May 23, 1889 — The Roanoke excursion last Wednesday numbered between 300 and 400 persons. There were some 10 or 12 from Page, the remainder being generally from Hagerstown.
On the return of the train, when about a mile this side of Roanoke, it ran into a freight train, wrecking the engine and three coaches of the excursion train, and completely demolishing the freight train.
In all the annals of railroad mishaps it was pronounced by all who saw it as one of the most marvelous in that not a passenger was seriously hurt — in fact, no injury was done to anyone except a Mr. Smith, from Hagerstown, who received a slight sprain to one of his legs.
It took from 10 o’clock at night till 5 the next morning to remove the wreck.
The damage to the Railroad Company was estimated at $10,000.
~ From the public archives of the Page News and Courier
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