Los Angeles herald., 1907-03-02
ONE KILLED,
36 INJURED,
IN WRECK
Tourist Train Jumps
Kite Shaped
Track
Pleasure Trip Ends in
Serious Manner
for Many
Those Most Severely Hurt Cared for
at San Bernardino, While
Dozen Are Brought to
Los Angeles

One death ana tnlrty-SlX injured re-
suited from the collision of a Santa Fe
passenger on the kite shape track with
a Salt Lake freight train one mile north
of Cotton yesterday afternoon. The
lists, and many of the injured are east
erners.
The freight, which was east-bound,
had been backed on a blind siding to
allow the passenger to go by. The pas
senger engine was derailed before the
collision, but the forward cars crashed
full speed into the heavy freight en-
gine.
The wreck occurred shortly after Q
O'Clock in the afternoon. The track is
slightly down grade toward the west,
as it approaches Cotton, and the train
being on time, Engineer Mcneil was
holding his engine Sigh ly in check.
AS he neared the switch he again in
creased speed, before seeing that the
switch had been left open and that the
path lay clear to the freight engine, not
more than fifty yards away from where
the switch left the track. Mcneil set
the emergency brakes just as the driv-
ers lurched over the sharp turn of the
sidetrack rails.
Cylinder Head Blows Out
The sudden reversal of the engine
blew out a cylinder head, and the
throwing on of the brakes on the heavy
train behind, with the failure of the
I1.tx 70 yfY~ily thn ff1 cOt 1f-nlI
threw the locomotive violently to one
side, and with a second lurch 1t rolled
over the low embankment. The sud-
den reversing of the engine and the
crash when it struck the curve un-
coupled the tender from the baggage
car, and the latter increasing speed
with the momentum of the heavily
laden cars behind, struck the freight
engine at almost full speed.
Cars Are TeIescoped
The train was composed of baggage
car, smoker, day coach and parlor car.
When the baggage car struck the en-
gine Of the freight the force of the col
lision sent The car crashing back
through the smoker, reducing 1t to
splinters and partially telescoped the
day coach in back. Only the fact that
the day coach was a heavy steel
frame car saved it from the fate of the
smoking car. The parlor car being in
the rear, received the shocks broken by
the heavy steel day coach.
Farmers in the neighborhood hurried
to aid in the rescue work and medical
aid was summoned from Cotton. A
relief expedition was organized at San
Bernardino, and within ha-f an hour
later was on the way to the scene Of
the wreck A score of men in the vi
cinity aided those of the train crew
who were not disabled in taking the
injured passengers from the debris of
the wrecked cars
Pinned Under Engine
Most of the injured persons were in
the two front cars. NagaSlSi, the Jap
anese who was killed, was in the smok-
er. Engineer McNeill and Fireman
McKenney were found pinned beneath
the engine. where the former was
found, held in a jet of escaping steam.
Many of the injured passengers were
found crushed beneath the seats of the
car and held under the wreckage of the
broken sides and roofs. Both the front
cars were lightly constructed of wood,
without steel skeletons, and If fire had
broken out the wreck would have
burned like paper. The third car, the
only one of steel construction in the
tram, SnOWeu now IHe IdllIOdu COln-
panies may save lives by the eXpendi-
ture of a little more money in the build
ing of such cars. The steel framework
of the car was scarcely twisted and the
seats were held firmly in place. Not
a single person was dangerously In
jured in this car.
Rancher Saves Lives
j. C. Wiswall a raneher living near
Cotton led the work of rescue. He
dived into the wreckage time and
again, dragging out half conscious vic
Tins, and the saving of several lives
may be credited to his heroism.
The five Japanese, whose names could
not be learned, were found held under
sheet of iron, ripped from the rear of
the baggage car. One less seriously in
jured was trying to extricate the 9TH
ers. With Herculean strength Wiswall