| From the Nashville Union and American |
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| February 7, 1861 |
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| The Railroads and the Rains |
| Fatal Railroad Accident |
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| We learn from Mr. Grott,
messenger of the Adams Express Company, that the heavy rains of last
Friday and Saturday have done a vast amount of damage to some of the
railroads connecting with the Memphis & Charleston railroad. The
abutment of the railroad bridge over the Chickamauga creek, about ten
miles from Chattanooga, was washed away on Saturday night. On Sunday
morning, the eastward bound train from Chattanooga, whose engineer was
ignorant of the washing away of the bridge, run into the creek, the
locomotive being entirely submerged, together with the tender and
baggage car. The engineer, Mr. McNabb, when he drew near, blew for the
breaks, and reversed the engine but had no time to escape. He went down
at his post and has not been seen since He leaves a wife and four
children at Knoxville. The fireman, Mr. Brown, jumped off the train and
swam ashore with great difficulty. |
| The Western & Atlantic road,
which runs from Chattanooga to Atlanta, had two or three bridges washed
away, and the water was over the track some four hundred yards between
Chattanooga and Chickamauga station. The bridge south of Johnson depot
was also washed out of its place. The bridge at Tilton station was
likewise washed away. |
| The New Orleans and Jackson
{& Great Northern} road was also
considerably washed away on Friday night, near Jackson, Miss. |
| There has also been heavy
slides on the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad. |
| The Southern bound train from
Chattanooga to Atlanta got as far as Catoosa, about thirty miles from
Chattanooga, on Sunday morning, when it was found that the bridge on the
Chickamauga had been washed out, so that it could not pass. The train
attempted to go back, but it was found that a portion of the territory
over which it had passed had been washed away so that it could not
return leaving one and a half miles for it to play on. |
| Memphis Bulletin Feb. 5 |
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