Los Angeles herald., 1907-06-08
HEAVY CHAIN
!. TIED TO RAIL
BYWRECKERS
Attempt Is Made to
Throw Overland
in Ditch
Track Walker Discovers
Diabolical Plot
in Time
Hundreds Of Passengers Would Have
Been Killed and Manned but
for Fortunate Dis
covery

A LMOST within sight of the city
~ limits and but few miles from
the scene Of the disastrous and
fatal wreck of the shore line limited of
the Southern Pacific company at West
Glendale, fiendish attempt was made
yesterday morning to wreck the ia
nous overland limited train which,
! with it's heavy equipment and hundreds
of passengers, would have been hurled
from the track but for the watchful-
ness of a track walker.
At o'clock yesterday morning at a
point almost half way between River
station and Tropico, a track walker
discovered heavy log chain bound
across the rails at a siding switch,
which, If it had not been found and re-
moved, would have hurled the first
train passing on the eastbound track
down an embankment into a ditch.
The result of such a wreck Is horrible
| to contemplate.
| The Southern Pacific officials in this
city are reticent about the matter and
| endeavored to keep news of the at
tempt from becoming public, for the
| kSdSOll Illdt IT'S u6l6CLlN6 IOTC6
| they would be better able to track
down the fiends If no report of it was
made. They admitted, however, that
the big chain was fastened across the
track in such way that 1t would
have ditched any train running into
1t and that tt was SO placed and bound
to the track to preclude any possibility
Of its being there by accident.
Tracks PatroIIed
Since the West Glendale wreck,
which was the work Of some unknown
| fiend or flends, the railroad company
has had it's tracks between this city
and several stations beyond patrolled
with great care, and there is not an
hour of the day that watchful man
does not pass over every mile of track
inspecting switches and rails, curves
and sidings, looking for distractions
or misplaced rails and switches.
Yesterday morning Henry O'Neill, a
track walker making his usual trip,
which extends from River station to
Tropico, came upon siding three miles
out at the switch of which was found
heavy log chain such as are used
by wrecking crews to hoist cars and
trucks and other heavy articles with
| a derrick. The chain was composed of
links made of one and 'one-half-inch
steel, the links being four inches long
| It was passed across both rails of the
east-bound track and then under the
rails between the ties and around the
end of the ties, making such an OBJ
struction as would have hurled engine
and tender and cars behind 1t from the
track and into the ditch alongside.
| The chain was removed from the
track and sent into the River station,
and the matter reported to the train
dispatcher and the division superin-
tendent and by them to the detective
force of the road, which is still in this
vicinity working on the Glendale
wreck.
No cIew to Perpetrators
Several officers were sent to the
scene and the track was further pa
! trolled with even greater care to see
| If any other distractions had been
placed farther along. N trace of any
one in the vicinity was found. 1t is
evident that the chain had been placed
where it was but a short time previous
| to its discovery as a freight train had
passed over the line but an hour be-
| fore the attempt to wreck another train
was discovered.
The next train which would have
passed on the eastbound track was
heavily laden passenger with tourists
/ and other travellers bound east and
north and carrying the mail and heavy
express matter Had this attempt been
successful railroad men shudder to
think of the outcome. as undoubtedly
| II would have resulted even more dis
astrously than the Honda wreck Of the
Shriner train.
1t is probable that an additional force
of skilled detectives will be placed at
work by the railroad company to assist
their regular men in running down
what seems to be determined and per-
sistent effort to take f1endish revenge
upon the road for some unknown and
! fancied grievance. The railroad Off
cials have now become convinced that
the work is that of some maniac, pos
sibly a discharged employe, but one at
all events who has absolutely no re-
| yo ri for human life