The silver star., 1898-11-24
TWO ENGlNESCOLLlDE
WRECK ON THE RIO oRANDE.
Fast Passenger Train Crashes Into '"o
Locomotive of Freight Near co'o
RADIO springs-One Seriously Injured.

Denver, Nov. 19.-A special to tine
Republican last night gives the fol
lowing details of a collision on the hio
Grande road:
-Four persons We're injured, one seri-
ously, in hend-cnd collision about
quarter of mile north of Edgerton
and nine miles north of this city nj
5:27 o'clock this afternoon.
South-bound passenger train NO. IL
and an extra north bound freight on
the Denver 4 Rio Grande road c0llided
nbout Il hundred yards south of SID
ing. The passenger train. known us
the Missouri Pacific, because 1t carries
the Missouri Pacific sleeper, has the
right of way and the freight train. IL
is said, should have been on the siding.
The injured are:
u. II. Ainsworth of Denver. freight
fireman; internal injuries; may die.
George Root of Denver, passenger
engineer. spraincd right shoulder ana
right knee: cut on head: not serious
Frank Bennett. freight engineer,
sprained ankle.
Baggagcmnn O'Kcefe. scaldcd.
Fireman Strain of the passenger,
slightly bruised.
All the injured live in Denver.
No. II was about one and one-half
minutes late. according TO Engineer
Roots schedule. and he had all steam
M and the throttle wide open trying
to make up on the downgrade time he
had lost in climbing the hill He esti-
mates that he was going about nifty
miles an hour when lie rounded the
curve just north of Edgerton.
After rounding this curve he had a
sweep of about three-Quarters of n mile
straight down to the Edgerton ice
house. The siding lies along this
straight stretch of track. Engineer
Root had no orders to slow up ut Ed
ccrton, and. the freight being an extra
and he knowing nothing about its pres
ence on the road. he kept the throttle
open as he passed the siding.
The freight train emerged from be-
hind clump of trees just rs the pas
senger engine had got beyond the sid
ing. There was u terrible crash, the
engines smashed each other for about
three feet back and the tenders telc-
scopcd into the ears next behind them.
that of the passenger train going into
the baggage ear and that of the freight
train into n box car. 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
blocked beyond hope of clearing it. il
is thought. within nine or ten hours.
Engineer Root behaved very heroic
ally. In spite of the high speed ai
which he was going he made 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. 257
was making n strenuous effort to gain
the siding. He knew he was late. fol-
it and was going ut 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 and jumped.
Fireman Ainsworth was busy and
did not see the approaching train. liz
was In the cab when the collision came
and was thrown about twenty-five feet
by the force Of it, He alighted in q
ditch. and was unconscious when h,
was picked mp.
II Is feared that he cannot survive.