Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1901-10-10
FAST MAIL DITCHED
AT CRESCENT.

EVERY CAROF TRAIN LEAy-
ES TRACK ON REVERSE
CURVE.
Accident Happened Fourteen Min
utes After Train Left Mis-
souri, Valley.
Three times wrecked in two
years and in every instance com.
Iplete one, too, is the rather unfor-
tuuate record the morning fast
mail on the Chicago & Northwest
i ern is establishing for itself, the
--latest addition to the record being
made this morning at Crescent,
when every car of the trains
equipment was hurled from the
rails and piled in every shape i'm
aginable along the right of way.
After viewing the wreckage it is
impossible to see how any of the
train crew escaped with their
Lives. AZ is was, but two men en-
ployed on the train we're injured,
one, Mr. q G Stanley, an express
messenger residing in Chicago.
He was hurled against box Of
express and suffer, d internal in
juries, the seriousness of which
cannot be determined for some
time. A mail agent by the name
of McMann suffered a severe bruis-
ling, his back suffering, principally.
Only one theory can be advsnc-
ed in explaining the cause of the
wreck and that is the engineer in
charge was too eager to make up
the minutes lost on account of the
accident at Carroll early this morn
ing. From the time the engineer
received the ego ahead" at the de-
pot in this city until the accident
happened but IA minutes had
elapsed. According to the stories
of members of the crew on the
wrecked train, the engine pull
ling the train was travelling at the
highest speed possible for the rae
ing monster, engine 2l8, and when
the train reached the reverse curve
! that is about fifty yards north of
the Crescent depot, the cars Of the
train being much lighter than the
engine, were unable to round the
curve, the rear car Of the trains
equipment being whipped off the
rails when the curve was first
reached, and when the reverse
side of the curve was struck, the
remainder of the cars we're forced
from the rails. After bouncing
along over the ties for several
hundred yards the derailed mail
car, first to leave the track rolled
over in the ditch along eide the
track, at a point q considerable
distance south ST the depot build.
ing. The heavy trucks of the mail
car were imbedded into the gravel
until only the top portions of the
; wheels was visable. The remain.
der of the cars travelled only q
short distance farther, when they
too, left the rails. Only the rea,
trucks under the engine left the
rails. When the train passed The
depot heavy casting detached
from some portion Of the train
was hurled through a portion o.
the depot building, and continu-
ling on it's flight demolished the
entrance to the building, tearing
off the door, and then with force
undiminished struck the platform
about twenty feet south of the de-
pot breaking several planksof the
platform. The casting weighed
about l00pounds.
For distance of about forty
rail lengths, the heavy steel rails
each weighing hundreds of pounds
were torn from their fasteninga
on the ties and buried under three
feet of gravel, large force Of SEQ
ton men being engaged almost al
the forenoon after the wreck il
digging out the rails. All traffic
on the line was abandoned during
the time consumed in clearing
away the wrekage sufficiently Il
allow the trains to pass on the
other track both the n II g. M