Rocky Ford enterprise., 1898-11-24
TWO ENGINESCULLIDE
WRECK ON THE RIO oRANDE.
Fast TasscnEer Train Crashes Int" the
Locomotive of Freight Near Colo
rIio Springs-Orr srrinu-iy Injured.

Denver. Nov. ia special to the
Republican last night gives the fol-
lowing details of Il collision on the Rio
Grandc road:
-Four persons were injured, one scri-
Ously, in n hend-end collision about IL
quarter of II mile north of Edgerton
and nine miles north of this city at
5:27 o'clock this afternoon.
Sputh-bound passenger train No. II
and IN extra nortli.bound freight OH
the Denver Il Rio Grande road cOllided
about u hundred yards south OF n sid
ing. The passenger train, known as
the Missouri Pacific. because II carries
the Missouri Pacific sleeper. has the
right of way. ana the freight train. 1t
Is said. should have been on the siding.
The injured are:
ID. Il. AinswOrth OF Denver, freight
fireman: Internal injuries: may die.
George Root of Denver, passenger
engineer. sprnined right shoulder and
right knee: cut on head: not serious.
Frank Bennett. freight engineer,
sprained ankle.
Baggagemnn O'Kccfe, scalded.
Fireman Strain OF The passenger.
slightly bruised.
All the injured live in Denver.
No. II was about one and Onc-hnlf
minutes late. according to Engineer
Roots schedule. and he had all steam
mp and the throttle wide open trying
to make up on the tlown-grade time he
had lost In climbing the hlll. He csti-
mates that he was going about fifty
miles an hour when lie rounded the
curve Just north of EdgertOn.
After rounding this curve he had a
sweep of about thrce-quarters of mile
rtv. uttv1,t tn ltp tsn n
house. The siding lies along this
straight stretch of track. Engineer
Root had no orders to slow up at Ed
gerton, and. the freight being an extra
and he knowing nothing about It's pres
ence on the roid. he kept the throttle
open us he passed the siding.
The freight train emerged from be-
hind n clump of trees Just ns the pas
senger engine had got beyond the sid
ing. There was II terrible crash. the
engines smashed each other for about
three feet back and the tenders tele-
scOped into the ears next behind them.
that OF the passenger trnin going into
the baggage car, and that OF the freight
train into box ear. both so far that
the cars rested on the tenders trucks
Neither engine left the track. and
with this pile of debris the road was
Dlockeu besoihI HoIe VI ehedIihS IT, u
Is thought, within nine or ten hours.
Engineer Root behaved very heroic
ally. In spite of the high speed mt
which he was going lie mnde frantic
efforts to stop his train before the col
lision came and almost succeeded. The
air brakes were put on hard. sand
turned loose and the throttle closed.
Then the engineer jumped. following
his fireman, Strain, just before the
crash came.
Engineer Bennett of the freight train.
which was hauled by engine No. 25T7.
was making n strenuous effort to gain
the siding. He knew he was late. for
1t and was going at n high rate of
speed. As he was just rounding from
the Edgerton curve on to the straight
stretch he had no time to stop his train.
When he saw the headlight he called
out md jumped.
Fireman Ainsworth was busy and
did not see the approaching train. He
was In the cab when the collision came,
and was thrown about twenty-five feet
by the force of it. He nlightcd in n
ditch. and was unconscious when he
was picked up.
1t Is feared that he cannot survive.