The wreck was a heavy loss in a financial way, but fortunate in there being no loss of life.