Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1899-09-29
A FRIGHTFUI WRECK
COLLISION OF HEAVY FRElGHTS
AT WINDOW, MlNN.
Disaster Occurs on a Bridge Over
Des Moincs River Which Falls-I
Fire Adds to the Horror-six Per,
sons Killed and Three Injured.
Disaster ON a Bridge.

sSOsAS NsA =
Disaster on u Bridge.
A terrific rear end collision Of a double.,
header freight train and another freight
train being pushed by Il monster standard
engine took place Sept. n on the Chicago,
st. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha's bridge
across the Dcs Moincs River in the out-
skirts of Window. Mimi. The three en-.
gines crashed through the bridge carrying
down the caboose OF the head train and
pulling twenty cars Of merchandise into
the river. The mass caught fire and the
flames added horror to the wreck. The
dead are:
CARL RASMUSSEN, engineer, Sioux
City.
7. L.. ROBERTS. fireman, Sioux City.
JOHN ROBERTS. grocer. ST. James.
FIREMAN STRATTON. second lraini
st. Paul.
BRAKEMAN. head train. st. James.
UNKNOWN PASSENGER.
Injured:
Charles p. Ysomans. engineer, Sioux
City. scalp wound. not serious.
George Merrill. lifcma.l. Siou: City, leg
cut, body bruised.
Frank Few. engineer, st. Paul, lie. broa
ken, internal injuries.
The body of Fireman Roberts. horribly
mangled, was pulled from his burning los
aomotive. Slratton was fatally crushed.
and when cxtricated from the debris
moanel pitcously. He fingered uncon-
scious until 6 O'Clock III the morning, when
he died.
TIN bodies of the dead. which were res
covered from the wreck, were taken to an
undcrtakcr's place at Window.
Scene of the Disaster.
The Dies Moines River at the point of tile
wreck is in a valley, the slopes of which
rise on either side for IL distance of four
or five miles. The bridge is at the bottom
of either grade. and on the south there is a
sharp curve at the end OF the bridge which
obscurcs the vision of an approaching en-
CINE at a distance as short as one train
length. Both trains in this wreck were
specials. The head train, of which Yeo-
mans was the engineer, had forty loads
and had been lying Oh Il sidetrack ON the
north side of the bridge for more than an
hour. The conductor received his clear
;nce and started TO pull out for the north.
The train was so heavy that his engine;
another of the famous 'hog' pattern, could
not bulge the train. and IL second engine
was ordered out to push. This engine was
placed at the rear OF the caboosc. If the
train had taken a standing start for the
hill ahead of it, there would have been no
accident. Instead, however, it backed
across the bridge and part way up the
hill on the south side to enable the two
engines, the one in front and the one in
the rear, to obtain IL running star, for
the hill on the north side. The fatal h isl
take was made in this train backing INTO
the next block of the signal system witlll
out giving notification and receiving per-
mission. The double-header, approaching
from the south at IL speed of fifty miles AM
hour on a down grade. had been given a
clearance for this block into which the
train on the bridge had backed. The two
engineers III The cabs of the two locomoI
tircs were squirting for the hill ahead. the
same as were the engineers of the FIRST
train. The head train had moved onto the
bridge when the douhle-hcadcr following
rounded the curve a train length behind
Both engineers saw their danger and we
their trains the air and reversed the m
gincs. This, It'll said, reduced the speed
ot the train TO thirty miles an hour. butthe
reduction was not sufficient to save the
bridge. y weight Of 5000 tons about
equally divided between the two trains
crashed together with frightful force: the
three engines capped into the air for an in
slant and when they fell the bridge shook
violently and collapsed. Within a minute
the pile OF cars which iumbled on top of
the engines was burning.
Engineers Jumped.
The engineer and fireman of the pushing
anglneln the head train We're Yeomans
and straiion. Iheunlortunate Rasmussen
and Roberts were on the first engine of the
double header. AMI Frank Few of st.
Paul, was nj the trottle of the rear engine,