From the April 11, 1898 issue of the Marion Daily Star newspaper:
A Runaway Train - Smashes Things up on the Erie at Lima
A runaway train on the Chicago & Erie road was the cause of a bad accident a short distance west of the depot at Lima Saturday evening. The train was the Wells-Fargo Express and passenger train, due there at 4:48 o'clock, and was in charge of conductor Newt Robey of Marion, with James Shaffer of Huntington, IN and George Miller, also of Huntington, fireman. It consisted of four express cars, three through cars and one containing local matter and a passenger coach. The train left Marion 15 minutes late. The only stop from here to Lima is at Kenton and engineer Shaffer set out to make up some of the time. The run is one of the fastest on the road and when the train dashed past the Lima depot engineer Schaffer had made up ten minutes of the time, but the train had become unmanageable. When the slowing up place for the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton - Lake Erie & Western crossings, a short distance east of the depot, was reached, engineer Shaffer discovered the air brakes would not work and he whistled for brakes. Conductor Robey and the brakeman tried to check the train, but it was going along at not less than 60 miles per hour as it shot past the depot.

Two squares beyond and just around the curve was the eastbound local freight train, with conductor Thos. Bussert in charge, Luke O'Brien engineer and Frank Seber, fireman, all of Lima. The local had just cut off the caboose, leaving it on the main track and had set the rest of the train on the siding, while conductor Bussert went ahead to flag as the engine was coming back to get the caboose, when the express dashed around the curve. Engineer O'Brien and fireman Seber, of the local, jumped and escaped with a few bruises, but brakeman Rohlman was on top of a car and was injured in jumping. Engineer Shaffer, of the Express, jumped just as the two trains came together. He was badly injured about the head and had not recovered from the shock late Saturday night. He asked about his fireman but was not told he was dead. Fireman Miller did not jump and was caught between the tender, which was shoved into the cab, and mashed beneath the coal against the boiler head. He was buried about an hour before he could be gotten out. He was horribly burned and mashed. He leaves a family.

The injured were Thomas Burns of Spencerville, OH, whose face was cut; A.T. Lewis of Toledo, arm injured; Henry Williams of Lima, back severely injured; C.S. Sheldon, express messenger of Salamanca, cut and bruised by boxes, etc. The express engine was totally wrecked and a dozen freight cars were mashed up. The express cars kept the track.