The San Francisco call., 1897-04-29
SMASH HE'D CARS
INTO SPLINTERS
Sensational Accident to a
Large Freight
Train.
Electric Crossing on Twenty.
Third Avenue Torn
Up.
No Lives Lost and No Apparent Rea-
son for the Wreck Can B
Found
OAKLAND OFFICE SAN Francisco CALL,
4NS Broad MaY. a nril 2S

SOC DlOd way, IL pIll 20. J
A train wreck occurred this afternoon at
Twenty-third avenue, and as no reason
can be advanced for it the trainmen are
beginning to look upon the engineer,
George Carroll, a hoodoo.
Although one OF the most careful en-
gineers on the road, this is the fourth time
he has been unlucky, thu last occasion be-
ing when he was running the Sunset Linn
tied and telescoped the rear Of the Berke-
ley local last Sep.em ber.
At 4:30 his afternoon the way freight
train, known as No IS. was passing
Twenty.third avenue. The engine and
about half of the train had passed over
when one of tae boXclrs caught some
thing or was caught by something 1t
was crushed into mass OF iron and
sIlinters after it was deraiIed and two
other cars were also derailed and wrecke
before the couplings broke and the train
was stopped.
The train was going at a good rate OF
speed and the accident occurred just to
the westward OF the Alameda electric
ROAD crossing. There was apparently no
cause for the smashup. The train was
passing along all right, the hagman was
at his post and had just signa,ed an ap-
preaching electric car that was nearing
the curve about block from the crossing
and the brakemen were at their stations
on top of the cars, when every body was
surprised TO hear a loud crash and to see
the middle OF the train leave he track and
minute later three cars were derailed
and wrecked.
The cars that were derailed were all
load with hay, and as tnere happened
to be no brakeman on any of them no one
was hurt and no valuabie freight was
wrecked.
Ii was very ordinary accident, but the
interest lies in the fact that the officials
cannot agree as to how it occurred, and
after the smash-up ii was i'm mpossible to
tell from the jum bled mass which theory
was correct or ii both were wrong.
Division Superint ntendent Wilder was
soon at the wreck and his investigations
led him TO believe that the crossing of
the electric road was not In good order
ani that in consequence one car was de-
-alled and the others followed. The fore
man OF the electric road says that the
crossing was al right and that the accident
was caused by a b:akebeam falling from
the first wrecked car and catching the
rail at the crossing.
After the accident the crossing was so
badly torn up and the car so completely
wrecked that there was absolutely moth.
Ing to establish or refute either ex-
pianation.
The cars were badly smashed and the
rails torn up for some distance, and the
wrecSers were busy till after midnight re-
storing affairs anu putting the cars on the
track.
The local travel was disturbed for a
couple of hours, and the report spread
that serious accident had occurred; but
this was MOI the case. So many thousands
OF people on both sides of the bay use the
LEGAL trains betwe the hours of 4 and 6
in the evening that news of an accident
soon spreads over the four bay cities. A
little after o. clock the local traffic was
In running order and the electric cars,
which run on loop, simply transferred
their traffic was not disturbed
George Carroll, the engineer in charge OF
the train, cannot offer any reason for the
accident, as the engine and halt the cars
had crossed before it occurred.