Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-12-21
Bad Wreck on Iowa Central In
Which Rolling Stock and
Locomotive Is Burned
THREE ARE SLIGHTLY INJURED
Breaking in Two of Freight Train
Causes Rear-end Collision Near
searsboro = Wreckase Takes Fire
and Engine, Five Cars of Flour and
Caboose Are Burned.
Special to Times-Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
Grinnell, Dsc. 21.-The breaking in
two of freight train on 'schoolhouse"
hill, three miles north of Searsboro,
Sunday night at els o'clock, caus-
ing a rear-end collision, resulted in
one of the most expensive wrecks the
Iowa Central has had in months. First
No. 80, going south, ran into third No.
Sc on he down grade of the hill while
going at the rate of twenty-five miles
an hour. No. COS engine, five cars
loaded With flour, and the way car of
No. So We're derailed and wrecked. Fire
from the engine caught in the mass of
The loss wild come close TO $4,000.
Three OF the trainnen were slightly in
jured.
The wreck is thought to have been
que entirely to the fact that the trains
We're being run SO close together that
No. 9o's crew did not have time to get
a tiaglnan a sufficient distance from
the rear end of the train to warn No.
80, Which was close behind. Fisrst SO
registered out of Grinnell at ) p. m,
second 90 at sos, third SO at 81: 10 and
No. 80 at $50 O'clock.
How the Wreck Occurred.
Freight No. IS was running in three
sections. when on the south slope of
"schoolnouse" hill, in a cut forty fee,
-.
broke in two, and the severing of the
air hose stopped the rear portion
Third No. st coming cIase behind was
brought TO standstill on the grade
without mishap by the rear portion
of the second section. Conductor
George Alexander, with his brakeman,
was in the caboose OF third SO. As soon
as the train was stopped the latter was
sent north to flag No. 80. which they
knew was following. Before the man
could get any distance from the way
car No. 80 showed UP, and running
twenty-five miles avn hour crashed in
to the rsar of the caboose, throwing it,
and the five cars just ahead, off the
track and derailing itself.
Employees Arc Hurt.
Conductor Alexander who was in
the caboose, had close call from be-
ing killed, as he was thrown across the
car and suffered slight injuries to his
back. Engineer ike" Seldom, of Os-
kaioosa, who was handling engine No.
73, when he saw that the crash was in
evi;able. jumped. In striking the
ground he broke his nose and was
bruised about the body, altho no bones
were broken. Steddom's fireman,
Chauneey Moffatt. also jumped and
escaped with a few bruises and slight
buras.
Wreck Catches Afire.
No sooner had the wreckage piled up
than fire from the engine, which was
thrown in every direction, caught and
soon the mass was ablaze. As no means
were at hand to extinglish the flames
nothing could be done TO check the
blaze. An engine from Grinnell pulled
away those cars yet on The track. All
the FIVE cars, engine and caboose were
consumed. The loss will be almost to-
tad, as little remained but the bent and
twisted meta. work of the engine and
cars. The five cars of tour were from
destined to points In the
east via Peoria. The No. 73 is one of
the con,pany's large freight engines.
Traffic Tied UP.
Traffic between Marshalltown and
Oskaloosa was practically at a stand
still all night. The wrecker was sum-
moned from Marshalltown, but 1t was
not until 9:15 this morning that track
was built around. over the old right-of-
way, SO that trains could proceed.
Passengers Nos. 2 and 6 were held at
Grinnell all night and Nos. and re-
at Searshoro and Oskaloosa.