The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-08-28
engines COLLIDE
In FRISCO YARDS
Passenger and Freight Meet
Above Central Ave.
FIVE SLIGHTLY INJURED
Passenger Engine Was Most
Seriously Damaged.

Passenger train No. 3O5 of the Frisco,
in charge of Conductor W. H. Skipper,
and freight train NO. 337, ir charge of
Conductor Fred Cogden. came together
yesterday afternoon at S:15 in a head-end
collision on the Frisco tracks in this
city. about a hundred feet north of Cen
tral avenue. Engineer f. L. Street of
the passenger train and four OF the pas
sengers were hurt. though their injuries
are slight.
The wreck occurred just south of the
curve il the Frisco tracks, where the
main line turns and runs in northeast
erly direction from Mosley avenue, while
a side track continues up this street.
The passenger was the st. Louis train.
which is due in this city al o'clock and
which was behind time yesterday. The
freight engine with its train. was making
for a siding, when the passenger came
suddenly around the sharp curve. running,
it is said, at ten or twelve miles an
hour The curve is very sharp, making
an angle of about - degrees and the
yiew is obstructed by large cottonwood
trees and houses, so that the engineers
could not possibly have seen the other
train at a distance of more than hun
dred yards if they could see that dis
lance.
When the engines came together the
freight engine was standing still and the
speed of the passenger had been de-
creased considerably. Both train crews
Jumped, after the engineers had reversed
their engines and applied the brakes.
In the collision the passenger engine re-
ceived by far the most damage, its cow
catcher being completely demolished its
pony trucks and wheels knocked from
under the engine and the front drivers
forced off the track and a little out Of
line. The pilot of the freight locomo-
tive was broken into kindling wood, this
being about all the damage this engine
sustained. The coaches were not in
jured except that the drawhead of the
mail car was smashed in.
All of the five injured were on the pas
senger train. Engineer Street was bruised
up little and had his ankle sprained
when he jumped from his engine. The
others who were hurt were passengers.
One was a little girl who had her face
badly bruised and skinned, and another
a woman. whose face was bruised and
her front teeth either knocked out or
loose. The others were men-the
one a one-armed man whose hand
was cut, it is not known how
seriously, and the other had his
right arm bruised and skinned. Soon
after the accident these people left, it is
supposed, to obtain medical attention.
Conductor Skipper was the only one who
had a list of the injured and the pas
sengers. but for some reason he refused
to give them out. Many of the other
passengers and of the crowd who gath
cred at the wreck saw and talked to
those who were hurt and could describe
their injuries, but had not heard or could
not recall their names. as they had paid
but little attention to this. The little child
and the woman it was learned, how
ever were on their way 10 Newton.
The people living in the neighborhood
of Central avenue heard the two loco
motives as they crashed together and
hurried to the scene. In only few
minutes a large crowd had gathered and
many remained until the engines were
moved away and the track cleared, at
little before o'clock
A few of the passengers remained in
the cars though most Of them either
walked or were taken down town. The
mail and express wagons went to the
scene of the wreck to get the baggage,
mail anq express and this was delayed
but a short time.
At the Frisco terminals no one~of the
officials had determined as yet who was
responsible for the wreck. Although they
said that it was a rule of the road that
trains should be under perfect control
when in switch yards, some allowance
might be made in this case. as the curve
is so SHARP and the view INSTRUCTED. No
one knew whether the freight was on
the passengers time or whether the dis
patcher had made the error that brought
the two engines together in collision.