The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-01-02

Map Showing Location of Vol;
| from each other by the high banks OF
| the side of the track
William Thomas Miller, the youns
| man or Soldier City who was killed, was
! riding on top of the engine tender A
mail car was Immediately in the real
| OF the engine tender. The mail car was
teIescoped After the accident was al
over IT was found that the tender was
completely inside the mail car, the floor
| of the car extending the whole length
! OF the tender underneath, the same be.
| ing true of the roof
Mail Clerks L. E Grinter and ! M,
Harlan had finished working the mails
a few minutes prior to the time of the
accident, and had turned out the lights
IN the car. This action is responsible
Tor the fact that none of the cars OF
train No. 30 were burned The mail
clerks had narrow escape from being
crushed to death, but barring few
harmed
None of the United States mails were
1851. There was no mail car on train
Both engines stood upright. They
came together with fearful impact. the
boilers We're telescoped and they APP
peareo as though welded together. The
GyHnder mead of one engine was direct
~ up against the cylinder head of the
other engine.
Car Filled With NIexfcans.
me great havoc was wrought in the
smoking car directly in the rear of the
baggage car of No. 20. The smoker
was filled with a gang of 35 Mexjcar
laporers, who were shipped out of Kan
sas City to some southwestern point. OF
TINS gang of 35, only nine remain to tell
the tale. Five of these are injured,
seriously. Four escaped with conpara-
lively slight injuries. Only one OF the
surviving Mexicans is able to speak the
English language, and this man but
little. Only five other passengers were
IN the smoker and they have not been
found.
G. J. Donaldson, conductor of an ex-
curslon party of a hundred persons oc-
cupy1ng space in three tourist sIeepers
of the Inflated No. 90, was one of the
most valiant in the rescue work. None
OF the passengers in the sleeping cars
were killed although some were badly
shaken up. The forward tourist car
was among the cars that burned. al
though it did not take fire till after the
passengers had left it.
Mr.. Donaldson was awakened by the
shock of the collision. and hurriedly
slipping on his shoes and an undershirt
he got out to see what had occurred.
Discovering that time was precious. he
hurried to the front o. the train thinly
clad in undershirt and trousers. and
helped take the injured froN the cars
The baggage car pushed through the
smoker crushing everything before it.
Conductor Donaldson together with the
other train employees and passengers
rescued as many as possible of the per
sons in this car, but many were wedged
in so that they could not be pulled
loose, and the flames soon drove the
rescuers back.
The passengers from the other cars
escaped. The fire then crept from one
car to another till the baggage, smoker,
two chair cars and tourist sleeper
were consumed.
pied and pushed down grade to point
far enough removed to be safe.
The injured persons were removed to
one of the tourist sleepers, and an en-
gine from Mcfarland pulled the cars
to Topeka. The train bearing the in
jured met the relief train from Topeka |
at Mcfarland, where Drs. Mum and |
met it and returned with il |
to Topeka. The relief train then went |
on to the scene of the wreck to secure |
the remaining passengers, the malls, |
the baggage and the seven bodies.
There is no doubt that this calamity |
is one that must be charged to human /
frailty and the blame for il goes on |
Lynes, who was the operator at Vol
land. Orders had been issued for No. |
% and No. 80 to pass at Volland. These
orders had been sent to the operator at |
Volland and as No.29 was running ahead |
Of No. 80 as far as time goes he should |
have held No. 29 at Volland. These
were the last orders he had received |
and he failed to deliver them.
Agent Tells of Disaster.
About five minutes before it happened |
he called up the nearest dispatcher in
short sharp click with his telegraph in
and wired, NO. 29 has gone
and have gone Also Even with this
dispatch in hand there was no possible
way for preventing the wreck
As far as the officials of the Rock
Island here know at this time all OF
the killed and seriously injured were
passengers on No. 29, and few if any /
passengers on No. 80 were serfouslv
injured Neither was much damage
done to the equipment of this train. /
Both trains were heavy ones. having
ten cars each. and of all varieties. in
cluding Pullman sleepers and tourists
ehair cars, coaches, smokers and bag
gage cars No. 20 is known as the
California Fast Mail and left Chicago
at $3.50 Tuesday morning, and went
-hrough this city couple of hours
oefcre the wreck occurred.
No 80 is the opposite train to No.
~ and is known as the Chicago Fast
Mail 1t left Ell Paso Monday night
md was due in Chicago tonight No |
% was crowded to the doors with mas
sengers but. the number of travellers
IN NO 80 was not large.
The heavy travel on No. 29 is ex.
blamed by the fact that homeseekers'