The lower chord (at the top of the bridge) and what remained of the deck held for a moment, then fell directly down to land atop the locomotive, express cars, and baggage cars. Momentum pulled the rest of the train into the space where the bridge used to be. The first passenger coach landed upright in mid-stream atop the wreckage of the bridge and the second express car. The second passenger car twisted in the air as it fell, landing on its side atop the bridge and first baggage car. The smoking car, having broken free of the passenger coach ahead of it, moved more freely. It struck the forward part of the second passenger coach, crushing it, before being propelled into the first passenger coach. (It is widely believed most people in the first passenger coach died when the smoking car fell on them.) Momentum also carried the parlor car "Yokohama" and the three sleeper cars into the chasm. All of them landed about south of the bridge. The "Yokohama" landed upright in mid-stream, and the sleeper "Palatine" landed mostly right-side up beside it to the north. The sleeper "City of Buffalo" then nose-dived into the rear of the "Palatine", partially crushing it and killing several people. It continued through the "Palatine" into the rear of the "Yokohama", pushing the parlor car onto its side. The "Buffalo" smashed forward along the length of the parlor car, likely killing everyone inside. The rear of the "Buffalo" lay atop the "Palatine", high in the air. An eyewitness said no one in the "City of Buffalo" survived the crash. The final sleeper, the "Osceo", landed on the east bank of the river, mostly upright. Fire and deaths The crash was heard at the railroad's W. 32nd Street Station (just to the west of the bridge) and in the town, and the alarm was raised. Rescuers first on the scene included railroad employees, those waiting on the platform at the station, and residents of Ashtabula who lived near the bridge. The only access to the valley floor was a set of steep, narrow steps, covered in snow. Most people slid down the steep incline rather than take the steps, and several people brought axes to help free survivors. The wooden cars burst into flame when their coal- and kerosene-fed heating stoves and oil lamps overturned. An early report said fire broke out in