Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1894-06-14
THEY TORE UP THE RAILS.
POND CREEK IN ARMS AGAINST
THE ROCK ISLAND.
Engineer CooIiy Drives Iii. Train
TO Certain wreck ana Gets Fined
for Running Through the city
Limits mt TOO Fast n Speed.


This IS the story OF the tearing UT
OF the track Of the Chicago, Rock
Island and Pacific railroad through
Pond Creek. o. 7. 1t is also an ac-
count Of Il railway engineer who drove
his train to certain wreck and got fined
by the town for his palms. 1t was re-
lated by a citizen OF that town 10 a
Times reporter. As the citizen has come
70 Kansas City 10 live. he did not want
his name mentioned
Pond Creek is the county seat OF
I. county and has population Of
| about 1900. The Rock Island railroad
refused to give the citizens Of that
town freight or passenger facilities. as
/ II has a depot three miles north Of the
county seat, Pond Creek, called POND
| Creek Station" Trains run through the
town ut the rate Of thirty-nve miles
| an hour, much to the disgust of the
| people Of Pond Creek. There have
] been mutterings and threats against
| the road ever since September 49, 1898,
| the date the town sprang into exist
| ence.
Recently the city council passed an
ordinance regulating the speed OF trains
through the city at eight miles an
hour but 1t did not serve its purpose,
and trains continued to run through
the city at their customary speed
On the morning of June CITY Mar
shall Ham with 100 special deputies, Mt
tempted to stop sOuth-bound freight
train by placing heavy farm w1gon
containing a small frame across the
track at the southern limits OF the
city. For distance Of two miles each
way. from Pond Creek the Rock Island
track IS as straight as an arrow and
level as floor. The engineer saw
inc obstruction long before he reached
the northern bounds OF the city. He
pulled the throttle wide open and
the train sped across the town-slte at
terrific rate Of speed The engine
struck the obstruction and the air was
nilea win wagon wheels, clapboards.
shingles and hyinE debris, but the
train was not injured.
Then They Tore I'm IN. rr,ot,
NHteen huhdted people lined the
track when the train nnssed tbrou,t
,ba citv Tho fau,,ro -,
' ~ "'9i"i
upS'' uN''oh 10 erect the desired result
or stopping the train aroused the ire
Of the people 10 n boiling nitch rr,a.o
vyere M, tre,.,,,,.,...' -,
a., i.i. speeches or I'M
49, ~, ~ L Suilepody IN the
nv. "a a'lu' ~. tear up the track,
-, Ssn .I.' uleu 10 prevent the
We're aroused. P0p'e
blacksmith sbons wsro da,,o.o, %
sledge-hnmmers' erow.bars and oyor vl
thing maj ro,,i1 ~. 'i anu every
of i'ie ,,i1s Gou'e De used IN the work
tbat vas ,,istos wv rack OF railroad
b., 80 u'9'uSletui 10 me people OF
80. $50 , Di1eh poits IN me iishplates
r To' ,n toSgn az ,he POINT where the
~ Tho cit,, an6 IL, nan .rol shIare
requires To tel 1t the track was being
overturned, Nine hundred and eighty
ilYe feet OF track had been turned into
the ditch when stock train APP
was running at the rate of tyyentv-flvs
miles an hour Engineer John sulli-
van and Fireman Jett sat In the cab
the engineer saw the condition OF tho
track, but he had orders 10 pay no at-
y, ''iUtl w ogsSi W N"'is az ToIlu creek.