The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1893-01-27
WRECK.
BURNING OIL ADDS TO THE
HORROR Of THE Scene.
Six Persons Instantly Killed, Nineteen Fatally
Injured and Many Others Painfully
Burned-..One Of The Worst
Wrecks On Record.

ST.. LOUIS. Jan. 2l.-A wreck which in
its consequences is one of the most APP
palling and disastrous in years occurred
at Wann junction. or Alton Junction,
ILL.,, this morning. The {. G. c. N St. L..
Southwestern limited passenger, con
sisting of an engine and four coaches.
which left here this morning for the
east, ran into al open switch half a mile
north OF Wann Junction and crushed
into a train consisting of seven tank cars
standing thereon. The result wa5 d tire
and afterward the explosion. which has
already cost six persons their lives. ia
tally injured several more. seriously hurt
others, and caused IA great property loss
to the company.
The dead are: Webb Ross. Nation.
ILL.,. engineer Of the limited. aged 81:
Hiram Cornelius. Iowa. aged ~ years:
Edward Miller. Alton Junction. agcd -
years: two unidentified men and one
boy. name unknown. All were burned
10 death.
The following were fatally burnett:
VIM. Snattuck. aged -. Upper .iltuu:
| Frank Sculhu. aged -. Alton. Ill: .Iuhui
Wilkinson. aged T.. Alton. H.: Jurn
Fred. aged -, r.dwardsyiIle Cru~sin-.
H.: Charles Harms. - years Old. Alton.
John Luuci. ~ years old. Alton. \. T.
Fraser. - years old, st. Louis. Edward
NlaupIn. n years old. Alton. Al. tn"
fatally injured were burned about i,r,l
and body and cannot live.
Others injured we're: W. G. Harr.~ua.
Wann. % years old; Henry P~enum4fo1.
Wann. aged -: Louis Denray,. N,n
trral. Canada. aged u; iienry p~ll..r,..
Alton, aged 30: Joseph luttrc!lc. N.,uu.
aged }5: WIN. f. richardson. Ni',l.
aged -: David Richardson. Alton. aged
q; Herman EstRe. Alton. aged -: Frank
bartlett, Branliord. Canada. aged 2l:
tIeorge Sta les. U%niontown. Ky. agrlt
u: iiamclinr Valentine. Philadplphll.
aged Il: VIM. McCarty. Alton. aged Is:
Charles Hammond, Alton junction.
aged 3.
The southwestern limited leaves st.
Louis at 500 Il. M. and is due at Wann
at Sis. Wann is a ilag station NJ the
Chicago y Alton and the Big Four rail
roads and i about four miles this side
of Alton. There are DO side tracks there
but about half a mile beyond. at a small
village known as Alton Junction. are
several switches. The tender of the
switches. Il. Grattan by name. is also a
barber, and combines t|OnsOriu! duties
with attending the numerous switches.
| pom him Is LAID the blame by the rail
way officials and traInmen for the acct
dent and its frightful after conse-
guences. Officers are searching for
him. He fled during the excitement.
The limited train reached Wann twelve
minutes late. II reached Alton June
ton running at the rate of forty miles
miles an hour. the engineer being desir-
Gus of making up lost time sOon as pos.
stble. The switch was turned and sent
the flying tram onto one of the side
tracks. On this track were seven tank
cars filed with oil. Engineer Ross told
the fireman. Dick W hite, to jump for his
life, then reversed his engine and an
Piled the air brakes, but he was too late.
The engine crashed entirely through two
tank ears. splitting them in half, and
was forced entirely over the others. The
oil caught fire and a sea of flames in
stantly surrounded the engineer. VINO
had Jumped Just aR the pilot struck the
flrst tank. Throwing hiE bands to his
face the brave man struggled to the EN-
bankment, but aS soon as he reached
1t san 10 earth d crisp and ~biackencd
corpse. The fireman. who jumped from
the cab I've instant the engine struck
the switch, escaped with slight bruises.
In the baggage department of the first
cars were the mails, eleven pieces of bag
gage and d corpse all burned il a few
minutes, IN corpse was that of Mrs.
Morrison, being forwarded from the
southwest to Doston, Mass. The flames
spread to the other coaches and all were
soon IN ruins. Three oil tanks, together
with the engine and tender, were con
sumed in d brief space of time. The
passengers and villagers crowded around,
ANXIOUS to assist any u~nfOrtunates.
Crowds from Wann and Upper Alton
and Alton arrived as soon As the news
spread. 1t was at this time I'll o'clock
when a great crowd was watching the
destruction of the company's property
the elimination Of the horrible affair &C.
CURED Two tank cars were left uninjur-
ed by the engine. The heat of the burn
ing oil around them generated from
their contents a gas the pressure of
which became too great for the huge
casks to withstand and they exploded,
showering the crowd of sightseers with
a mass obtaining liquid.
Flo just one second after the noise of
the explosion there was no sound save
the swish of the stething oil rs It WAS
forced through the air. Then arose Il