The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1904-01-01
CHARGED TO THE WIND
RNgUH OF THE WRECK ON THE
PERM MARQUETTE RAILROAD.
The Dispatcher Realized That a
Wreck Would Occur, So Surgical
AID Was Summoned and Wrecking
Out1s Prepared.

Crane Rapids. Mich, Dec. 27.-To-
nighI the death list resulting from
the head-on collision between two
Pere Marquette railroad passenger
trains yesterday evening, stands at
%, with SO persons injured, several
Of them probably fatally.
II was the most disastrous wreck
in the history of the Pere Marquette
system. and instead OF being caused
by man's carelessness or mistake, is
charged to the high wind, which ex-
tinguished the red signal light on the
order board at McCord's station,
where the ~westbound train was ex-
pected to stop n receive new or
ders. Two minutes before the train
rushed by McCord's the lights were
burning. says the operator there, but
in that brief interval the blizzard that
was raging extinguished it, and train
No. 8, dashed by the station to crash
into the ~aStbound train No 6, at
East Paris. The trains. which were
two Of the finest on the system, were
reduced to a promiscuous pile OF
broken and twisted timber and metal
with dead and injured pinned down
and crushed by the fragments of the
heavy cars.
Five cars and two large iocomo-
Tives were damned into a space ordi-
narily occupied by three coaches and
the wreckage was strewn across the
railroad right of way from fence to
fence.
When train No. 5, bound wes-
whizzed by McCord's instead of stop
ping, the frightened operator notified
the dispatcher, then found that hi
red light had been extinguished. He
go 49,
but one action to take The collision
was inevitable.
The dispatcher called for the sur
gical aid and gave orders to hold the
train aver the Saginaw branch at the
depot and get the wrecking outfit
under steam. They then waited for
the word they knew must come.
There was no chance of the fast
running trains to see each other
through the driving blizzard to even
slow down and In a rew minutes
word came from the conductor of No.
S that they had crashed together ana
that there was awful loss of life.
The westbound engine, No. 397.
drove through No 6s engine like a
wedge. separating the gear from the
boiler and standing the latter o n end
X a broken, twisted shell. The
running gear was crumpled up Xix
so much twine- The very force of the
twisting impact seems to nave been
the means OF saving the life of En-
gineer Waterman He WIS flung :
feet over the fence at the edge of the
right-of-way. Moon. his fireman.
was sitting on the opposite side of the
cab, and he. too, was thrown clear of
the pile of wreckage.
AS the trains came together the
steam domes of each other blew off,
releasing their contents. else there
would have been added horrors from
the blistering steam
No. 8, e~astbound, was composed of
n mail and baggage car, .combinatio~
smoker, buffet parlor car, day a
and diner.
1t was the rear end OF the smoker
and forward end of the cafe car
where the passengers were killed
and injured. From a space six feet
square the bodies of two women, a
boy and a man were taken out.
The w~estbound flyer, with it's heavy
bulk-headed cars stayed on the rails,
back Of the baggage and mail cars.
and the passengers in this train es-
capped serious injury AS zone man
they rushed out of the train to assist
the Less fortunate ones on the train
from this city. Many stripped warm
~overcoats from their backs and COW
ere6 the suffering injured a. they
were borne to the less shattered cars
OF Ne. 5. and into the remains of tt
parlor car of No. 6. Nearby farm
ers, hearing the crash, turned out
with blankets and did valiant SER
vice.
According to statement made by
officials of the Pere Marquette, the
westbound train was travelling down.
grade at the rate of SO miles an hour.
The e~astbound train was climbing the
hill at q speed of 40 miles an hour.
The former carried probably rs pas
sengers. while the latter is believed
to have been carrying at least 125
persons. The two trains collided at
about the middle of a long, sweeping
curve, three-quarters of a mile west
of East Paris.
In the cafe coach of the Inflated
eastbound train, which was demol-
ished as far back as the rear Of the
forward trucks, one OF the most
shocking of the many tragedies of
the wreck was enacted. Section Fore
man Linden ]. Baldwin, wife and son,
had spent Christmas in Grand Rapids
and were returning to their home at
Mulliken. Between the man and
wife, sitting on h cop Of the car
seat and playing with a bank re-
ceived as a Christmas gift. was their
little son. The crash came and all
three met death. A beam flying
through the air struck the child, be-
heading him. Mother and SON were
found together on the floor of the
cafe car by the wrecklng crew when
they penetrated into the wreck.
General Superintendent Smith in
terviewed Operator Booth at Nc
Cords last night and said today: Il
have no reason to doubt the state
ment OF Booth that his light was
burning two minutes before No. s.
passed McCord's and that h wind
extingufshed il. He is an old operator
and has been in the employ of the
road several years"
Superintendent Smith said further.
This is the first wreck in which the
Pere Marquette ever killed a passen-