Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1891-10-22
AN OPEN SWITCH
Results in a Serious Wreck ON
the Burlington Road.
Four People Killed and Fifty or
Sixty Injured.

the Switch Was Half Turned and
Locked, and subsequently Seven Trains
Had Passed Over in safety--List of the
Killed and Seriously Injured.
MONMOUTH, Ills, Oct. 22.--Five per-
sons were killed and fifty or sixty in
jured in a railroad wreck here at /
o'clock Wednesday morning on the
Burlington road. The Omaha and Den
yer fast express which left Chicago
Tuesday night ran into an open switch
and the entire train was thrown from
the tracks.
Engineer Emerson and the travelling
engineer of the road, who had gone into
| the cab half an hour before, were killed
outright
A lady passenger was found pinioned
under the trucks of the sleeper She
had evidently been hurled through u
window by the crash. Fer body was
crushed into an unrecognizRble mass.
Near her were man and woman both
dead, under the sleeper. The train con.
| sisted of three sleepers, of two chair cars,
one smoker, one baggage, one EXPIRE
and two mail cars The sleepers were
heavily loaded, AZ were also the chair
cars. Emerson, the engineer, was one
Of the Oldest passenger engineers in the
country, and he had been on this run for
several months.
The train was speeding along at the
rate Of forty-tive miles an hour when it
struck the open switch. The engine
dashed along on the spur track for q
few yards, when it turned over on its
side, burrying Emerson and the travel
ing engineer of the road beneath it,
Emerson was found with his feet touch
ing the frebox. There was a deep
wound in his head, and his body was
terribly crushed.
After the engine left the tracks the
baggage car and the cars behind it were
also hurled from the rails. Most of the
passengers in the three sleepers had re-
tired. The first intimation they had of
danger was when the coaches crashed
against each other. Men, women and
children were hurled from their berths.
The lights went out, leaving the cars in
total darkness. A terrible panic en-
sued, and women screamed frantically
for help 1t is said that none Of the
passengers in the sleepers were killed,
but many of them were severely in
jured.
F. G. Rice, superintendent of the Illi-
riois lines of the Chicago, Burlington
and Quincy, expressed the opinion that
the switch had been tampered with.
After the wreck the switch was found
half turned ith the pin hanging down
and the switch locked. A switch engine
had been working on the side track
during the afternoon, but subsequently
seven trains passed over the switch in
safety.
Mrs. George Allen, Of Lomen, Ills.
F. L. johnson, of Avon, Ills.
George Courtney, travelling engineer,
of Galesburg, Ills.
A. A. Emery, engineer, of Galesburg,
Illinois.
Seriously Injured.
Elizabeth J. Mcdonald, of South Mel
ford, Ia, arm broken.
T. j. Kirby, of Lennox, Ia, left arm
mashed.
John Burner, of Foreston, Ills, left
arm torn off.
Gus Wiggers, of Rock Island, Ills,
hip hurt
burg, Ills, scalded; may recover.
Frank Valtershall, of Chicago, cut
s. w. Cooper, Corning, Ia, scalp
wound and hand injured.
Agness Miller, Brookfeld, o., cut
over left eye.
James Miller, Brookheld, o., arm
bruised.
Catherine Miller, Brookfeld o., arm
bruised.
Mrs Catherine Corus, Murray, Ia, left
eye and face bruised.
E. s. Mcdonald, South Milford, Ind,
clavicle fractured.
E. Rowe, Shenandoah, Ia, hand cut
and leg cut; Forest Rowe, his son, head
hurt
jeremiah Canty, Glenline, Pa, shoul-
der and head cut.
Nate Peters, Chicago, shoulder
bruised.
Oscar Zimmerman, Monmouth, ILL.,,
hands cut.
L. $. Bricher, High Creek, Ia, scalp
wound.
Mrs. A. G. swope, Harrisburg, Pa,
leg bruised.
A. g. Swope, Harrisburg, Pa,
bruised.
George Allen, Lamont, Ia, slight
bruise.
E, D. Evans, Gennessee, Wis, shoul-
der injured.
James Farrell, New London, Ia, slight
cut in head.
James Scarborough, Monmouth, slight
cut.