Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1903-08-13
CIRCUS TRAINS
COME TOGETHER
TWENTY Lives Are Lost
and TWenty-Eight Persons
Are Hurt
PLACES BLAME ON ENGINE MAN
General Manager Of the Railroad De-
clares That He Failed to Observe
the Rules and Puts Entire Response.
bility on Shoulders Of EmpIoye.

Durand, Mich, Aug. 10.-Two sec
lions OF Wallace Bros circus train
crashed together in rear-end collision
in the Grand Truak railway yards at
this point, killing twenty-three persons,
seriously injuring four and infiicting
hurts on twenty-four others. A defect
i've airbroke on the engine of the Sec
ond train is given as the cause of the
disaster by the engineer of the second
train, but the railroad officials say the
brake is in good condition.
The circus travels in two trains Of
about thirty-five cars each. After the
exhibition at Charlotte the two trains
left for Lapeer over the Grand Trunk,
the second section leaving a half hour
after the first. When the first section
pulled into the west end of the Grand
Trunk yards here red light was hung
on the rear car to stop the second Sec
ton. Engineer Probst of Battle Creek,
who was running the engine of the
rear train, says he saw this light and
applied the airbrakes, but to his hor-
ror they refused to work. He reversed
train behind was too great, and with
crash that aroused the people living
near the yards the two trains met.
Three cars of the stationary first Sec
ton were telescoped and the engine
and five cars of the moving train were
demolished.
+, List of the Dead.
VI r r %
Larson, James Mccarthy, w. J. Nc
Coy, John Purcell. Robert Rice,
Charles Sands, George Smith, Harry
st. Clair, G. Thomas, Frank Thorp,
James Toffelmire, Joe Wilson, Edward
York and six unidentified men.
At the rear of the first section was
a caboose in which the trainmen were
sleeping and the next two were filed
with sleeping circus employees. The
greatest loss of life was in the ca
boose. One of the wrecked cars Of
the second section was occupied by
five elephants and several camels. One
Of the elephants and two camels were
killed outright, while the other ami
mails and their trainer escaped injury.
With the exception of this car, none
of the menagerie was wrecked, the
other demolished cars containing can
vas or wagons. The elephants in the
wrecked car behaved with surprising
calmness and were led out of the
wreck without trouble.
Engineer Is Blamed.
The railroad officials unhesitatingly
lay the blame to Engineer Probst. The
officials declare that ae could have
stopped the train in time to have
avoided serious consequences.
General Manager F. H. Michigan
said:
"Probst knew that he was coming
into yard where trains usually Stand
say plainly that engineers shall ap-
proach such yards with the trains un-
der control. A brakeman sent back
by the first train warned him of the
danger three-quarters of a mile before
he got to the standing section. For
nearly half a mile before he got to
the first train the track is straight and
clear, and he should have been able
to see the red light on the back of
the train ahead in time to stop his
train"
The official report on the accident
issued by Supt. Brownlee declares pos.
itively that the air brakes have been
tested since the accident and found to
be in perfect condition, and there is
evidence that they were not applied.