The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1907-11-19
LOADED Cans PILED Up.
Cars Containing Explosives
Remain on the Track.
Had Wreck Occurred Three Cars
Further Pack on Train Terrible
Catastrophe Would Have Resulted

ICleveland ana ST. Louis. SuHered
serious wreck in the local Erie yards
Just west of the union depot at 5:45
o'clock Tuesday morning. Three
heavily loaded box cars were prac-
tically demolished and the tracks and
interlocking equipment was badly
wrecked.
] Had the wreck occurred three cars
further back on the train, 1t is very
probable that there would not be any
steam shovel shop or union depot in
Marion today. Just at the rear of
the last car wrecked was two box
cars heavily loaded with dynamite.
In all there was about twenty tons
of dynamite on the train.
| That the wreck was not of more
serious nature is probably due to
the particular caution which engineer
Mahoning who was in charge Of the
train, exercised upon passing through
the local yards.
Customarily the through freights
pass the union depot and through
the Erie switches at speed Of
about thirty miles an hour. 1t has
often been predicted by local rail-
readers that a terrible wreck would
occur at this point. Owing to the
heavy fog, the engineer was feeling
his way along at the rate Of about
10 miles an hour.
When the train was passing over
the switch frogs connecting the Gin
cinnati division OF the Erie to the
yard tracks, the fourth car from the
|engine caught on switch point and
Jas result there was a general pile
Iup. AS to just what caused the
wreck Is not definitely known. Had
the switch been out OF order the en-
|gine could not have passed safely
through 1t. II is the general opinion
iof the trainmen that a brake beam on
the car which first left the rails
caught on the switch point and thus
started the remainder of the train
down the Erie tracks.
The first car wrecked was B. r.
& p. car No. III and was loaded
with apples. The car was badly
crushed but the produce was saved.
The second car was the property OF
the d. II. & c. railroad numbered
167774 and contained merchandise.
| II was crushed almost into kindling
wood.
The third car was the property OF
the Rutland road, was numbered 6421
and contained sugar. The produce
was scattered along the road bed
while the car was demolished. The
damage in all will exceed $4,000.
| The train was In charge of Con-
ductor Grail. OF Cleveland A peculiar
feature of the wreck was that the
three cars crushed were picked out
from between cars containing dyna-
Unite as II has been later learned that
the care directly I'm front of the first
one wrecked also carried several
thousand pounds of explosives.
The Erie wrecking crew from
Gallon was Immediately summoned
and almost the entire day was spent
in clearing up the debris.
Because of the Big Four wreck.
1t was necessary to detour Erie
Cincinnati No. this morning. by
way of Kenton over the Big -Four to
Urbana and then back to the Erie
tracks. Only In this one instance
did the wreck cause delay of traf-
Ifc.
Scarcely had the Gallon wrecking
crew gained good headway in
cleaning up the local wreck than they
received call from North Lewis
burg, located on the Cincinnati divi-
sion OF the Erie, to clean up a
wreck which occurred about 10 O'Clock
this morning. The crew was not
permitted to leave here until late
Tuesday afternoon.
Floyd Welsh. day operator at the
pennsylvania station, left this morn
ing for the northern part of the coun.
|ty where he will spend two weeks
vacation hunting. During his alb.
sence Morarity, night operator
viii assume This duties and Chsrles
Ballinger, Of Caledonia, will act IN
the capacity Of night operator.