The daily tribune., 1906-03-16
FIFTY KILLED IN
HEAD-ON COLLISION
twenty-five are More or Less
Seriously Injured.
Rio Grande Passenger Trains
No. 3 and i6 Collide Near
Adobe at ago This
Morning.

Rio Grande passenger trains Nos.
from Denver and l6 from Leadville
oollided head.on two miles west of
Portland at $3.50 O'Clock this morn.
ing and the trains were burned and
as far as known about fifty people
were killed ard eighteen injured.
A list Of the dead cannot be aoquir-
ed for several days and the complete
list may never be known.
The trains met on a curve about
300 yards this side of the point where
express train No. 6 and freight on
the Rio Grande collided head-on a
year ago last October when seventeen
people were killed and injured. To.
days wreck was complete loss to
the company. with the exception of
four cars, mostly Pullmans of train
No. and three Pullman cars of train
No. le.
The known dead as far as can be
learne! are:
Express Messenger Mcfarland OF
Denver. Of train No. l6.
william Hollis. engineer of No. 10
william Cosslett, ngineer OF No. 8.
Pat Murphy, Of Florence. An oil
we'll driller.
Only the auditor Of the trains
would have q more complete list tnar
the one given above and they will not
give out anything for publication.
Engineer Cosslett Is an uncle to T.
N. Howells of this oity and as soor
as Mr.. Howells heard of the death OF
his relative he hastened to the scene
Of the disaster. Engineer Hollis Il
we'll known in this city and is cou
sin to G. W. Smith Of Florence. dc
resided in Pueblo and leaves q wife
aud several children.
Pat Murphy Is = we'll known char.
acter in Florence and had been em
ployed in the oil fields for several
years from time to time. He lost hi,
life In trying to save the lives OF
others. He had successfully gotten
out Of the car In which he WAS
seated and seeing that the other pas.
sengers were in peril. he returned to
lend thom assistance aud just As be
re.eleterd the car the gas tank ex.
ploded and he WAS soon numbered
among the dead.
Nearly all the dead passengers were
IN the smoking oar of train No. 8.
Nearly ail the seats were occupied
and car seats about fifty people
1t Ia said that most Of them in thiu
car were killed by the gasses from
the gas tank under the floor of tho
car. aud when the tank exploded the
car WAS filled with sickening and
sitting gases. Some of them were
not overcome by the gas and could
have gotten out Of the car and
saved their lives were 1t not for the
fact that the awful impact Of the
trains coming together telescopsd the
three engines aud the baggage apt
mail coaches. This work was ft
nearly complete As IL was possible
to make IL Ia . wreck and all avenuei
Of escape were cut of from the end
Of the cars. being ground together.
The peculiar thing OF the WRECK
WAS that all the cars remained OF
the track. although the first two CAR
Of either train were piled upon sscl
other. The explosion Of the gas tank
set the cars on fire. The explosion
was almost instantaneous with tn,
wreck and IN less than three miuutei
after the engines came together thu
two trains were on hre. The flames
spread rapidly from one coach Il
another and In less than three hour
after the Ore started. the oosch u
Mara rsduoad 10 4 mas Of ahArrst