The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1906-04-06
RETURNS FROM THE WRECK
GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT c. c.
HUGHES is HOME.
TELLS THE STORY OF DEATH
There Were Six Cars In the Train.
Three Passed Safely over-Miracu.
lous Escapes-how Trainmen Were
Saved--Sixteen Were Hurt.
from Fridays Daily.1
~ l..N

loub ESCapes-foW Iralnmen were
SaVed-sxteen Were Hurt.
fFrom Fridays Daily.1
General superintendent c. G
Hughes returned at noon today in his
private car from the scene OF this
weeks fatal wreck west OF Casper
Wyo., on the new extension Of the
Northwestern. Mr.. Hughes, accom-.
panied by Or Royce of Missouri Val.
ley, went to the scene of the accident
In order to make n thorough investi-
cation into the circumstances. It was
found that the train crew was perfect.
" blameless in the accident and that
there was no way in which the wreck
could have been averted The dead
men were brought to Casper for burial
and the wounded, sixteen In number,
were taken partly to Casper and part.
ly TO Douglas for treatment. The in.
jured men are all getting along nicely
and II looks now as though they would
all recover.
How the Wreck Occurred.
The wreck occurred over tiny,
emergency culvert which was placed
eight or ten feet below the track 1t
was one Of those little holes through
an embankment, and was merely a
little tube covered over with a mound
of earth upon which the track was
built. The Culvert was placed through
the track merely to allow water that
might collect In a shallow basin along
Gi hn oh np b.. In
into n creek on the other side. This
creek, little way west of this spot,
ran under the track and at that bridge
the ice had piled up against the piling
so as to dam the creek and cause It
to overflow. The overflow water en-
tered the shallow basin, rushed against
the small culvert and softened the EN-.
barkment. When the train came along
the neavv locomotive and two cars
passed over the culvert safely
There were six cars in all. two of
them cabooses. In the first caboose,
which was the third car from the en-.
gine, rode the laboring men. In the
caboose following rode the train crew.
After the engine and two freight cars
had passed over the culvert, the ca
boose carrying the Italians came along
and the embankment, having been set
tied by the heavy engine, gave way
and dropped down. The car fell
front end foremost settling into the
water. The drop jerked back the two
cars just ahead and they crashed
through the caboose. The dead men
are thought to have been killed in
stantly.
The following caboose still stood up
upon the culvert. And thus the train
men were saved.
Some Marvellous Escapes.
There were some marvellous escapes
among the laborers in the caboose.
One young man and his father were
sitting side by side. The father was
instantly killed and the young man
escaped without single scratch One
man had his neck broken. Another
was buried down deep under the de-
bris, But in spite of the fatalities,
Mr. Hughes says that the victims were
but slightly MANNED and some of them
not at all.
Speed Might Have Prevented.
This wreck was a most unusual one
in that it might have been prevented
II the train had been running faster.
rhe heavy locomotive had ridden safe
ly over the culvert and two cars, and
1t is supposed that if the train had
been going faster it might have sped
across in safety.
But in this point, of course, the
trainmen were doing their duty, for
they were running carefully and slow
ly. The washout under the embank-
ment could not be seen by the engi-
neer nor anyone else, and the COM
panY was hlameless in the matter.