The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-01-24
TWO KILLED
IN A WRECK
Of Missouri Pacific Passenger
Train No. ~.
IN YATES CENTER YARDS
tring of Cars Out on Main
Track Was the Cause.

Two men, Engineer MettIer and Fire
man GHderbecker. were killed in the
wreck of passenger train No. ~ on the
Ais.ouri Pacific, half mile west Of
Yates Center at O'Clock yesterday morn
ing. The passenger train was just enter
ing the Yates Center yards when the en-
CINE crashed into a string OF coal and
cattle cars that by some means had
reached the main track. How the cars
got onto the main track Is unknown
Two reasons are assigned for this. one
IL that freight train was switching and
pushed these cars of the siding without
knowing IL Another reason given Is that
the wind blew the cars down the siding
ara out on the main track
The passenger train left this city at
$50 O'Clock Thursday night The night
was dark and the track slippery, and
thirty minutes OF time was lost between
Wichita and Yates Center. The train
was in charge of Engineer Grover P
Aettler and Fireman Dick Giidenbecksr-
The engine was equipped with an cleo
trio headlight and the track wh-.e the
wreck occurred IS straight for consider
able distance The engineer saw the
string OF cars on the track and applied
OF shape and the speed was reduced 70
less than ten miles per hour Yesterday
IL was stated By railroad men tls-l
believed the engineer was intending 70
bump the cars and take them ahead OF
him into Yates Center.
There were six cars loaded with coal
and two empty stock cars in the string
mat caused the wreck The theory that
tie train was going at a slow rate Of
speed is carried out by the appearance OF
the wreck The passengers in the
coaches were hardly disturbed The g
Of the lamps was not broken in any car
but the baggage and mail car. II the
speed had been very great at the time Of
the impact more damage would have re-
sui ec- Two Of the coal cars were spin
tered. the front end of the baggage car
wsss broken and the cab OF the engine
smashed Experienced railroad men said
YESTERDAY that IL the train had been 60
trig very rapidly there would be nothing
but a Pile OF sPiinters and twister iron.
end every car would have left the track
Not q wheel Of any car except the fore
trucks Of the tender was of the track.
{ and al that was necessary for the wreck
ing Grew TO do was 70 pull the tender
on the engine. The baggage car was
unnccupled and with the passenger cars
that made up the train were brought
back 10 this city as the regular train
that reaches Wichita d few minutes after
o'clock. the train reaching here at
noon.
The cause of the death Of the engineer
and fireman was unusual. It was caused
by the climbing OF the tender. The
men could have left the engine and es-
capped without a scratch when they saw
that a collision was inevitable. Il is
thought that the two men did not have
any idea of a wreck They were going
slowly and intended to push the cars into
the town Both were IN their usual
sitior< when taken from the wreck
When the crash came the front end of
the tender reared and the momentum OF
the train behind i pushed il into the
CAB Of the engine, crushing the
pants The bumpers OF Jhe engine and
tender were not rigid enough TO hold the
tender 10 the track
Grover p Mettler IS the regular eugin-
Ger on the run His home is in FL Do
RADIO. He has been with the road q
long time and was considered one OF the
best and most careful engineers on this
division.
Richard Gildenbacker was an extra
fireman. He had been employed in ths
FL Dorado shops, doing duty as an emer-
gency man for several months, The
bodies Of the men were takn % thei-
homes IN e Dorado for burial