The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-04-17
Bad Smash-up in West
 ern Yards. ENGINE WAS GOING
 35 NILES AN HOUR Both Trains Were Running Behind
 Time. Crew of Freight are Suspended Pend- ing Investfgation-As by Miracle No One is Killed or Even
 Bodily Injured in

'The freight train was on our time without giving us protection."-State- msnt of Engineer Felix Smith. at the throttle of passenger train No. 35.
 'Our elders at Opefika were that No. 86 was running an hour and f1f- teen minutes late. but the train was coming into the Montgomery yards only an hour late. We had counted on the extra fifteen minutes and would certainly have had the track clean"-statement of c. H. Puckett Hagman of through freight No. 2os.
 Rounding a curve at the rate of thirtyfve miles an hour, running an hour and five minutes late, vestibuled passenger train No. 35 of the Western Railway of Alabama, carrying five cars and about seventy-five passen- gers. crushed into the rear end of through freight train No. 209 at II :55 o'clock yesterday morning in the ex- treme limits of the Western yards in North Montgomery. The accident re- suited in one of the most disastrous wrecks theS Western has had in sev- eral years. Almost miraculously. however. the accident. was attended
 
 The injured are: Engineer Felix Smith of No. 35, feet and hands scald- ed and toe sprained; Fireman Archie rros of NS s EssIer nss1e right aesre passenger, claims his side was bruis- ed.
 The accident resulted in the com plete wrecking of the passenger os,ns- loSo- of the postal car, slight damage to the baggage and express car. and the ca boose and two cars of the freight were completely demolished. About 15o feet of track was torn up. The two vestibuled day coaches and the Pullman car remained on the track, and, otherwise than severe shaking up and the accompanying fright, the passengers were hardly aware of the disastrous effects or the crash.
 The wreck is conceded by both crews to have been caused by the two trains, both headed for Montgomery, running too close together. but the crews vary as to the reason for such narrow margin between their times.
 The through freight left Atlanta for Monf9omery about midnight Monday and was due here at o'clock yester- day morning. It was. however. run nins over i've hours late.
 Passenger No. 35 is due in Montgom- cry at 1O:55 a. m., but was little more than an hour behind schedule time
 The freight had just rounded the curve near Holt's brick yard and was preparing to head into the yards. when the shrill whistle of No. S5 was heard. Conductor W. T. Word and Flagman C. H. Puckett of the freight, who were on the caboose, foresaw the inevitable crash and jumped to the ground.
 An instant later No 35 leaped around the nerve. Fireman Price of the pas senFer train was the first to observe the train ahead and screamed to the en- gineer Felix Smith. The engineer im- mediately threw off the throttle and showed on all brakes possible By his directions, the fireman. who was com pleteIy dazed with excitement. jumped from the cab barely twenty feet from the scene of the collision.
 Engineer Smith remained at his post of duty, in an effort to save the train, until he saw that crash was unavoid- able Then he made an effort to save his own life He was preparing to jump and had just set foot on the steps of the cab, when the crash came
 wriggIed From Debris
 The escape of the engineer was re- markable When the mass of wreckage had come to 8 complete stop, the engi- neer was found prisoned between The locomotive and the tender Only the great toe of the right foot was caught between the mass of iron, and although the steam was pouring upon him from the boiler, he .wriggled himself free from the debris before fe was seriously burned
 Mir. Smith hobbled to a seat in the front passenger coach, where he was examined a few minutes later by phy- sician. The ankle fhis right foot was most painfully scalded and blistered while his other foot and both hands were slightly burned by the steam. His toe had only been sprained. MT. Smith was taken in a carriage to hls resi- dence. 402 Columbus Street, where his wounds were bandaged. He was rest ing comfortably early last night and said he expected to be out again in a few days.
 In Jumping for his life, Fireman Price sustained a sprained ankle on his right foot, and, as soon as he was examined by the physician in the baggage car, he was carried. in the city patrol wagon to St. Margaret's hospital.
 Postelle Zeigler, negro section man of the road, who resides at Mount Meigs, was the only passenger who - claimed to have been injured. He complained of a pain In his right side and said the impact threw him violent ly against a seat In the front coach.
 As soon as the wreck occurred the office of the Western in the city was notified and almost simultaneously the police department was informed of the disaster
 In a few minutes a number of the Western officials were at the scene of the accident. Police Chief Taylor head ed a squadron of potrolmen who has tened to the wreckage. Subsequently the patrol wagon was driven to the scene.
 The Western wrecker soon reached the wreck. but not until the mail and baggage of No. 35 had been transferred to another train. could the wrecker be gin clearing the tracks
 Mass of WreckaKe.
 The large passenger locomotive was badly wrecked. When 1t struck the rear end of the freight 1t was veered to the left of its course, carrying the splin- ters of the caboose ahead of it. With one of it's sides buried in the clay soil the engine stopped a few feet further on. after having left several of its