Virginian in 1909--Wreck

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Bluefield Daily Telegraph
March 24, 1909

THREE BADLY BURNED AND TWO MAY DIE
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First Serious Wreck on Virginian Railway Occurs in Tunnel Just Below Rock

    The first serious wreck on the new Virginian railway occurred yesterday morning at 9:10 o'clock at the first tunnel just below Rock, known as Rock tunnel. Details of the disaster are meager, however, that at least three men were seriously injured, two of them being so badly burned that their death may occur at any time.
    From the best information obtainable it seems that engine No. 402 (blurred, best interpretation shown), pulling a heavy train, the west bound local struck a rock which had fallen on the track after entering the tunnel and the tender of the engine turned crosswise, knocking down timbers and causing some of the roof of the tunnel to fall in.  A steam pipe was broken and the men held captive by the wreckage were literally cooked.
    It was said that it would require at least thirty-six hours to clear the track.  The injured men are:
    GEORGE HILL, conductor in charge of the train, fatally burned.
    CHARLES WADE, engineer, seriously burned.
    F. N. FOSTER, fireman, terribly burned, injuries probably fatal.
    Conductor Hill received the most serious injuries.  When taken out the skin came off of his arms and breast and his finger nails dropped out.  The nails in some instances, it is reported, hung by little shreds of skin, and were cut loose by one of the train men.
    It is feared that Fireman Foster is fatally burned also, and very little hope is entertained for his recovery.
    Engineer Wade, while severely burned, was able to walk after the accident.
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[It's ironic that the accident was caused by a rock in Rock tunnel near the town of Rock.]

Gordon Hamilton
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