The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1904-06-10
BLAMED ONTO
SWITCH ROD
SECOND SERIOUS WRECK OC.
OURS AT RAPIDS.
ONE Man BADLY INJURED
Locomotive and Several Cars Demol.
ished-Miraculous Escape Of
Engineer and Fireman.


A wreck occurred on the Northern
Pacific at Rapids, eight miles west OF
Park City, early Wednesday morning,
that in respect to damage done to
property may be said to have been
one of the worst the company has
sustained in years. In regard to the
escape from death and serious injury
by those on board it may be said to
, have been little short of miraculous.
Only four persons were injured, one
seriously.
The Wounded.
! R. Rowland, fireman; leg badly cut.
William Ogden, extra express mes
senger; bad scalp wound and internal
hurts.
T. B. Kapp, engineer; side hurt;
not serious.
| w. c. Dillon, express messenger:
bruised about body and shaken up.
! Besides these some OF the passen-
gers were cut and scratched by bro
ken glass and splinters, while some
also complained of pains caused by
the jar and shock.
| Broken Switch Rod Blamed.
! The wrecked train was No. 8, west
bound, in charge of Conductor How
ard, and the accident occurred at
3:45 o'clock By the trainmen it is
! attributed to a broken switch rod,
which caused the locomotive to leave
/ the main track at the east end of the
siding at Rapids. The engine, No.
2S7, one of the heaviest in use on
the division, took the siding, while
the cars continued on the main line.
After running a short distance. the
locomotive toppled over onto it's left
side, ploughing deep hole in the
ground before it finally lost it's mo-
mentum. The cab was demolished
completely, while the tender was
forced on top of the engine by the
force of the cars behind.
/ The mail car landed on it's side on
the opposite side of the track, and
the baggage car was found on top of
the boiler of the locomotive. The
express car was thrown at right an
giles across the main track and re-
d,lced to proportions not much larger
! than splinters. Across from the en-
! gine the smoking car found lodgment
fully 20 feet from the track and was
turned around The day coach fol-
! lowed the smoker and mashed through
it's side, tearing away seat on which
one of the brakemen, Carlson, was
resting his feet. He was not injured
in the slightest.
Some Wonderful Escapes.
, Fireman Rowland was hurled into
-, the air and thrown some distance
from the track, where he landed on
the ground, but unable to state clear
ly how it happened. The engineer
was imprisoned under the wrcckage
of the tender and baggage car, where
he was crowded into a space so small
that the wonder is he was not crushed
to instant death.
/ Ogden was in the baggage car. He
was "deadheading" to Spokane, where
he expected to take a run for regu-
lar messenger who had applied for
leave of absence.
Surgical Help at Hand.
Among the passengers on the train
: was Doctor w. G.. Bloom, Great
Northern surgeon, of Minneapolis. AS
soon as the train stopped the doctor
began to give attention to the injured
and did what was possible for them
under the circumstances. AS soon as
they received first aid they were re-
moved to the sleeper of No. 5, which
arrived later in the morning.
Doctor Bloom gave it as his opin-
ion that Messenger Ogden was more
seriously injured than appeared ap
parent, as his internal hurts were
| manifestly bad ones. Ogden was
brought to the hospital here.
Fireman Rowland and Engineer
Kapp. were taken to Livingston.
None of the injured passengers
was hurt badly enough to prevent