Los Angeles herald., 1905-02-04
RAINS GUT OFF
WEST FROM EAST
NO DIRECT COMMUNICATION
BY RAIL
WASH0UTS DELAY TRAINS
Southern Pacific Roadbed Severely
Damaged by Torrent Of Water.
Santa Fe Line Is
Tied Up
WASHoUTS DELAY TRAINS

Los Angeles was cut off entirely from
direct railroad communication with
the east yesterday and last night,
owing to the washouts along both the
Southern Pacific and the Santa Fe, and
1t is not expected that traffic can be
resumed until o'clock this morning.
officials of the Southern Pacific rail-
road say that the washout that their
line has sustained at El Casco is the
worst in years, and there are others
of less consequence between Los An
geles and that point.
Although the Southern Pacific road
bed sustained the greatest damage the
Santa Fe trains were temporarily de-
layed by washouts at Kingman, Ariz.,
and at point east of Bagdad, Cal.
On the Southern Pacific at Ell Casco,
near Beaumont, the White Water river
has burst it's banks, and where a rail-
road embankment once stood there is
now a raging torrent 100 feet wide
and thirty feet deep speeding ocean
ward.
At other points between Beaumont
and Los Angeles the roadbed has been
made unsafe in number of places.
Bridges Warped
On the Redlands branch of the
Southern Pacific, four bents of the big
bridge west of Redlands Junction have
been warped out of their places by the
flood and the Redlands bridge east of
the city yesterday morning was not
considered safe for travel, so that Red
lands, since o'clock yesterday morn
ing, has been practically isolated from
train connections. At Iona Linda the
water is running over the tracks.
The Golden State limited and trains
No. and No. on the Southern Pa
cific are held at Beaumont and Indio,
waiting for the break in the road at Ell
Casco to be temporarily repaired that
headquarters it was given out at 8
O'Clock last night that they would
have trains running shortly after mid
night, but that the rain continued to
fall steadily at Kingman, where the
larger washout occurred.
Trains from the north were also long
delayed, although the rains were not so
heavy as have been reported east of
Los Angeles. The Owl, due to arrive
in Los Angeles at S:45 a. m., was six
hours late, owing to washout between
Tropico and Burbank, and when the
b.,
be detained for an indefinite time until
the track could be repaired, many of
them engaged farmers to haul them to
the Tropico terminal of the Pacific
Electric railway and reached Los An
geles some hours earlier by this means.
Water Pouring over Track
At FL Casco the White Water river
has practically changed it's course and
is pouring it's waters like a mill race
through the break in the track. The
country at this point forms water
shed which drains into the White
Water river, which soon after the be-
ginning of the rains began to rise with
incredible rapidity. At turn in the
river bed, which the stream follows
under natural conditions, the wall of
water which rushed down the canyon
Thursday night leaped the bank and,
carrying with it the roots of trees,
stones, sand and underbrush, swept
over the Southern Pacific tracks.
Tracks PatrolIed
In anticipation of washouts watchers
were patroling the track. All trains
were halted at Beaumont, and on news
of the accident being received at Los
Angeles, three construction trains were
sent out within an hour of each other
to the scene of the accident. A fourth
train was dispatched from Indio and
since Thursday night a large force of
men has been constantly at work in
an endeavor to construct a temporary
bridge.
At Beaumont, where trains No. and
No. are delayed, and at Indio, where
the Golden State limited is held, every
thing possible is being done for the
convenience of the passengers.
On the Santa Fe, near Kingman, tor
rents of water which came down the
TruXton and Crozier canyons have
washed away $50 feet of the embank-
ment, and several bridges yesterday
afternoon were in danger of going out.
Construction trains were sent to the
scene from Needles, and 1t was re-
ported yesterday afternoon at the Los
Angeles offices that it might be pos
sible to repair the break within eight
hours.
East of Bagdad there, was a second
washout, but of much smaller pro-
nOrfiops This WAS dino IN n e,,ooI1