Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-07-11
RAILWAY WRECK At HUDSON.

Twelve Freight Cars Come Down the
Grade from the East Into the Depot Yard
at Speed of Sixty or Seventy Miles an
Hour and are Wrecked with Five En-
gines-Isaiah Tryder, an Engineer, In
stantly Killed.
Yesterday forenoon a freight train on the
Eastern division of the Chicago, ST. Paul &
Omaha railway was starting out from the
wooding station two miles east of North Wis
consin junction and about five miles out from
Hudson, when by the breaking
of coupling the twelve cars at rear
of the train became detached and at once start
ed down the grade toward Hudson. The train
crew having been assisting in wooding the
engine, were all at the time on the front of the
train and there was no possibility of stopping
the runaway cars. The grade from where
they started down to the Hudson bridge,
averages about sixty-five feet to the mile. The
operator at North Wisconsin junction saw
offices were quickly notified. The Hudson
operator ran out to give the alarm
and heard the runaways coming. He
signalled to two freight engines stand
ing at the wood piles in the lower
part of the yard, on the main track, with
their heavy freight train detached but not far
behind them and the engines began moving
backward just astt the runaways came over the
Willow river bridge, around the sharp curve
and down the depot yard at hurricane speed,
and crashed into and upon the locomotives,
on the trestle opposite the big mill. The
trestle work was demolished and the wreck
of the two engines and seven or eight cars
piled into the pond, where only small parts of
the engines were left out of water.
All the cars, loaded with grain,
bran and flour, were completely
splintered. Of the caboose nothing could be
seen in the mass of ruins, and to all appear
ances the locomotives were broken, bent and
pounded as if they had been bombarded
Railroad men who saw the ruins pronounced
it the worst case of railway wreck they had
ever seen.
The runaway cars came down upon the
engines at speed of sixty or seventy miles an
hour. When the drivers and firemen of
the locomotives first saw them, at dis
lance of three or four hundred yards,
and instantly comprehended that terrible
collision waa unavoidable, because the track
behind them was occupied, they jumped from
the locomotives and three of them escaped
without harm. But Isaiah Tryder, driver of
the locomotives, being heavy man and slow
in movement, was about five feet behind his
fireman and was caught, crushed down and
instantly killed. He was married man,
whose wife remains in Nova Scotia, where he
formerly lived. His step-son, residing at
Willmar, this State, was early notified of his
death, and Superintendent Spencer gave orders
for proper disposition and care of the remains.
Could the alarm been given at Hudson
moment earlier and some one been on hand to
change the switch above the depot, the run
away cars might have been turned into the
freight house, which they would doubtless
have demolished, but without destroying as
much property as now. Otherwise, it was
impossible to have escaped from the collision,
because the track behind the engines was &C.
cupied by the long freight train with which
they had started eastward.
The line connection was re-established yes
terday afternoon by laying a track from the
main track east of the demolished trestle to
the mill spur track running up the lake bank,
and the train for Chicago of last evening
passed the wreck by this temporary line,
without delay.