Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-08-14
NO. 65.
WHEN A TRAIN is WRECKED.
Foreman of the Wree<ins Crew Tells
What 10 Done.

LOd "ohS q ohSAJ "a AS'' ~
away wrecks?
WELL" says the old wrecking fore
man, In an article In The Iron Trail
perhaps it is after days hard work
on the rip tracks, repairing broken
cars; for usually the wrecking crew Is
made up of ten Of the car repair men.
Every man knows exactly where
the wrecking outfit is-on by the
roundhouse where the night crew Is
doing all 1t can to hurry along the fire
and the rising steam pressure Of the
engine that is to take the outfit on Its
errand of mercy
"This outfit IL 1t is modern, con-
sists Of steam derrick car, with steam
always up, weighing in the neighbor-
hood of 100000 pounds. with lifting
capacity of sixty-five tons.
Behind the derrick comes the truck
car. It contains extra trucks u be
used under derailed cars or car bodies
whose trucks have been ruined. Next
comes the blocking car, loaded down
with all necessary blocking and tim
ber.
"Then there is the track supply car,
equipped with all the necessary track
material, such as ties and rails. The
tool car is the next In order. This car
ries packs Of all descriptions, from a
six inch pony jack to 40-ton hydrau-
lie. It is loaded also with bars, CHS
els, hammers, wrenches, dope buckets,
packing spoons, lines, tackles and
blocks, night and day signals, tarpau-
lins for covering merchandise, and
stretchers, blankets, sheets for the In
jured and the dead.
Next is the cook and bunk car and
finally the caboose. The former hasa
range, a refrigerator and stock OF
food that will keep. It has hunks for
eighteen or twenty men. This train,
| or outfit as It Is called. Is always
coupled together and stored on a side
track.
"The first thing that wrecking
foreman does on being called is to get
into communication with the chief
train dispatcher and fnd out all the
particulars possible. II It Is mer-
chandise wreck. empty freight cars are
taken along into which can be trans
ferred such freight and grain as can
be saved.
"Ie also finds out as near as he can
Just where the wreck lies and how
badly 1t is piled. II 1t is a passenger
wreck, why, OF course. It is case OF
get there as quickly as possible, won
dering all the time who the dead and
injured are and what new scene OF aw-
fulness will be confronted.
"The wrecking outfit has the right of
way of all trains between the starting
point and the place where the wreck
occurs. Passenger, stock and freight
are all side tracked.
"a stop is made at the station or sid
ing nearest the wreck. Here the steam
derrick Is switched ahead OF the en-
gine, with the rest Of the outfit coupled
behind. On arriving at the wreck
man is stationed at the front end Of
the crane, whose duty It Is tcgive sig
nails to the engineer Of the derrick,
whether to raise, lower or to swing
the crane.
The first thing wrecldng foreman
does after finding out where the In
jured are and getting them loose Is
to figure on working a passageway
through the wreck and replacing the
track as the debris is cleared. II the
wreck is bad one and there is the
chance temporary track Is built
around the mess that traffic may be
Presumed as soon as possible.
Cars that are damaged to the ex-
tent of $100 are dragged into the ditch.
all the truck and air brake rigging
taken from them and the body Of the
cars set afire. All of the iron parts are
afterward loaded on to fat cars, often
even the boiler Of the locomotive. This
paired and used over again.
Even freight wrecks can present q
terrible appearance. One of the worst
of these I ever saw was forty-hve
loads Of wheat, the products Of many
hundred acres, piled forty feet high
and extending from right Of way fence
to right Of way fence-a regular hill OF
gold which took one solid weeks work
to clear away. Carload after carload
of wheat had to be loaded by basket
into new cars-while many tons OF
bent and twisted iron and heap upon
heap of ashes told silent story Of the
wreck.
zone time we went out to pick up
| stock wreck Of eleven cars. These,
next to passenger wrecks, are the
worst to handle. This particular wreck
was one of great confusion. The PEN
ned cattle were believing frightfully.
On each side and far over toward the
fence lay dead or injured stock
Now there is nothing that makes
these western steers so angry as the
smell Of blood, and add to that injury
and the terrible excitement Of wreck
and you have a combination that makes
the poor animals fairly crazy. Woe to
the man who gets close to head or
the heels of a struggling beast. The
cars were piled in such way that we
were compelled to rip the tops of.
Then men crawled out along the
wreckage, fastened lines about the
horns, and with the aid Of the derrick
the animals were finally dragged loose.
Those in the car that were badly in
jured were killed by blow on the
head with a sledge, while the others
were rounded up by men on horse
back and herded into the field to be A.
nally driven to the first stock chute
and there reloaded.
"Yes, passenger wrecks are, without
doubt, the very worst-and It can be
said Of them, as Of war, they are any
thing but cool.
"The lessons wrecks should teach us?
Never to take chances. Never make
men work longer than nature intended
they should. Equip all roads with ev-
cry safety device known for safe train
handling. Make the train order as
simple as possible. Stop loading cars
beyond their capacity and until they