Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1907-09-01
THE SANTA FE LUCK
SAVES LIVES OF
PASSENGERS
FAST PASSENGER TRAIN
IN BEAUTIFUL PItE-UP
4a4E gaGta
Number Nine Wanders Into the
Ditch Thirty Miles From Las
Vegas, Taking Passengers,
Equipment and Roadbed
Along.


The Tuck" of the santa Fe railroad
Il getting to be proverbial. II is get
ting 10 be known an over the country
that while the Santa Re has as many
wrecks as any other transcontinental
railroad, and possibly q few more than
most Of them. it manages 10 XIII fewer
people. The santa Zee, oweyef makes
up for IT'S luck Ia protecting human
life, By the delay Il generally accords
its patrons after "a wreck Ike thai Of
Friday night which piled westbOund
passenger train No. . up In the ditch
IN most artistic disarray, scrambling
the equipment. untying the rOadbcd
and leaving a hundred or more Of
weary passengers stranded for about
i've hours in the middle Of "A prairie,
less Than forty miles from q division
point. finally 10 be- hauled I'm in day
coaches that would not have appealed
TO a Mexican grader as luxurious.
The Santa Re Is lucky. there Is no
questioning Il, but lis luck Is accom
panied by q certain amount Of moon
yenicnces 10 the travelling public; IL
might even De said that tho travelling
public could with some warrant be-
come annoyed, and seriously annoyed.
There appears to have been no
reason whatever for the wreck OF the
No, . passenger train Friday night
The train had crawled through RIA
ton tunnel safely, behind engine 1918
and while Il WIS two hours late out OF
Ration. was vending II way %leisurely
down the grade Las N~egaswaft.
Al n point about thlrty-lve miles
north of Las Vegas, OF an apparently
level track and on q very slight curve
the passengers were suddenly treated
to "A beautiful example of the lemon
AIDE shaking motion. The tender Of
fh. lu4ansMffN4 loft Tho track Tho nInitl
ear went with 1t ana toppled over on
its side into the ditch on the right
hand side. The baggage ear went onto
rs side on the left hand side OF the
track, while the smoking car followed
suit. the chair car jumped the track
and turned half way over ana the
tourist, leaving the rails. eareoned
badly 10 the left. sending It's fifteen
passenger IN q heap against the down
sides only the standard Pullman re-
manned on the rails, It's occupants
feeling only q slight shock n expert
encing no more than a bad fright.
There was a scramble for the doOrs
ana for a time II seemed that life
must have been lost Ia the day
coaches. An Italian mother with seven
little mes was found picking her off
spring gingerly from the hatracks
where they were hanging like plums
ON a tree. one by one she tossed them
NHI0nEi tHt mum VIII ~ WI Nl'NH
abandon as 20 where they might land
that was charming. A German
mother with one baby didn't wait for
an Invitation to leave. She literally
rolled through the window, glass ana
alt her babe IN her arms. both escap-
ing injury and even a scratch. In fact,
In All the thirty or forty people IN the
day cars, not one suffered more than
a scratched hand or "a mashed hat. II
was a little short or m~lraoulone.
The engine ala not leave the track.
Ordinarily n wreck OF the Kind would
have cost the lives of half a dozen peo
ple. but the SANTA FEES luck was there
and while ties were spin I'm two, cars
topplcd over and the heavy hallasted
roadbed wis literally showed out OF
place for ten or twenty feet, not a se-
rious injury resulted.
But VI is passengers were saved In
Jury 10 their persons, the Santa Fo ala
not spare the feelings OF its patrons
marooned u were lett standing
peacefully In the prairie from 5.35
when he wreck occurred until mid
night. with Las Vegas but t~hlrty-nVc
miles ava and Las Vegas a division
point The passengers had been In
dulged in "a haHty meal az Ia Junt'
and from that time until 3 a. m, when
the two lone day conrhcs constituting
the relief train, passengers were per-
mitted to suhsist ou memories. Chnco-
late creams. such fruit as the nows
butcher had saved from the wreck.
aud he fragments of luncheon given
away by generous persons whn had
provided themselves against accident
Having been draggcd Ia Las Vegas
The passengers after having been Kept
waiting FOR ihrec-uunrtcrs OF an hour
We're brought ln thc same coaches 10
Albuquoruue. whore the weary COM
punN d~iHhanded.
% o. dlfnDult 90 ind "a cause for the
wreck of the No y. but SOFT track
seems 90 have led In the guessing.
Trains from the west were held mt
Las Vegas ana Albuquerque and all
traffic was tied up for about eight
huura.
nut q short distance up tho right-of-
way 20 ganH OF men were engaged Fri
dnN in clearing the wrcckage Of a
freight train. lumber min products
having been scattered along the right
lu %prufusiuu for "a couple uf
hundred wards.