1896 Atlantic City Rail Crash - Emergency Response

Emergency Response

As soon as the news reached Atlantic City it spread rapidly, and thousands of people came to the scene. The road leading to the collision was a constant scene of hackney carriages, omnibuses, bicycles, and all kinds of vehicles, while thousands of pedestrians hurried along the path to render what assistance they could or to satisfy their curiosity.

After darkness, the work of rescuing the injured and recovering the bodies of the dead was performed by the glare of huge bonfires.

As onlookers watched through the night, the mangled and burned bodies of the dead were carried from the wreckage which trapped them and laid side by side on the gravel bank near the track, with no covering other than the few newspapers gathered from the passengers.

The wounded were gathered together quickly and carried by train and wagon to the Atlantic City Hospital, where six of them died soon after their arrival. Two others died within a day, with 42 people having been killed at the collision scene.

The old Excursion House at the foot of Mississippi Avenue was converted into a morgue, and the dead were taken there.

During the first night after the crash, the streets in the vicinity of the Excursion House and the City Hospital, as well as the road leading to the scene of the accident, were packed with people anxious to learn the latest news.

The Bridgeton and Salem excursionists who escaped injury were brought back to Atlantic City and sent home on a special train several hours later in the evening.

James W. Hoyt, Secretary of the New Jersey Department of Public Safety, immediately upon learning of the extent of the accident, telegraphed for the Philadelphia Medical Emergency Corps, fifteen of whom responded, and hurried to Atlantic City on a special train which left Philadelphia at 10:45 pm. These surgeons materially aided Atlantic City's volunteer corps, which was composed of almost every physician then living in the city.

Many of the injured were taken to hotels, as the city hospitals soon became overcrowded. About thirty of the wounded had their injuries dressed and were able to proceed on their way.

The wife of Edward Farr, the Reading engineer who died while on the job, and was found with one hand on the throttle and the other on the brake, when informed of the accident and of her husband's death, was unable to withstand the shock, and fell to the floor dead.