Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-01-21
NEAR TO A wreck
C.ose Call for Morning Passenger
on the Burning
ton.
LOCOMOTIVE RIDES THE TIES
Rail Spreads When Train is Moving
40 Miles an Hour-Ssved
by Engineer.

BY the na-rowest margin south
bound Burlington passenger No. -
escaped from a frightful wreck
This week two miles north of Rose
vile The train was pulled by a big
Cotton engine. No. 1173. Engineer J. f.
DcSollar at the throttle. Fred Lewis
bremen. both Of Beardstown. C0nduc-
tor j. Long OF Galesburg was in
charge Of the train.
The train was % minutes late and
was running all Of 40 miles an hour
Engineer DeSOIlar had jrst whisiIei
FOR the NcCurdy crossing when h,
noticed something wrong with the on
gine and Immediately applied the air
brakes. but the train was going at
such high speed and down a heavy
grade that IL ran over a quarter of
mile become IL came to stop.
Just about opposite the whistling
post quarter Of a mile north of the
crossing. a rail had spread and le-
one Of the three drivers on the right
side OF the engine down on the ties.
Cars R-n,aIn ON Trark.
After running in this condition for
several hundred feet. and when the
engine was about three hundred feet
north of the trestle bridge (which is
about the same distance north Of the
McCurdy crossingJ the rail gave way
at joint and the three drivers on
the left side climbed over the rail and
then the six drivers OF the engine were
On the ties and Il ran i'm that way over
200 feet. dragging the train after il.
and strange To say. every car remain
Cd on the rails. although the engine
drivers cut the bolts i'm every fish
plate and thus uncoupled the rails al
every joint for that distance.
No one aboard the train except the
brave engineer and his :ircmcn knew
Of the very narrow escape from a
frightful wreck. until the train was
brought To a stop south Of the cross
ing. Those aboard the train supposed
that something ON the crossing hal
CarsCd tfc engineer 10 apply the air
Just after whiSt.ing for the crossing
I'm the smoking car several exclaimed ]
when the train stopped that il must
have killed some ono on the crossing. !,
- How Train H. saved. "a 4
Perhaps three things saved the train.
The pony trucks Of the engine remain
ed ON the rails. Had those TWO little |
lead wheels LETT the rails ii Is certain |
that the entir. train would have gone
down the high embankment or off the |
bridge. which Is about 30 feet long
and 2o to 80 feet high The fact that
the ground was frozen hard held the
ties in place and kept them from being |
torn loose and thus piling up the train. |
And possibly the high speed Of the
train was i'm its favor In getting over
the bridge. II IL had been going slow
er IL is quite likely the engine would
have gone through the structure. |
Some people seem to think that the |
train should have been stopped sooner
than il was. II L. quite possible had
the engineer reversed his engine when
the wheels left the track. the account Z
of the mishap would have been vastly |
different than IL is. The train would /
have piled up i'm short order or scatter
cd over the right OF way. But for the /
coolncss and bravery OF the engineer |
there is no telling what might have
happened. IL ever an engineer descrv-
ed the heartfelt thanks of his passcn-
gers and the communication Of the Off |
cials Of the road Engineer DcSOllar
IL entitled TO this in the fullest meas
urc.