The daily silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1903-1907, 1904-09-26
FELL ASLEEP At THE
THROTTLE
Appalling Loss of life Due to
Disregard of Orders by
Engineer

Knoxville, Tenn. Sept. 24.-Running on
roadbed in a supposedly high condition
Of maintenance. and having about them
every safeguard known to modern rail-
roads. two trains of the Southern rail-
way. carrying heavy lists of passengers.
came together in frightful head -on COL
lision near Hodges at 10 o'clock yesterday
morning, sending ffty-four people to
death and injuring $50. several of whom
will probably die.
Some of the bodies have not yet been
recovered and many remain unidentified.
This appalling loss or life ana maim-
ing of the living resulted apparently
from the disregarding Of orders given to
two trains to meet at station which
has for a long time been their regular
meeting point.
The action an the part of the engineer
of the westbound train is made more in
explicable because of the fact that tho
accident happened in broad daylight ana,
according to the best information OBJ
tainable. he had his orders In a little
frame in front of him as his engine rush.
ed by the station ana mile and half
farther on came full upon the eastbound
passenger train.
The possibility is that the Inflated en-
gineer may have been asleep The trains
were on time and not making over thir-
ty-five miles an hour. yet were impact
rs they rounded the curve and came sud-
denly upon each other with frightfui mo-
mentum. Both engines and a maJorsy
of the two trains were demolished and
why orders were disregarded or misin-
erpreted will probably never be known.
as the engineers of the two trains were
crushed. their bodies remaining for hours
under the wreckage of their locomotives
The collision was between eastbound
passenger No. u and westbound passen-
ger train No. Is from Bristol. No. is was
light local train. The greatest loss or
life occurred on the eastbound train.
While on the westbound train only the
ngine crew were killed
Relief trains were dispatched from
Knoxville within an hour and all tho
physicians in the vicinity of the wreck
were doing all they could when the local
corps arrived.
The first train arrived here from the
scene Of the wreck at 4;20 o'clock, bring
ing about seventy Of the injured. Six OF
the injured had died while en- route 10
the city and aller their bodies were taken
off the train proceeded to a point near
the general hospital. where vehicles
were in waiting and large force of ply
sicians were ready to receive the wound
ed.
STATEMENT OF OFFICIALS.
The Southern railway officials give the
following account of the catastrophe:
The local train from Knoxville for
Bristol and No. u. passenger train from
Bristol to Knoxville. collided just west
of New Market today. The engines and
coaches were badly damaged.
The baggage car and engine of No. Is
were destroyed. the engine, one comb.na-
ton car. one baggage car and three
coaches of No. IL were almost totally
wrecked.
The four sieepers on No. IL did not
leave the track and were not damaged.
No passengers in the sleepers were in
jured, but between fifty and seventy-five
coach passengers were killed and one
hundred to one hundred and fifty injured.
Both engineers are under their engines.
None of the passengers on the west
bound train were killed
A number of people were going from
Knoxville to New Market to attend the
funeral of w. r. King, prominent cit
zen of that place, who died yesterday.
James King, one of the dead. was
brother of w. R. King.
Congressman Henry r. Gibson OF
Knoxville was among the injured. his
condition is not considered serious.