The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1907-09-02
CAUSE OF WRECKS :

Poplar B!uff, Mo-, Sept. JAS
4 per Porter, roadmaster for the Iron
Mountain railway until few weeks
ago, resigned his position, assigning
as his reason the fact that the Iron
Mountain system does not furnish
lenough material to keep its tracks
lin safe condition. This Is the first
TACT which learned when | began in
,quiries here. and have substantiated
1t by the evidence of several of Pop
lar Bluff's best citizens who heard
the reason from Porter's own lips.
Mr.. Porter, who Is a railroad man of
efficiency and conscience, is now in
the employ of Texas railway which
Is said to think more of the safety
OF the travelling public than of divi-
'dends.
Poplar Bluff is indignant at the
condition of the Iron Mountain tracks
Everywhere | turned in this metrop-
oils of Southeastern Missouri | have
heard Indignant protests against the
Exceedingly dangerous condition into
which the roadbed has been allowed
to retrogate.
The tracks of the Iron Mountain
both on the main line and the Cairo
branch. which carries heavy traffic
are unspeakably bad in a number of
places. 1t might not be too strong
an assertion TO say that there are
more tics in the main line which
should be removed than there are
which should be allowed to remain
in the track. As to the main line,
this seems to be particularly true In
the neighborhood of Poplar Blun.
They have averaged a wreck every
other day on the Iron Mountain main
line for the past few weeks. Once or
twice it was open switches, but the
rest of the wrecks we're due to bad
track. The railroad company has
been suppressing news of the wrecks,
but the local papers have succeeded
in ascertaining part of the facts and
have printed them.
One day a passenger engine run
ming into a siding where the Cairo
branch leaves the Poplar Blu6 yards.
went off the tracks. The cause. as
usual, was spreading track" The
ties fat this place, which | examined
when it was pointed out to me by an
eye witness to the accident were so
rotten that. they cannot DE depended
upon to hold spikes. The train was
placed back upon the tracks and the
track repaired under the direction
of Porter. In a few minutes a Cairo
branch freight came in. Its engine
went of the track in the same place
and the track was again repaired.
Here is the way the repairs"
were made: Wrenches and jacks
were brought to bear upon the dis
placed rail. 1t was pushed back into
position and spike or two placed
Two blows from sledge hammer
drove each spike to the head in the
spongy ties from which they had been
pulled by the spreading" rail. That
was all. There were no new ties in
the switch when | examined II.
Shortly after this incident Porter re-
signed. He told friend who wit
messed the accident and repairs that
the reason that he could not put the
track in safe condition was that the
Iron Mountain would not furnish the
material Porter's word is good with
every man, woman. child and dog in
Poplar Bluff. If it wasn't good there
are other men who know the condi-
tions.
looked over the ties in the Poplar
Bluff yards. Many of them were bad.
In some places there were several in
consecutive order which would not
hold spikes under strain. Some of