Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1907-08-10
Coal Train Rams ShitteT,
Friday Afternoon.
Smashing Latter's Tender ana
wrecking One Freight Gar
FREIGHT Locomotive unInjured and
No One Hurt.

ro+;,.e No. Il, the shifting en-
Glitch does the work in the Au-
austa freight yard of the Maine Cen
| tr,1 railroad, and an extra coal tram
,ei.tine of a locomotive and "a cars
! Going east, were in collision Friday
| oftarnoon below Rines hill crossing at
| , mint lust above the semaphore
v,hare a spur track leaves the cast
hound track and runs along the edge
of the bank and in front of the Pur-
inton wood shed and the storehOuSe of
the Brooks Hardware Co. The coal
train suffered no injury from the mix
no. but the tender of the shifter had
the rear set of trucks knocked from
under it and was temporarily out of
business. One of the cars which the
shifter was pulling was also slid off
its trucks and it's running gear was
generally demolished. No one was in
jured.
The accident occurred at 325. Train
No. 10 had just gone up through the
yard and was at that time at the sta
ton awaiting the arrival of Il lOcOmo-
tive from Watervile. its own locomo-
tive having been disabled. An extra
freight made up of coal cars and IN
charge OF Conductor Reynolds and En-
einecr Thompson, which had followed
10 up from Hallowell. was coming up
into the lower yard. and at some dls-
lance behind his train was freight tram
No. 81. which goes east from Augusta
at 42O p. NJ.
At this tine also the Shifter. In
charge of Engineer Pillsbury and Fire
man Cony, was doing some work in
the ward below the Rines hill crossing,
and having been in on the spur track
mentioned above, was backing out
with five box cars and one baggage
cav lust why the accident should have
occurred has not been explained. but
lust as the shifter reached the main
lire the crews of the two locomotives
saw enc another. the two trains being
at that time but a short distance apart.
1t was claimed that both engineers
shut off their steam. and seeing that 4
collision was inevitable. jumped. as
did their fircmen. 1t was also said that
the shiftcr had practically stopped at
the time of the collision, but the coal
train, being much heavier, could not
stop so quickly, and the pilot of the
big locomotive. No. $40, caught the
rear Of the shifter's tender. driving in
tho rear set Of trucks, denting the end
Of the tender and twisting the tank on
its base The tender was also rammed
against the end of the locomotive with
sufficient force to break down the
heavy oak timber which served as q
platform for the tender. Aside from
some scars on the pilot and the knock
ing off of a piece of hose the freight
locomotive was uninjured.
AS the two locomotives met the shift
ter started working ahead, and pushed
the cars in on the spur track. The dis
lance to the end of the spur was short.
but with the impetus given by the i'm
pact and the power of the shifter it
gained considerable Roadway, and
when the last car in the lot, Maine
Central No. 1926. reached the bunter.
it struck that obstacle hard enough to
bend it down. But though the bunter
was forced down into the earth the
trucks Of the car could not get by 1t
ana the body of the car slid forward
leaving the eight trucks under the rear
end. and landed on a pile of oil bar
rels, harrows and q moving machine.
In its slide the body of the car top
pied over so that one corner of the
roof came against the side Of the
Brooks Co. storehouse and punched
through the iron covering and the
building and there stopped. 1t was
lucky that the car stopped as it did.
as lust beyond that point is n deep
cut for a roadway to the rear of the
building, and had the car gone over
that it must have fallen into the Au-
cl1sta Steam Laundry building.