The San Francisco call., 1899-09-18
TRAIN CREWS BLAMED
FOR The FAMOSO WRECK
Coroner Holds an Inquest Over the Bodies
Of the Three Victims
Accused Men Criticize the Jurors for Not Having
Called the Station Agent at FamOSO
as a Witness.

wood what the agent had told him
about NJ s being late. etc. They con-
pared watches and IL was then a.
According TO the time table No. ! was
due at g.42.
When the caboose was kicked on 10
the main line, said Eessier, I looked
and saw the headlight 0r no. y l
started 70 flag Il and saw ny brake
man, Mr. Buck. running down the
track u do the tagging The seIla-
Dh0re board was red l thought they
would stop and went TO my capcose
and started 10 get On. Something at
rracted my attention and I turned and
saw No. right On NE. 1 plainly heard
the engine exhaust II was only ABOUT
fifty feet away. The engine vas ap-
pareurIy IL wide open. forward u1oCloT-.
I lust barely had time TO get out OF
the away when the Ca1oOse was struck
After the wreck l met Conductor CUI-
IinEhau Of No S and asked him Il be
had orders 20 wait at FamosO for the
extra. east freight. He said be had not
7 asked why Wright did not see the sig
mails. You know Ed can't see, was his
reply. I asked my brakcmera # Wright
had room 10 stop. He said he had
How do you ACCOUNT for him not
s-opplrg2' I ask=d. He replied. /
guess il was g case of booze or bowling
Up. When Buck began Go flag. in my
fudEment. No. was two miles down
the track He went about 1000 feet
from the caboose. tt IS customary 10
work under the agent IN the yard LIN
its We were doing this Then his
orders are superior TO regular rules,
and an Inferior Is supposed 10 clear the
track ten minutes before the coming
Of superior trains At the time the ca
boose vas struck We were on the main
lire SIX minutes over the regular pas
seugHr time.
Engineer EIwCod OF the P0rrerv1IIe
train. who has run s1 engine for eight
cen years, testified that the PorCervIlle
train reached Fauosa at 9 IS i've min
Utes earlier than Conductor kessler
said II arrived.
Aside from this his testimony cor
rCb1rated hessIzr's a. 70 other details.
Brakeman 4. 3. Buck Of the Porter
vile train cOrrObora-ed the rest Of the
Witnesses. He told how he tried 10 nag
No. and how the seDaph LSCC was
red and that he had no other idea bur
that he could stop No. s. He was the
first 10 see the headlight and a. once
went 10 flag the passenger. He be
Eaved had Engineer Wright seen the
signals he could have stopped the Lra3iI1-
There was no whistle for the station
Rear Bra kAman Thurman Of PCrtervllle
told Of putting lights On the rear ca
b0ose and about the three women and
=
He heard the orders about No being
late He saw the sema phCre red light
Up.
Conductor James CuTlinghau of No.
8 svore that AT Kern h. only got TWO
orders. One was 10 wait there till Two
treizh1s arrived and the other 70 side
track at JeW=JCa station. midway be-
tween Kern and Fauosa, and allow No.
% pass. This they did. When leav-
ing Tewetta they were about thirteen
minutes behind ard made rapid time
70 catch up. The train whIsLIe1 for F'a-
mesa
We had nothing to stop for" said.
''FauOsa IS q flag station and Va do
not stop unless We have orders. When
the train whistIed it began 70 slow
down I saw the sema phore was white
I told Conductor kessIer that Wright
could not see we'll. I don't think Wright
was drunk We were running about
forty miles an hour when the wreck
occurred.
Fireman Keller. who was With En-
e17eer Wright when the wreck oc-
Cured and who saved himself by
tumDiug through the side window as
the engine went over. testified that they
never saw any signals. They whisCied
for the station and when he first saw
the semaphorz II was red, but Just be-
fore reaching it the white light dropped
ard the red sappeared. The train
was going about fifty niles an hour
L slowed up q little when the whistle
sounded. He saw the tail lights on the
Cab0CSe-
Brakemeu Bunger and Kieger Of the
passenger train heard the train w1is-
tie and felt it slow down considerably
II was running at the rate Of twenty
eight or thirty miles an hour when il
struck the caboose- Bunger saw the
semsphOre white and saw no signals
Mr.. Bagby, the Southern Pacific
claims agent, was heard 20 reply in
answer to q remark that the wreck
would cost the Southern Pacific Com
pany considerable. "Oh. they were Old
people and not worth much
JUS before the jury was left alone
TO make Up the verdict Conductor
Eessler was seen talking with one Of
them Tie juryuen told KessIer not
TO worry about the agents testimony
ne would be treated fairly. ard kess-
ler's saddeued face looked brighter
Outside a citizen was heard upbraiding
& juror for not seeking mora facts and
thereby have q clearer Investigation
The juror replied, "Oh, we did not
want 70 fasteu the blame on any one
n particular; We did not know what
70 do.