Mexico weekly ledger., 1881-12-15
BRIDGE OF SIGHS.
THE BIG BRIDGE AT ST. CHARLES
DOWN AGAIN.
Thirty-two Cars of Stock and Grain with
Three Men Precipitated into the
big Muddy"

Big Muddy"
Engineer Kiri<sby the Only Man Killed.
Dreadful Drop--History of the Bridge
and the Accident of 1879.
Last Thursday evening the east
span of the St. Charles bridge went
down with a loaded freight train of
80 cars. The LEDGER would have
given full particulars that night in an
extra but it was impossible to get
the news for love or money, and the
next day the st. Louis papers ar
rived with minute particulars. The
span Of the bridge that went down
two years ago was the span on the
west side. The span that fell this
time was the east one. The first in
telligence direct from the scene stat
ed that freight train, with engine
No. IL and thirty-two cars, we're on
the bridge when the east trestle
span, No. l, gave way, and thirteen
cars of stock and eighteen of freight
went down. Six men were on board
at the time, two stock men: W. c.
Anderson, of Pattonsburg, Mo. :; Pat
Grove, Of Howard; conductor Dur
field, fireman Chamberlain ; engineer
Jack Kirksby ; brakemens sChas. Oblin-
ger and Mldcap. Kirksby was lost.
Oblinger and Chamberlain also went
down with the train, buts they were
rescued, Oblinger bruised about the
face and Chamberlain with one leg
broken. The others were uninjured.
Thos. Hoffman, bridge watchman,
was on the west approach. He says:
I heard the crash, and looking out
l saw that the span was down, and
that the cars were going into the
river. At first they were slow
and jerky, until there we're only six
or ten cars left on the bridge, when
suddenly they made a shoot, and
went flying out faster than you could
possibly count. The caboose broke
loose entirely, and went flying into
the pit, headfirst.
w. c. Anderson, stockman of
Pattonsburg, was on the rear plat
form of the caboose when he heard
the crash at the forward end. He
knew what had happened, and not
stopping a moment to consider, he
jumped off on to the narrow foot
planks used by the watchman, and
was saved.
AN INTERVIEW WITH THE INJURED.
The two employees of the road who
were injured, c. H. Oblinger, brake
man, and Newton Chambelain, the
fireman, were seen in their beds at
the Gait House whittier they were
removed after the accident. The
first named, who was severely cut
about the head and face, besides suf-
fering other severe contusions, said:
II was on the top of box-csr the
third from the engine, sitting on the
brake wheel, the train running SLOW
about as fast as l could walk the
engine and two or three cars had
gone into the span, the former being
within car length of the abutment,
when all of sudden, as though in
dream, felt something sinking, and
void to mysolf, my Cod, hao the
st. Charles bridge gone again?' The
car seemed to fall little slower than
l did, and two or three times caught
up with it, and the next thing l knew
1 was standing Oh top of the car sur
rounded by water. Looking up at
the other cars for while l felt very
unsafe and thought every minute
would be my last, for the cars came
laundering down, clash, clash, until
1 saw the red lights fall, and then l
knew that was safe. then crawled
up ON the top cord, few feet above
me, and lay there on my right side;
while in that position l looked oyer
at the cab Of the engine, which was
just out Of the water, and heard the
groans of the fireman, who was on
top of the cab. There was space of
about fifteen feet Of water between
me and him, where some cars had
been swept out downstream, so that
couldn't reach him. / halloed to
him that l could not reach him, and
that he would have to take things
easy until help came. He kept call
ing out every two Or three minutes,
but no one came"
"What, in your judgment, was the
cause of the span giving way?"
swell, that is something that l
can not readily say, but think it was
the weight of the engine"
"Was the engine of extraordinary
weight!''
eyes, it was 10 wheel engine,
about the weight of rolling mill.
There is no way of estimating the
weight pulling thirty cars over that
bridge"
"But that engine must have passed
over the bridge great many times
before %
"Yes; but you know the proverb
of the constant dripping wearing
away the stone.''
"Was it all stock?"
"No, there were twelve cars of
stock and the rest grain.'
"Was the stock all killed."
"No; while l was on top of the
box-csr heard the pigs all squealing
around me, and saw steer poke his
nose out, looking for something to
eat.''
Newton Chamberlain, the fireman,
dark, good-looking young man,
who was in the adjoining room, was
then seen, and between his gasps for
breath, caused by the excruciating
pain he was suffering by broken
limb, said: II was just thinking, for
some reason, about the accident of
two years ago, when all of sudden
there was crash and simultaneous
fall of the engine to the water below.
The engineer was sitting in his seat
in the cab, and I was standing at my
usual Eost. Neither of US made any