The Sully County watchman. (Clifton, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1894, 1893-02-03
A TERRIBLE COLLISION.
Six Persons Dead and Sixty
Hurt in a Collision at
Alton, Ill.
Burning Oil Adds Horror to The
Scene. "A SWitchman'S
CareleSSnesS.

"A wreck WHICH IN llS consequences
is one Of the most appalling and
disastrous that has occurred in years,
happened at Wann Junction or Alton
Junction, ILL.,, Saturday morning.
The Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago
& st. Louis Southwestern limited"
passenger ran into a switch and
crashed into train consisting of
seven tank cars standing thereon.
The result was fire and afterwards
an explosion, which has already cost
six persons their lives and probably
fatally injured nineteen others, while
fully fifty more are suffering from
painful burns. The property loss to
the company is great.
Wann is flag station Of the Chi
cago & Alton and the Big Four rail
ways, aud is about fur miles this
side Of Alton. There are no side
tracks there, but about half mile
| beyond, at d small village known as
Alton Junction, are several switches.
The tender of these switches, r.
| Grattan by name, is also a barber,
and combines his tonsorial duties
with those of attending to the
numerous switches at that point.
| Upon him is laid the blame, by the
railway officials and trainmen, for
the accident and it's frightful after
consequences, and officers are now
| searching for him, as he fled during
the excitement following the
| accident.
The limited train, consisting of an
engine and tender, combination
baggage and buffet car, and three
| coaches, reached Wann ten minutes
late. 1t reached Alton Junction
running at the rate Of forty miles an
hour, the engineer being desi' Gus Of
| making ur the lost time as soon as
possible. A switch was turned so as
to send the flying train into one of
the side tracks. On this track only
few yards distant from the switch
| were seven tank cars filled with
refined lubricating oil.
AS soon as he saw the danger,
engineer Ross called to his fireman,
Dick White, to jump for his life. He
then reversed his engine and applied
the air brakes. But he was too late.
The engine crashed entirely through
two tank cars, splitting them in half
| and was then forced on and entirely
over the others. The oil from the
| wrecked tanks at once caught fire
and a sea of flames instantly
surrounded the engineer, who had
bumped just as the pilot of the
engine struck the first tank. Throw
ing his hands to bis face the brave
man struggled to the embankment at
one side Of the track, but as soon as
he reached it he sank to the earth
crisp and blackened corpse. The
fireman, who jumped from the cab
the instant the engine struck the
switch, escaped with few slight
bruises.
In the baggage department of the
first car were the mails, eleven pieces
of baggage and corpse, and these
were all burned in few moments.
The corpse was that of a Mrs.
Morrison, and was being forwarded
rom the Southwest to Boston, Mass.
The flames spread to the other
coaches and all were soon in ruins.
Three Of the oil tanks which were
broken open by the ergine crashing
over them were also consumed in a
brief space Of time, together with
the engine and tender.
FEARFUL EXPLOSION.
1t was when a great crowd was
watching the destruction of the rail
road company's property that the
elimination Of the horrible affair
occurred. Two of the tank cars were
left uninjured by the engine. The
heat Of burning oil all around them
generated a gas, the pressure of
p" "hiSh oNc'Abit wv lOi VIC huSt
iron casks to withstand. Stimuli
taneously and with fearful force
they exploded, throwing pieces of
their iron sides far out into the
adjacent fields and showering upon
the assembled crowd of sightseers
mass Of flaming liquid. For just one
second after the noise of the
explosion there was no sound save
the whish OF the seething oil as it
was forced through the air. Then
there arose a confusion of agonizing
appeals for help and cries of terror.
to which no tongue or pen can do
justice. For several minutes the
panic was indcscribable. Those
touched by the blazing oil groped
about wildly, seeking in vain for
relief from their torture. Almost
without except on the injured were
burned about the face, and had their
eyesight temporarily, if not per-
manently, destroyed. Those who
were uninjured were so terror