The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-11-20
THlRTY-ONE MEN
KILLED IN WRECK
Freight Crashes into z Work
Train in a Deep Cut.
VICTIMS HORRIBLY MANGLEO
ACCIDENT THE RESULT OF IG-
Morning ORDERS.

II EORIA. Ills. Nov. 19.-Thirty-One
men were killed and at least hf-
teen were injured today in head
end collision between a westbound
freight train and a work train on the
Cleveland. Cincinnati, Chicago & St
Louis railroad between Mackinaw ard
fremont Ills. The bodies have been
taken from the debris, which is piled
thirty feet high on the tracks, a huge
pile OF broken timber. twisted and dis
torted iron and steel The bodies are
mangled so that many are unrecogniza-
BILE. All the dead and most Of the in
3ured were members Of the work train.
The crews or both locomotives jumped
20 save their lives The collision oc-
CURED i'm a deep cut at the beginning
of sharp curve. neither train being
visible To- the crew of the other until
they were within fifty feet of each 9TH
or. The engineers set the brakes.
sounded the Whistles and then leaped.
The trains struck with such force that
The sound was heard for miles around.
A second after the collision the boiler
OF the work train exploded. throwing
heaFy iron bars and umbers 200 feet
The Dead.
Robert King, fremont
THOMAS Troy, fremont
= William Eads. fremont
= Charles =. Meyers. Bloomington.
George Smith. Bloomington.
bTeorge Harmon. Bloomington.
John Doran. Bloomington.
John Smith Bloomington.
Fred Bachman. Danvers.
John Shaw. MaCkinaW.
stephen Cutler. Mackinaw
Twenty unidentified dead bodies
mangled beyond recognition.
Orders Ignored.
Conductor j. w. Jude of Indianapolis
who had charge of the freight train.
received orders at Urbana g. is said
10 walt at Macknaw for the work
train The freight train did not stop
The engineer of the work train. George
Becker, had orders. it is said. TO pass
the freight mt Mackinaw. and was on
his way there. The work train was
about five minutes late and was run
ning at fun speed I'm order to make up
time When about two miles from
Ninert and entering a cut. both en-
Eineers saw the approaching trains,
ard. realizing that IL was impossible
- stop, they threw on the emergency
brakes Whistled twice and then leaped
from their cabs. The collision was seen
10y Russell N0Onan who hasteued 10
nearby nouse and telephoned to Ire
mont
a special train with four physicians
was made up in a few minutes and
in less than half an hour was at the
wreck. AT the same time another train
arrived from PeIiu. bearing Superin-
tendent q. II. Barnard Of the Big -Four
and three physicians. The second
train bore a number of Turkish rugs
and these We're utilized to carry out
she mangled corpses of the victims.
Bodies Removed.
After working two hours. the bodies
or twenty six men were taken out ana
laid ON an embankment near the side
OF the track. one of the last bodies
recovered was that of William Bailey.
who had been thrown thirty feet in the
sir and held I'M place by two steel
rails which had been pushed up be-
tween the locomotive and the tender
OF the work train. The wOrkmen had
been laying rails al different points
along the track.
The injured were taken to the two
RabCOses of the relief train. where hos
pitfalls were improvised
one CabOOse was taken 20 Norton.
while the other was taken to fremont.
= The dead lay on the bank an night.
awaiting the arrival OF the coroner Of
Tazewell county. Widows and orphans
rhrOnged around the wreck tonight.
asking for Information. Out of thirty
five men who constituted the crew Of
the work train. only four are living.
and two Of these are seriously injured.
Wreckage is strewn along the track
for 200 feet. and twenty-fOur hours will
elaUSe before ir can be cleared