The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-08-28
REMARKABLE WRECK.
Two Rock Island Passenger Trains
Collide Without Loss of Life
Going 30 Miles an Hour

Probably one of the most remarkable
wrecks and miraculous escapes in tho MS
Saturday evening between two Rock Isl
and passenger trains, running at the rate
FdWardsvine and Muncie. about miles
out of Kansas City. Both engines were
pieces, but aside from a few bruises. the
passengers escaped all injury. 1t is
from being killed and injured was due to
the fact that the trains were wide vesti-
Train No. 25. west bound. left Kansas
City at $50 O'Clock and had right OF track
while train No % going east was behind
time and was running at mgh rate OF
order to side track to allow No. % to pass
Train No. % intended to pass No. % at
EdWardsville and it was between these
two stations that the accident occurred.
Both trains were in sight of each other
for a short distance before the crash came
but each was going SO fast that neither
could be stopped and they came together
with force of each going 30 miles an
hour. Just before the crash, the train
did all in their power to avoid the col
lisiOn but it was of no avail. The crews
which would have proved fatal to them
if they had stayed with their engines as
the engines We're completely wrecked The
the clerks saved themselves by Jumping
In the passenger coaches, not much was
known of the impending danger until the
passengers together in heaps, but all es-
capped with only a few scratches and
bruises. AS soon as possible after the
trains met the cars were cleared to avoid
all loss of life by the cars taking fire.
me Wrecklng tram was sent out lInTned-
lately from Kansas City followed by a
special TO- take the passengers back to
Kansas city, where they We're sent west
over the Santa Fe- All trains of the
Rock Island and the Union Pacific were
run over the Santa Fe tracks to topeka
until the wreck was cleared away. which
Among the passengers on tram NO 2
were Cy Leland. Nat Barnes and w. G.
Edwards, who were in the smoking car
and Mr.. Leland's two daughters in the
chair car. OF the wreck Mr.. Edwards
1T was so entirely unexpected to most
of US that we did not realize what had
land, Mr.. Barnes and myself were all in
one seat. Suddenly man ahead of US
and at nrst thought he was either a
prisoner escaping or a lunatic. But when
more I saw that something more serious
was the matter and I knew it the next in
as they were applied to the rapidly NOV
ing train and then all of a sudden there
mixup.
Mr.. Leland was thrown into the air
and landed in Mr.. Barnes lap and was
thought then was of fire and everybody
Mr. Leland reached the ground 'c he =, ran
back to the chair car to assure himself OF
US began to examine our bruises. From
the high weeds on every side came limp
ing out the passengers who had jumped.
and they were among the worst injured,
as they had received bad bruises when
they struck the ground.
only one man was hurt so badly he
could not walk and he only had sprain-
ed ankle The passengers who had jump
ed had been looking out of the window
and seeing the other train rushing toward
on the same track knew that col
lisiOn was coming and tried to escape it
I consider it one of the most wonderful
escapes paSSen gers a train ever ex-
perienced and can not understand why
dozen or more were not killed. learned
q
few hundred yards apart when the engi-
neerS discovered each other