The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-09-10
AN IMPOSSIBLE FEAT.
Two Trains Try to Pass Each
Other on the Same Track.
BOTH ENGINES GET SMASHED.
Collision at Van ASSET Badly Damages
EQuipment-Several Persons
Slightly Injured.

The Northern Pacific train which left here At
6:lo O'Clock last evening and the one due here
at Obs O'Clock came into collision at Van
Asset station at 6:25 Both engines aud the
front car OF each train were badly damaged, but
no persons were seriously injured.
According to those who came in on the north
bound train, the south bound train should have
run into the sidetrack at Van ASSET IN order to
let the north bound pass, but, instead OF doing
so, ran onward on the main track. Engineer
Daniel Doyle and Conductor w. III. Miner, OF
the north-bound, saw the approaching train in
time and had almost stopped when the col
lision occurred. The two engines came TO-
gether head on and were badly smashed. Doyle
jumped to save his life and strained his right leg
The mail Car on the north bound and baggage
car on the south bound had the ends knocked in
and the trucks Knocked from under them. Both
trains were fairly well loaded, and the passen-
gers were thrown from their seats, and some OF
them TO the floor by the terrible jar when the
trains came together Several persons were
bruised aud nlI were badly shaken, but none
were seriously hurt Thomas Wisdom, the por-
ter on the Pullman car, was thrown TO the floor
and wreuched his back.
A locomotive was sent out from this city to
bring in the north-bound train, and having got
the track clear at 7:45 p. M. backed the train In
and arrived here at Sis, the mail having been
transferred to the baggage car. The south
bound train, in charge of Engineer Gribbe and
Conductor G. p. Long, went on to Tacoma.
Some OF the passengers did not wait for the
trains to move on, but came in by electric cars
and carriages.
W. l. Melick, the mail agent on the north
bound train, said last night:
There was no excuse for the collision. Van
ASSET Is regular meeting point and the north
bound train had the right of way. Both trains
were on time and had almost straight track, SO
that they could see one another ahead The
south-bound train should have taken the side
track, and the front brakeman was riding
the engine to turn the switch. but the engineer
ran right on along the main track. The north
bound train had nearly stopped when the COLI
sion occurred. The tender of the south-bound
train ran into the mail car aud smashed it and
the baggage car was driven into it by the train
behind. They ran engine around on the
sidetrack and pulled out the north bound train,
but suppose the south bound was left there to
be taken to Tacoma with the next train.
The following special tells of the passengers
experience:
TACOMA, Sept 9-[SpeciaL Henry Hewitt,
one OF the Tacoma passengers aboard the train
which collided with a train bound for Seattle
near Black River junction tonight, says it was
most miraculous how the engineers and firemen
escaped alive, and especially how the baggage
man in the telescoped baggage car was not
crushed to death. While he saw a dozen pass
engers thrown roughly about by the force of the
collision, none seemed much tine worse for il.