Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1903-05-28
Engine OF Excursion Train De-
rallied Sunday.
NEAR R. S. co. BOARDING HOUSE
Engineer Geo. Smith Was Badly
Injured.
Tender Crashed Into Cab, Pinning
Him Fast-Fireman Jumped
Through Window-No
Passengers Hurt.

The first serious wreck of a passen
ger train which has occurred here in
number of years took place Sunday
morning near the Richardson Sill
\ Cos boarding house when the excur
sion train from Grand Rapids to Sagi
nav was coming into the station al
about $40 o'clock. The train consist.
ed of six coaches, baggage car, en-.
gine and tender, Engineer Geo. Smith,
Fireman T. +. McInnery and Con.
ductor B. f. Stickney were in charge.
About 100 passengers were on their
way to spend the day with friends or to
make sight seeing visit in Saginaw.
AS the train neared the depot the
front trucks of the engine climbed
the rails few feet east of the board
ing house and was showed along over
the ties breaking and grinding them
to pieces for distance of a hundred
feet or more where it left the track
entirely and plowed full length into
the ground TO the left of the road bed.
Engineer Smith applied the air
brake and reversed the engine i'm
mediately on its leaving the track,
but in less than teu seconds the awful
crash came, the tender being lifted
into the air as much as ten feet break
ing a large telephone pole in two,
turning up on its side and the front
end crushing with terrific force into
the cab.
Mr.. Smith stood bravely and with
great nerve at the throttle of his en-
CINE thinking of nothing apparently
but to save the passengers from injury
If possible. He was pinned tightly be-
Dween the boiler and the end of the
upturned tender in so small a space
that it would seem almost impossible
that person could be taken out alive.
Mr.. Smith is man of slight build
and to this fact alone he can attri-
butte the very narrow escape he had
from loosing his life
His hips and lower limbs were pin
ioned against the boiler which was
very hot with steam escaping, and
while workmen were endeavoring to
extricate him although suffering ex-
cruitating pains he was the coolest
fellow among the lot and directed the
work for his release
II was necessary to lift the tender
with jack screw before he could be
taken out after portions of the cab
had been cut away with an axe. He
was taken to Hotel Belding by O. f.
Webster in rig and assisted by Clav
Weaver and Thos. Bracken they car
ried him TO room and Immediately
summoned Dr. Dutt
The fireman had leaped through the
window to the ground when he dis |
covered the dangar and escaped un-
hurt. The passengers all of whom |
were badly shaken up and thoroughly |
frightened received no injuries. |
although many of them were thrown
from their seats by the sudden stop
ps~I of the train Had the engine |
made the plunge 20 feet back from
where it did, the kitchen department
of the temporary boarding house
would have been wrecked and the |
family of Mrs. Stanton who were eat
ing breakfast would undoubtedly been
crushed in the ruins. All day long
crowds of people were viewing the
place and many snap shots with ko-
dakJ were made.
The excursionists were delayed here
couple of hours before a train could
be gotten around by the way of Ionia
to transfer them.
The road Surgeon r. c. Spencer
with several other official arrived
about ii O'Clock but DR.. Dutt had
made the injured man very comfort
able, he had been badly burned on his
legs and slightly bruised just above
the hips. He was taken home to Grand
Rapids in the afternoon. His people
live in Coral and few years ago he
worked in Greenville for NJ. +. Tuck
of this city. Mr.. Smith said they had
been having trouble with the wheels
Of the trucks all the way on the run
aid 1t is supposed they refused to
work just right on striking the curve
in this city and climbed the rails. The
work of clearing away the wreck by
the wrecking crew and placing the
engine back on the track was inter
esting and attracted many onlookers,
Ii was an expensive accident for the
Pere Marquette Co. but it is exceed
ingly fortunate that it was no worse.