Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1903-11-28
Fly Err WRECK ED
DEFECTIVE FROG AT DONNELLY
THE CAUSE.

All of the Train except the Last
Sleeper DeraiIed, but None of
the Trainmen or Passengers
Were Injured. Baggage Car
and Contents Burned.
Train No. 3, the Pacific Express on
the Great North ern, which left here
Wednesday night at ll:52, was
wrecked at Donnelly by running
into broken frog. The train con-
sisted of mail car, baggage car, smok-
er, day coach, two tourist sleepers,
diner, and one regular sleeper. All
these except the last sleeper were de
rallied. The engine left the track at
the broken frog, cutting the rails IN
two as it went across, and when it
was finally stopped, had the two
front wheelso the side track. The
injuries to the engine were immater-
ial. The tender, however Jared bad
ly, it's trucks by staying on the main
track being thrown off the right OF
way on the west side of the track,
and it's tank being thrown off the
right of way on the east side, with
the upper part wrecked as if it had
turned completely over.
The mail car executed peculiar gy-
rations, and finally brought up on the
east side of the track, with the front
end facing IN the opposite direction
from which it was going. This car
was badly shattered but it will
be repaired. Mail Clerk Camp
bell, we'll known here, was on this car
but thru it all escaped serious injury.
The baggage car and the balance
of the train seems to have kept to the
main track and then to have slid of
toward the side track taking the rails
with them and buryingthem deep in
the frozen ground. All of these cars
listed to one side or the other, butt
none of them we're turned over. The
baggage car was partially across the
track and by the time the occupants
had escaped, the gas tank which
lights the train exploded with such
violence as to break windows in hous-
,es some distance away. The car i'm
mediateIy caught fire, and but for
the timely assistance of the Donnelly
fire company with their chemical en-
CINE, the whole train would have
burned. While working with this
fire, Tony Renchin, ope of the Don
nelly fremen, fell from the top of a
car, and broke his anble.
The remaining cars of the train
were not materially injured, and the
last sleeper, which remained on the
track, was pulled back to Morris that
night. The rest of the passengers
spent the night in the sleepers.
The wreck seems to have been un-
avoidable except by system of track
inspection, and at the same time is
easily explained. From the Donnelly
switch to the switch where the wreck
occurred, there is the mark on the ties
of car having left the track at the
upper switch, and having gone back
on again at the lower switch. This
is Supposed to have been car of
q stock train which came this way
ten o'clock Wednesday evening.
The car struck the end of the guard
rail, and then slid over so that the
guard rail pulled it on to the track.
In doing this the point of the frog
must necessarily have been broken.
The train that came against this frog
look the switch rail or the main rail
according to the lurch of the car at
hat particular moment, and this is
exactly what the flyer did.
The wrecking crew got to work.
Thursday morning and had tenn
oorary track in by noon. By Thurs
lay night. they had the worst of the
cleared away. t
Spikes and SpIinters.
The train was in charge of Con-
uctor Cowden and Engineer Cavan-
ugh.
t I t t \
The engineer states that he was
aiming about so miles an hour when
lie wreck occurred. The train was
opped in it's own length.
I t I t C
The place where the baggage car b
urned was nine for eo,, ,o,,;r ~