Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1906-07-26

. '|N''. ''''" IT tNff AN''|N NifANiA'H HthNAf
/ put yesterday sim stands. but Engl-
/ noer William Bmt. towards whom tho
mass or evidence for the responsibility
seems to he shifting, does not take this
. view entirely.
ENGINEERs STORY.
Mr. Bult was seen this morning by
The News and II was evident that he
takes the collision as very serious
matter. personally. He told a story Of
his efforts 10 slow down without air,
and declared he was absolutely helpless
when it came to the final crisis, al
though his engine slid with reversed le-
,,rs and the brakes applied for nearly
a quarter Of a mile. II anyone doubted
iris he refers them 10 his engine. the
driving wheels Of which ne says viii be
fuunl TO be nat on the bottoms from
the effects Of the long slide iuto the
ottcr engine
My father" said MI Built drove
an engine in the ola Utah Central days.
and was in fact about the first railroad
engineer In Utah. knoY the business,
and have worked on the Saltair road
about year and half but was on
other roads before that. Now after I
took my load out 90 Saltalr, ] pulled
around The w. and backed into the
platform with my air IN good shape.
Fifteen minutes after ] stopped |
pulled out again FOR the city. and when
| was half "a mile away from the switch
! cut oft steam, as ] saw the other
train waiting for me ahead on the
main track Now q Il true the other
train had a right Of way. but Il is one
n the oldest railroad rules that when
train has "a main line right OF way,
and stops at a switch, It Is the duty Of
it, crew 10 protect that train by OPEN
ing The switch % that another train
cannot collide with 1t.
COULDN'T Stop TRAIN.
In this case ! ought to have had a
free switch into which 10 run. after
finding / had lost cantral. and n this
had happened the collision would not
AihNf HNlIilAFA INV AliN AhAA AAak I
could not stop my train
Another thing Is that my conductor
and brakeman should have seen that
the air was connected up before leaving
Saltair. IL was their duty 10 connect ID
up, and OF course not that Of the en-
gineer. who IL not supposed 10 leave
his engine When ! cut In my air
half a mile away ! knew instantly by
~ 4 a.
the engine ! thought that even with
this | could get the train stopped. but
when a quarter Of mile away found
| VAS not coming down In speed rapid
ly enough, and l Whistled foy breaks.
There was air through the train. and
the conductor could then have saved
the train II he had been In a position TO
pull the conductors air valve IN any
Of the cars.
TRIED TO PREVENT 1T.
Up TN then had hopes Of prevent.
Ing collision. but as ! still was going
forward at a fair speed. whlstled
again for brakes. reversed the engine.
tun o on the sand and was rapidly
coming 10 stop when the collision oc-
cured. Engineer Woolfgang on the
other train ala his very best to back his
train up when whistled. but his en-.
CINE slipped with the heavy load, and
he was just getting started when the
ualns came together.
Now there wasn't much speed IN
my train when We struck / have suf-
fered a good deal here from state
ments made by excited people. and
by reporters who were not there. My
engine was not going over seven miles
an hour. and II q had been going
much more than that there would
have been much greater smashup.
In fact my light engine would have
been telescoped AZ II was Just the
front Of both engines we're battered
IN. and Il was not true that any
great number Of windows through the
trains were shattered
WILL TAKE PRECAUTIONS.
As the engines came together
saw a was useless 10 remain m The
cab, as dld also Engineer Woolfgang.
We had both of us done an We could.
and We both Jumped. as ala also our
| fremen.'
When asked As to what recommenda-
/ tions he would suggest 10 make the
ltNflIlk az lut switch more safe Mr..
/ Built said that 81 had been a custom OF
/ the company 20 keep a switchman there
on crowded days and that he was en-
/ route 20 the switch for duty when the
/ accident occurred. Last year he said.
ne had exactly the same experience
/ that he had this time. except that the
/ other engine vas not waiting 10 be
/ struck Either" he said. some boy
/ or man jerk,d loose the air connection
rs prank IS N train started. or II IN
| some way loosened Itself after Leaving
/ The heaoA, which is rather improbable.
] Possibly The conductor and brakeman
] failed 20 connect up. 81 they discon.
/ recied the eii Tor any reason after we
backed IN from the Y"
Manager Langford says that after
4 the cause o. the accident IL determined.
4 every nrecauton viii be taken 10 see