Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-02-03
DERAILED CARSBURN
Seventeen Milwaukee Freight Cars
Destroyed By Flames.
BAD WRECK NEAR HlYS1ELLE
Broken Axle on Car in South Bound
Milwaukee Freight No. 60 Dumps
Seventeen Cars in Ditcll-Cars Is-
mite From Hot Box.

Seventeen cars of Milwaukee
freight No So and their contents arc
lying in the ditch three miles west of
Hayesville burned to charred mass
of ruins and the bridge which crosses
creek one-half mile east of the
Skunk river bridge is burned down as
the result of bad wreck which hap
pened about 800 o'clock last night.
Two cars of oil consigned to Ottumwa
were probably responsible for the rap
i'd spread of the blaze. A broken axle
on one of the cars piled up seventeen
cars and hot box started the blaze,
which soon consumed the entire train
OF twenty-five cars with the exception
OF eight which were not deraiked ana
were saved from the flames. The
Milwaukee passenger trains were de-
layed several hours. Fortunately no
one was injured in the wreck.
Loss is Heavy.
The loss to the company will be
very heavy, as eleven of the cars were
heavily laden and the bridge across
the creek will have to be entirely re-
built. The eleven cars which will en-
tail the greatest loss We're loaded as
follows. Six with merchandise, two
with oil in barrels, one with beer one
with paper and one with lumber The
other cars were but partially loaded
or empties. Wrecliing cars were sent
out at once from this city and Sec
ton men We're picked up along the
line to assist in clearing the wreckage
and to rebuild the bridge destroye.
by the flames. The track was not
cleared until this morning and all pas
senger and freight trains from the
north last night were run
down from Cedar Rapids to Columbus
Junction on the B., c. R. & N. and
from there to Eldon on the southwest.
ern division of the Rock Island and
and Keokuk branch.
Oil Cars Wrought Havoc.
The wrecked train was the south
bound freight train, No. So, in charge
of Conductor j. R. James. The train
had just pulled out of Hayesyille on
its way to this city and when three
miles out of Hayesville broken axle
dumped one of the cars into the ditch
and sixteen others were piled up in
shattered mass along the track. The
train was running at fast rate of
speed A hot box on one of the cars
which had been burning unnoticed for
some time blazed up as the cars were
overturned and before the blaze could
be extinguished had ignited the car
and soon spread to the two cars of oil
The fire then became beyond control
and in a few seconds the flames could
be seen to be devouring the two cars
in the lurid light with which the scene
was Illuminated
Bridge is Consumed.
The train had just crossed the short
bridge over the creek when the acct
dent occurred and despite the efforts
of the trainmen the flames spread to
the woodwork and tics and the bridge
was soon blazing mass. 1t was i'm
possible to summon assistance as the
wreck occurred three miles ont of
Hayesville and when the flames were
seen from that town it was too late to
render any assistance in extinguish-
| ing them.
Trains Many Hours Late.
| Owing to the connections between
this city and Cedar Rapids it is impos-
sible for the trains to reach Ottumwa
without making the circuit of the B. c.
R. & NJ, from Cedar Rapids to Column
bus Junction, where the Rock Island
tracks are used into Ottumwa. AS a
result, train No. 8, which carries the
Chicago-Kansas City sleeper. and is
due to arrive here at $3.50 o'clock a. M,
did not arrive until $3.50 this morn
ing. The morning passenger from the
north, which arrives here at 10: 1(
o'clock, was forty-fve minutes late
the track and bridge having been TEN
porarily repaired so as to make pas