The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-01-29
NIGHT OPERATOR FAILED
TO DELIVER THE ORDERS
FrghtfuI Wreck on the Santa Fe. in Which Twenty
Persons Lost Their Lives.
Some of the Victims Were Roasted TO Death in Sight Of Their
Frends-0her Accidents

TUCSON. Ariz-, Jan. 2S.-The failure
of Night Operator George Ciough
at Wallis Station TO deliver orders
to westbound train No. 9, known as
the Sunset Limited, caused a head
end collision at o'clock this morn
ing between trains Nos. and s. four
teen miles east Of Tucson and six miles
from Wallis Station, with disastrousIy
fatal results.
At last accounts twenty bodies had
been taken from the mass of burned
and charred wreckage, and it is be-
heved this number will be swelIed by
the addition Of several more before the
search of the mass OF tangled and
twisted iron and steel shall have. been
completed.
The Dead.
John Bruce. Tucson, engineer.
R. Wulde. Tucson, engineer
George McGratk, Tucson, fireman.
j. n Hilton, capitalist, Cambridge
Mass.
Sixteen dead unidentified.
Seriously Injured.
Fred Donahue, Battle Greek, Mich
Ben Sawyer, mail clerk. Tucson.
Abe SilvertOn, New York
c. 5. Gilbert. fireman, Tucson.
Ben Merryhill, New Hampshire.
Slightly Injured.
Frederico Romero. Juarez, Mexico.
- Nicholson. Tucson.
w H Markham, Saginaw, Mich.
IL NJ B Boehme, baggageman
Tucson.
F. 5. NJ. GHdden. Cambridge. Mass.
R Pesquir, HermOsillO, Mexico.
W. B. Walter. Tucson.
Miss Irene Wilmington. Phoenix. ARR
The son of J. II. Hilton. who was
the killed, escaped injury.
Train Was Behind Time.
Train No. 7, which originally was
No. 8, but which was several hours
late and running as No. 9. stopped
at Wallis Station at 2:40 O'Clock in the
morning. It was in charge of Con-
ductor @. W. Parker and Engineer
Jack Bruce, one of the Oldest and best
known enginemen in Arizona The con-
ductOr and engineer were furnished
with orders to pass an eastbound
freight train at Wilmot Station There
was another order at Walls Station
one to meet train No. s, known as the
Crescent City express, eastbOund, al
EsmOnd. This order. which was the
important one, the operator failed to
deliver, aad the limited pulled out with
the right of way and with no orders
concerning No. s. When six miles west
OF Wallis, running at speed of fifty
miles an hour. and rounding a sharu
curve, No. 9 crashed into No s. run
ming forty-five miles an hour. The
crash and the scenes immediately fol-
lowing were beyond description. So
great was the impact from the two
nylng trains that the engines reared
up ike two animals engaged in com
bat and crushed the boilers like shells
The cars Immediately in the rear
rushed upon the mass of heated iron
ana piled up in an indiscriminate and
tangled mass.
Fire Added to the Horrors.
Fire broke out at once. The flames.
IoIowed by the oil from the broken
tanks of the engines. quickly cOmmuaf-
Gated TO the cars and the whole mass
was soon in flames Those who were a bic.
10 escape from the cars in the rear Of the.
Trans quickly came 10 the rescue. But
All their efforts went for little as the
pile of debris was heated to such a de-
gree that the workers could not approach
near enough to do any good Smoke
from the burning oil and cars. as well as
steam, blinded all those who
got near the flames. Even in the face of
all these obstacles the passengers and
tralnmen, who We're able to be of any
the wounded Many OF these We're quick
ly removed and taken to places of safety
at the side of the tracks
Oil Run in Streams.
1t is declared by passengers who were
DrouSnt TO Tucson on the relief train
that oil from broken tanks ran in streams
down each side Of the track When this
fluid took fire it rendered
work and efforts at rescue very difficult
ana dangerous. 1t IS declared that the
mass OF the Wreckage was heated to a
white heat by the intensity Of the fire.
A Pullman sleeper on the rear Of train
No was detached by the tremendous
force of the collision and ran down the
grade INTO Tucson, crashing into switch
engine. Both the engine and the sleeper
were damaged TO a considerable extent
The arrival of the runa way sleeper was
the first news of the wreck to reach
Iuscon, although it had been unaUthOrita-
lively stated that Operator Clough at
Wallis, learning of his fatal error when
No had departed, told the dispatcher s
office at Tucson that a wreck would oc-
cur Soon after the Pullman car ran into
Tucson brakeman arrived from walls
bringing news of the wreck. His reports
We're that the dead would number from
twenty-five TO fifty
Pitiable Scenes.
relief train was quickly made ready
and DR.. Fenner, the railroad surgeon at
this point. with two assistants, was bur
ried to the scene. They found a terrible
state of confusion existing about the
scene. Men and women were running to
and fro in a panic, some clad only in their
night clothes. others IN different stages
of undress Many Of these We're suffer
ing from slight injuries. The cries Of TIE
severely injured are declared to have
been dreadful. The surgeons rendered
every aid possible under the circum-
stances. Sixteen of the worst injured
were placed aboard the relief train and
brought to Tucson, where they were
made as comfortable as possible at the
railroad hospital. Six Of these are Sc
riousIy injured and not expected to re-
cover.
The work Of searching for the dead be-
gan as soon as the fire subsided. En-
gineer Bruce's charred remains were
found at the side Of HIS engine and par
tally under the oil tank. The body was