Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-04-10
TWO BIG WRECKS.

santa Fe Overlamds Meet with Dis
aster ON the A. & H.
The statement in yesterdays HERALD
of reported wreck on the Santa Fe sys-
tenn at Peach Springs, A. T., was corrob-
grated on the arrival of the train in this
city yesterday morning. It appears that
the eastbound train which left the First
street depot here on Sunday afternoon
was steaming under the influence of a
double-heade up the big 110.mile grade
which leads into Peach Springs, while
from the other direction the west
bound passenger, unconscious that
the other train was in its way,
came dsshing along toward Los Angeles.
AS the two trains sped on to big curve
over an eighty foot embankment, the
engineers came in sight of each other,
and seeing that there was no possible
way of averting the collision, did all in
their power by whistling for brakes, put
ting on the air, and reversing their en-
gines. Then they jumped, their fremen
doing likewise, one of them in his excite
ment leaping from the wrong side and
falling down the embankment.
The two trains came together with a
terrible crash, and the engines were
literally-lifted from the track and thrown
into the stream below, where they
landed mass of debris. The
baggage and mail-cars in both
instances followed the engines, but
by dispensation of providence the pas
senger coaches were left on the track,
or rather on the right-of-way. The dam.
age to life and limb was rather small
considering the circumstances OF the ac-
cident, the only man killed outright be-
ing an unfortunate who was stealing a
ride on the blind end of the baggage car.
He saw that the collision was coming and
attempted to jump, but was too late, and
was caught between the baggage car and
tender and crushed into bleeding mass.
The engineer who jumped over the en-
bankment had escaped with his life, but
one of his ears was torn completely from
his head, his face and body were badly
bruised, and it is believed he also sus-
tanned severe internal injuries. The
baggage-men, mailmen and other train
men escaped with bruises and scratches,
and the passengers got nothing worse
than scare and shaking.up. It took
nearly twenty-four hours to clear the
track, so the train was abandoned and
the passengers held over to be brought
in on the next overland.
ANOTHER sMAsH.UP.
Strange to say, the train they waited
for, and which duly came along on time,
had also been wrecked. The scene of
this second disaster was the half-mile
tunnel through the Ration Pass, on the
New Mexico and Arizona line. There is
register station called Morley on the
east side of the tunnel, and it is a stand
ing railroad order that no freight train
must follow on the track of passenger
within twenty minute limit.
A double header freight train
came along, however, few
minutes after the passenger had passed,
aud evidently did not wait for the time
limit, for in the tunnel it came up with
the passenger, and ran into it with great
force. The head engine of the freight
crushed completely through the rear
platform of the Pullman, and the head
light appeared in the sleeper, completely
wrecking the coach. But for the fact
that both trains were moving in the
same direction, the collision would have
been one of the worst on record, for
it was in the heart of the tunnel,
nd the passenger train was we'll filled
with travellers. AS it. was, no one was
badly hurt for the inmates of the wrecked
coach went as fast as they knew how into
the cars ahead. The train was delayed
over one and halt hours in the tunnel,
during which time the travellers suffered
considerably from the fumes of the coal
gas as three engines were sending forth
their fumaa Of poieop into tho thinIonad
air. The explanation given by the en-
gineer of the freight train was that he
did not know the passenger was SO close
ahead, and he said that the
tunnel was 30 full of smoke that he could
not see the rear-lights. 1t is considered
a good joke in railroad circles that
freight should overtake a passenger
train, and it is suggested that mail and
other articles which are to be forwarded
in hurry be in future sent in box cars.