| Annual Report of the New Orleans, Jackson
& Great Northern Railroad Company |
| |
| New Orleans, February 28th, 1862 |
| |
| To the President and Board of Directors of
the New Orleans, Jackson & Great Northern Railroad Co. |
| |
| Gentlemen, |
| It has fallen on me to
report the first serious casualty that has ever occurred through the
agency of an employee of your road. |
| At 4 o'clock, on the morning
of the 27th February, the 7th Miss. Reg't. left this city en route to
Corinth, and when within one and a half miles of Ponchatoula, their
train came in collision with a construction train which had left
Ponchatoula in direct violation of the running rules of the road. |
| There were eighteen soldiers
killed instantly and about twenty-five seriously injured, two of those
injured died before reaching the city, and I am informed that there
are three, perhaps four more of the wounded who cannot survive. |
| On hearing of the accident, a
special train was made up, and every effort made to get assistance to
the wounded. Several surgeons were notified of the accident and
arrived promptly at the depot. Drs. Stone and Hayden, with those on
their staff, with several others, with whom I am unacquainted,
rendered efficient aid. |
| The construction train was
hauling timber for the repairs of the road, and we are compelled to
depend upon the judgment of the Engineer and his observance of the
rules of the road, for the position of the train at all times. |
| The night passenger train had
been discontinued, and the soldiers' train put on in its stead. |
| No irregular or construction
train had any right to be on the main track until a regular train
coming from the direction in which the delayed train should have come,
had passed, and the person in charge of the irregular or
construction train ascertained from the conductor of the regular train
that the train he had been waiting for had not been sent out. |
| Rule 12th -- Says, should any
trains having a schedule fail to make a station on its time, no train
without a schedule must leave the sideling until the train having a
schedule has passed under any circumstances, unless in obedience to
the written order of the Superintendent, his representative, or the
supervisor of the division on which the irregular train is at work. |
| The train which usually
leaves at 5 o'clock, P. M., had not passed, and until the arrival of a
regular train, the engineer in charge of the construction train should
have known that the train had not left on its time, or if it had, that
it had met with some accident between Ponchatoula and the city. |
| Rule 13th -- Says, wood,
gravel and construction trains must not be run on Sunday, or after
dark, except when absolutely necessary; then the conductor of the
regular train going in the direction in which the irregular train is
to go, must be notified of the time the irregular train is to start,
and how far it is to run. |
| The engineer of the
construction train had been loading timber at a point some thirty
miles above Ponchatoula on the day previous to the accident, and knew
where he was to deliver it, and while loading was passed by two
regular trains, by one of which, he should have sent word to the
watchman at Manchae. |
| The rules not permitting an irregular
train to leave a station after dark, when a head light can be seen, on
a straight track, at a distance of seven miles, no engineer has a
right to take an irregular train on the track in a dense fog, when he
cannot see a distance of two hundred feet, and when the head light
itself cannot be distinguished at a distance of twelve cars. |
| Rule 16th -- Says, Engineers
of irregular trains working between any two stations, must notify the
agent at both stations between which he is at work. This notification
must be made either in person or by a written notice sent by the first
regular train that passes after the engineer of the irregular train
receives his orders. This was not done by the engineer of the
construction train. Had the rules of the road been observed by the
engineer of the construction train, this sad and melancholy accident
could not have happened. |
| W. D. Foster, the engineer of
the construction train has been in the employ of the Company for
nearly three years, and was always considered an extremely careful and
prudent man. |
| Very Respectfully, |
| T. S. Williams |
| General Superintendent |