The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-11-06
COLLISION In YARDS
ENGINEER J. G. Conner JUMPED
AND WAS INJURED.
Two Engines Went Together Near
Montgomery, Union Station and
One Turned 0ver-obstruc-
ton Soon Removed.

BY the merest fraction of a second, q
tragedy was averted in the South and
North yards of the Louisville and Nash
vile last night, where there was coll
lision of engines.
The deafening roaring, crash of two
monster locomotives as they grappled
with each other, the hiss of escaping
steam, the terrific jolting of startled pas
sengers back in the long train. locomo-
tive turned completely over, and Engineer
Conner injured. This tells concisely what
happened.
Engineer Jim Brown, with engine No.
253, was just going through the North
Montgomery yards. His engine was pull
ing ore Of the heaviest passenger trains
on the Louisville and Nashville system
train No. 3 from Cincinnati to New Or
leans, due in Montgomery at TBS p. m
Engineer John .. Conner had just start
ed out of the shops with his engine. No
255. He was ON his way to the train
shed to take the run of No. from Mont
gomery to Mobile.
In some way the two engines side
swIped" each other is they reached the
switch at the south end OF the yard Inn
its. Engine 253, the locomotive pulling
the passenger train, did some tumbllng
and settled on its wounded side just across
the track.
How Engineer Bcown and his fireman
got out is a mystery, but just before the
engine turned over both of them escaped
without a scratch.
As the engines went together Engineer
Conner ieaped from the cab of his engine
into the darkness. There is an embank-
ment several feet high and the engineer
struck the bottom among lot OF Stag
and broken stones. Mr.. Conner Is large
man, very tall and weighing something
over 200 pounds, and the shock of the fall
was great. He was picked up at once
and was sent to the Union Railway Sta
ton on a stretcher. From the station a
carriage took him to his home at Col V3ell
Street.
A physician accompanied Mr.. Conner to
his home, but he was suffering so much
from the effects of the shock that thor
ough examination could not be made last
night The physician said ne did not
think there was any internal injuries nor
any broken bones, but he would not give
an opinion
When Mr., Conner was picked up from
the bottom of the ravine blood was on
his face, but 1t was thought he bit his
lip and 1t was not due to internal injuries
Mr.. Conner Is not only one OF the best
known railroad men in Montgomery, but
one OF the best citizens OF the Capital
City. He has been running passenger en-
gines between Montgomery and Mobile
for number OF years and no man III
the employ OF the Louisville and Nash
vile company stands higher in the es-
TEEN and confidence OF his employers.
Just a few feet from where the acct
dent occurred last night is the NORM end
of the approach to the long trestle of the
big ravine. This trestle is about sixty
feet high and forty or nifty feet long. If
the accident had happened on the trestie
the probabilities are that there would
have been a repetition of the Cahaba
bridge horror on the Birmingham Miner
al branch Of the Louisville and Nashville
several years ago.
Two ~years ago Engineer Jim Brown
came dangerously near. losing his life.
This time 1t was at the north end OF the
South and North yards. He had started
.out of Montgomery his engine pulling
train No. O. leaving for Nashville at $50
a. M AS he reached the sptt track lead
ing into Riverside Park. there was split
switch. his engine turned over. and he
and his fireman were caught under 1t.
Both OF them were severely burned and
mashed.
The Pullman cars and coaches in the
train for the Plant System and the Louis
Vile and Nashville south, were pulled
back to the north end of the yard and
brought from there through the yards of
the Western of Alabama road to the
Union Station.
Engine No. 257 with Engineer Crenshow,
took train No. 3 to Mobile last night. the
engine also being brought through the
Western yards.
By midnight the wrecking crew had the
track virtually clear and traffic was re-
sumed