Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1900-06-28
CRUEL CRASH or TRAINS NEAR
DE PERE.
ON THE NORTHWESTERN
Seven Saengerfest EXcursionists Killed
and Some Forty Injured-Blunder
Chargeable to Freight Crew Which
Fails to Signal Passenger Train
With Right of Way.

road, one-third of mile south OF It's
station at DePere, occurred yesterday
morning most disastrous train
wreck. 1t came in the form of a head
end collision between a double-header
Green Bay freight train and a Fond
du Lac excursion train of nine coaches,
loaded for the Green Bay saengerfest.
Six persons were killed, two outright
and four died from their injuries be-
fore they could be taken to the hospi-
tai. About forty persons were injured,
many of them seriously, several suf-
fering broken legs or broken arms or
the injured about thirty are in seri-
cover. The list of dead and injured
is printed below. The excursion train
WIS made up at Fond du Lac and was
packed with people from that city,
| Oshkosh and Neenah. The train
carried no Appleton people, The first
two coaches were combination bag
gage and passenger and smoker. and
were almost entirely filed with Fond
du Lac people. The freight, an es-
| pecially long one, made up at Green
Bay, was ordered to be sidetracked at
the De Pere station. Enough Of the
train to fill the passing track had been
cut off and the remainder had just
started to back up on the side track,
at the rear of the station. A curve In
the main track cut off the view to the
on-coming passenger. A ilagman
stood in front of the train to stop the
| approaching passenger train. Sud
denly 1t came into view, running at
nearly full speed 1t was tagged and
many of the trainmen say that the air
brakes did not work properly.
The two trains crashed together.
| The first two coaches of the passenger
| train were telesccqed and demolished,
| few of the passengers escaping injury.
Some were killed outright others were
terribly mangled Legs and arms OF
some were broken Others were badly
| crushed and MANNED all hemmed in
amid the debris of the wrecked cars.
| The other cars were not dislodged
| from the track, and none of the other
| coaches was damaged. None Of the
| train crew was Injured.
The scene was appalling and the
cries of the injured heartrending
| Passengers poured out of the rear
coaches and it was but moment be-
fore hundreds of willing workers were
| busy extricating the unfortunate peo-
| pie who had been caught in the tele-
scoped cars. The news of the dsas-
ter spread rapidly and soon people
| from the city gathered by hundreds.
At least two of the injured were only
just alive when they were taken out.
and they died before they could be re-
moved. One of these was George
| Lloyd, who lived in Fond du Lac
The cause of the accident was due
to the freight crew failing to give the
passenger the right of way. The pas
senger train had on board about 500
Fond du Lac people who were bound
| for Green Bay to attend the Saenger-
! fest. Orders had been issued to clear
the yards OF freight cars so that pas
|
freight train OF flfty-three cars was
made up and startad for the south
| Orders had been issued to run to De-
Pere and make the siding by 1910
o'clock. The freight arrived at Ne
Pere at 10 O'Clock and made for the
siding. Finding that the train was too
long and would not go on one siding,
the freight crew cut the train In two
and ran ahead on the main track.
At the poin. whore the switching Is
done there is sharp curve. The pas
senger, supposlng 1t had the right OF
way and that the freight was on its
siding, came along at a good clip. The
next minute the two engines had col
lded with full force
Division Supt. r. A. Lawson, who
at once came To Green Bay from Chi
cago, said: while have not had time
to make a thorough inquiry, from what
have heard the freight crew IL re-
sponsible. The passenger train had
the right Of way, and had the men
strictly followed orders II could not
nave ldppeUtu RS IL Ndbs the iftlBHt
crew thought II had time to clear the
main track before the passenger ar
rived but before It could back on to
the siding, the passenger train came
around the curve and crashed into the
freight II Is one Of those accidents
that the best roads In the country can't
prevent. Just as long as men are, hu-
man mistakes will be made. This one
was costly. indeed"
A Tragic List.
The killed KOske. Edward, Fond du
Lac, druggist, aged q; plank, Law
renee, Fond du Lac, aged 25 Mierswa
Charles, Oshkosh; Korscher, Max. Osh-
kesh; Lloyd, George. Fond du Lac;
Weber, Adam, Fond du Lac Kecher
Max, Ashland
The injured From Fond du Lac
Bechaud, August, leg badly bruised;
Cooper, w. j., left leg broken; Eeke
Laura Mrs, hip slightly injured;
Ecke, Ida, Miss, head slightly injured;