Arizona republican., 1903-06-06
But Not a Particularly
Serious Wreck
1T PARALYZED PHOENIX
THE BLOWING UP OF A POWDER
CAR ON THE SANTA FE
An Accident Near Glendale Involving
Great Destruction Of Property hut
in Which There Was SinsularIy no
Loss of Life.


Santa Fe. Prescott & Phoenix freight
train No. g. bound for Phoenix. met
with a spectacular accident at n point
one mile south of Glendale at 8 o'clock
last night, by the explosion of car of
Judson and giant powder. That nobody
was killed seems miraculous. AS it was.
however, there were several personal
injuries of a serious nature. The prop
erty loss was considerable, consisting
of the annihilation of the powder car
the complete destruction of car OF
merchandise, which was the only car
between the powder and the engine
the destruction of a car of spikes I'M
mediately behind the powder car, and
the total loss of a car loaded with coa-'
the coal taking fire and burning herce-
" until everything was consumed out
the trucks. Back of the coal car was
a car of office supplies for the Phoenix
& Eastern stations at Tempe and Mesa
The sides and top of this car were
riddled until it looked like cattle car
but the contents seemed uninjured. The
remaining cars on the train, composed
of three cattle cars. four cars of ties
and two cars of lumber, were saved
from destruction by fire by the energy
and thoughtfulness of Conductor G.. w
Wallin. With the aid of the crew and
several passengers, Mr.. Wallin un-
coupled one car at time and pushed it
n \
out of danger.
All the passengers, Conductor Wallin
and Brakeman Capeheart were in the
caboose when the explosion occurred.
and such injuries as they received were
from conclusion. The end door of the
caboose next the train was blown in,
all the windows were shattered and
falling wreckage broke holes through
the roof of the car.
The explosion was caused by the
powder car taking fire.. presumably
from a spark form the engine. Con-
ductor Wallin said he was confident the
fire was not caused by hot box, as ev-
erything on the train was in good order
at Glendale When the train was about
a mile from Glendale Brakeman j. l..
McArdIe, who was riding on: the tender
l.
der car near the floor. He thought it
was a hot box, and in obedience to his
hurried warning Engineer Chambers
threw on the air and brought the train
TO a stop as quickly as possible. As
the train was slowing up, Brakeman
McArdle leaped from the engine and
was running back toward the fire, and
was but a car length away from the
powder, when the explosion occurred.
Fireman Joseph Shipp had also jumped
down, and had barely touched the
ground when the catastrophe occurred.
Engineer Chambers made no attempt to
leave the cab, although he and Shipp
and McArdle all realized that awful
danger was imminent. Under the cir
cumstanc,s, McArdle's conduct in run
ming toward the burning car of powder
in order to put out the fire If possible
must be considered one of the bravest
acts ever performed by railroad man.
Although the accident occurred nine
miles from Phoenix, the noise and jar
had been so plainly noted in the city
that everybody felt confident that there
had been a great explosion on the San
ia Fe freight train, and it was left to
conjecture whether it was the explosion
of the engine or car of powder. Cen
Higley, upon finding that the wires
would not work beyond Alhambra, felt
certain tnat the freight train was in
volved, and they hurriedly summoned
doctors, ordered a special engine made
ready, and, accompanied by two or
three dozen citizens, hurried over the
track to the scene Of the disaster. Up
on arriving at AIhambra and ascertain
ing that nobody had been killed but
that several injured persons were on
the road to Phoenix, the train was hur
ried back to the city in order to give
Surgeons Dufiield and Stroud, who
were on board, the quickest means of
reaching the patients. Then the train
started again for the wreck, reaching
the scene shortly before midnight. A
Republican representative, who was on
the train, found that the bright moon
light and the flames from the burning
coal car illuminated the surroundings.
so that all details were clearly shown.
The first object encountered, the loco
motive Is. F., p. & p, No. a.. was
found in much better condition than
was expected. All the cab and wood
work of the engine had been blown
away, and the coal in the tender was
burning furiously, but Mr.. Higley, as
sisted by Mr.. Landis and one or two
others, quickly put out the fire in the
tender by shoveling sand over the
burning Goals, and Mr.. Hlgley pro-
nounced the engine practically unin-
jured.
Beyond the engine was vacant
space where the car of merchandise
had been, and beyond that was a hole
in the ground ---e length of a car and
~ 1;t+la mara than tpn faat daan This
was where the powder car stood. There
was not a vestige of the powder car
in sight-not a piece of the wheels, or
the trucks, and only piece of one Of
the rails Two telegraph poles were