The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1882-09-26
in THE TUNNEL.
Further Particulars Regard.
ing the Accident of Sun
day Morning.
How the Trouble Came About
and Where the Blame Has
Seen Placed.
A Talk With Superintendent Abe
EaRer on the Deplorable
Situation

SITUATION.
Yesterday RAzoo gave all the particu.
lars oDta; ,s.'.-., .egart,ug the accident Oh
the Pacific at the lunnel this side OF
Kirkwood, but the worst was Eot related by
considerable From the ST. Louis papers
OF yesterday, which did no, reach Sedaiia
until late last night, the following ad-
ditioDal information is obtained. showing
that the wreck is one OF the worst that
ever occurred on the Pacific road.
1t seeiEs that the agent at M.ramec sta
tion was telegraphed about noon Sunday
to Instruct Conductor Ross and Engineer
Wilson that the train of four lime =
which t;,eir engine WAS backing .ast~.l.
toward kirkwood should halt al Vi rance.
aud wait there until specisi train OF
forty seven cars, bound westward from II.
Lomis, should meet il there. The agent,
probably in tit of absent minGedness,
telegraphed that it was ali right. when. as
a matter OF fact, the train Of four ears had
passed his station, going east, nearly an
hour before. Thus it was that two trains
were darling towards each other on the
same track, the engineer on each being in
blissful ignorance of the approach of the
KiIkwood the track makes a long curve,
and passes through "a tunnel 425 ieet in
length The track has heavy down-grade
to the west there, and The forty seven cars
went laundering into the west end of the
tunnel with
TERRIBLE IMPETUS.
Just as the four ears pushed by, the en-.
CINE approached the west end, Engineer
O'Neil, i'm charge OF the long train, sa " the
other cars when he was halt way throug gin,
aud reversed his eng inc and blew the
whistle. The brakeman on the first car
of the lime train discovered the danger al
the same time and the other engine
shrieked an answering alarm. As we'll
try to stop Niagara as that west-bOund
train. There was a collision which shook
the house on the bluff over the tunnel, and
the lighter train Was sent backward two
hundred yards, while the heavier chOked
the tunnel with pile OF broken tmbers,
car wheels, lumber and merchandise.
There was hiss OF steam, and people from
the neighborhOod rushed into the cut at
either end After lapse of five minutes
Engineer O'Ncil and his fireman
CRAwLED OUT OF THE WRECK,
the former seith broken finger and cut
face and the latter unsecured. Meanwhile,
the conductor and rear brakeman. who
were Ola tile cars that had not vet ent, red
the tunnel, ran forward among The elk
r. and exirica:ed the head brakeman. wno
haG been knocked of the top Of a box car
and lay with a broken arm among the
ruins. 4 colnred man from Rose Hill,
who, with two little boys, was riding in
one of the lumber cars, crawied out with a
broken arm, which had to be amputated
soon after The boys were uninjnred. The
engineer states that he heard two white
men crying for help in one of the cars, anu
that they never got out, but be may have
been mistaken.
The ENGINE FIRED THE WRECK,
the flames were driven through the tunnel,
and in two hours the road had been dam
anged quarter of million dollars.
The scene of the accident from O'Clock
Sunday night to midnight was gorgeo us
one From either end of :he tunnel vol
umes of flame rushed out ftfullv, and
lighted up the wilderness on either side OF
the deep cuts that led to the openings,
producing the most weird effects. On the
banks with their legs dangling over the
edges were scores of railroad men and res
idents of the vicinity, all discussing eager
ly the details of this most eventful day
and venturing prophecies as to how long
IL would be before trains would be again
able to 60 through the tunnel.
Among the first ON the scene after the
accident vas farmer named Jolly, who
reached the wrecked engine in time TO help
to extricate the engineer and fireman He !;
said that at that time there was 10 fire, |
l.,,t ri led fh.,l
engine, whose furnace was
FULL OF LIVE GOALS.
lie saws the engineer told him he heard |
two white men CRYING for help in car |!
Just behind the eng inc, and there is some /
ground for the belief that they were burned |
to death. The fire broke out very soon |
after the engineer got ont OF the cab, and /
the wind being from the west the flames |
were carried back from the wreck TO the |
east end, eating up sixteen cars and their
contents As they went. jolly says the col |
lisi"n made the very ground tremoIe at a |
distance Of half mile
1t will take probably two DAYS for the |
stone walls TO cool sufficiently TO admit of i
work leing done, and even then the pro-
gress must he slow. owing to the great dan
ger from falling stone. In fact, it is not at
all improbable that the company will.
after removing the thousands of tons of i
stone. have TO either put perm anent line
of pillars and girders through the whole !
tunnel, or cut away the thirty feet of earth
and stone above and convert the tunnel !
into a mere cut.
When a reporter reached the tunnel
SIXTEEN CARS HAD BEEN CONSUMED,
i've of which were loaded, two with lum-
Der, two with machinery and one with
lime. The heat of the fire cracked and
burned the roof of tho tunnel SD that large
portions oi it caveh in, making the wreck
more Formidable, and completely choking
up the entire place. The roof being com
posed "f Limestone. added 10 the intensity
OF the fire. and although it had been burn