The Morris County chronicle., 1907-01-08
TWO RAILWAY TRAINS
CRASH TOGETHER
Many Passengers Killed and
Wounded at VoIIand, Kan.
BLuNDER OF BOY OPERATOR
Trains Which Were to Meet at Sta
ton on the Rock Island Road
Were Allowed to Pass on Single
Track.

Topeka, Kan.-Th Thirty-five persons,
all Mexicans but two, were killed and
fifty-five persons were injured in a
head-on collision Of two passenger
trains of the Chicago, Rock Island
and Pacific Railroad near Volland
The wreck occurred while both
trains were running slowly on a curve
in cut where the grade was steep.
All the killed were in the south
bound train except a tramp, who was
on the baggage car of the north
bound train. This tramp, a negro
porter and workman accompanying
gang of thirty-two Mexican labor
ers, were the only Americans killed
SO far as known, although passen-
gers say that woman and child
were burned in tourist car
There were thirty-two Mexicans
and five Americans, composing a
gang of railroad workers, in the
smoking car of the south-bound
train. OF these, thirty Mexicans
were burned in the swreckage and
two died later.
Nearly every passenger in the
south-bound train was thrown to the
car floor by the quick setting of the
emergency brakes. The. Mexicans
were pinioned under the seats and
The doors were jammed so that they
EWould not get out. Many passengers
in the chair car were held down by
the seats
The train caught fire from the gas
tanks, which were broken. The pas
sengers in the rear cars escaped in
night clothes, and dressed in the mud
beside the tracks. Then came the
cries for help from the Mexicans in
the smoking car and the people pin
ioned fast in the chair car. Every
man and nearly every woman on the
train tried to rescue the unfortu-
mates, but the flames soon became too
hot to permit of approaching the car.
The injured were removed from
the chair cars with less difficulty,
and apparently all were rescued alive
from these cars. William Cane, con-
ductor of the south-bound train, has
a broken collar bone and is much
bruised. He said:
The train was just pulling clear
of the Volland yards, and was trav-
cling about thirty miles an hour. l
dropped into the front seat of the
smoker and dozed. There were thir-
ty-two Mexicans, sitting two in a
seat, back of me, also AL Link, ne
gro porter, foreman and five other
passengers. l was awakened by the
setting of the brakes. jumped head
first out of the window and struck on
my shoulder. When I turned and
looked at the train saw flames leap
ing fifty feet high from the smoker" !"
The foremost tourist sleeping car
of the south-bound train was also
burned, but all the occupants escaped
serious injury.
Blame for the collision seems to
rest entirely upon John Lynes, nine
teen years old, the telegraph operator
at Volland. Orders had been issued
for No. 20 and No 80 to pass at
Volland, and these orders had been
sent to the operator there, who was
instructed to hold No. 20. 1t is said
that he failed to deliver the order
to the crew of No. 20, and the latter
train went by, meeting No. 80 few
miles west. Five minutes before the
trains met Lynes called up the dis
patcher and wired him as follows.
No. 29 has gone, and / have gone
also"
Then he left his key. Even with
this dispatch in hand there was no
way of preventing the wreck. He
was afterward arrested and put in
Jail at Volland.