Los Angeles herald., 1908-10-20
MANY MEN FACE
DANGERS IN CAR
BARN COLLAPSE
TRAIN OF CARS C0LLIDES
WITH COLUMN
ENTIRE WEST END OF BUILDING
is IN RUINS
Employees Working on Second Floor
Preclpitated Into Wrecka9e, but
Escape from Debris With
out Being Injured
fsnecial to The Il .rald.1

PASADENA, Oct. 19.-With a rum
ole and crash that could be heard for
blocks the entire west end of the Pa
cific Electric car barn on North Far
oaks avenue collapsed this ening at
Cos o'clock.
A train of two cars was coming into
the barn from Fair Oaks avenue when
the rear car jumped the track at
switch and collided with one of the
wooden columns that supported the
upper story at the end of : barn.
Edward Simpson, a negro janitor'
living at 1920 Lincoln avenue, was
caught beneath the falling mass and
crushed into insensibility. A superb
cial examination showed no broken
bones and the man was brought back
to consciousness after short Time
A number of car men and others VINO
were in the front part OF the Dafn at
the time of the accident, escaped With
out injury as the mass of brick ana
timber fell slowly and allowed them
time to reach places of safety.
Four men were at work in the dis
1atcl. ,r's office on the second Hoor,
and they came down with the mass OF
,bris, falling a distance OF twenty
feet. All escaped without injuries. 1t
was feared for time that Carl Rob
erts, the train dispatcher who WORKED
on the second floor and fell with the
ruins, had been killed, but shortly atter
the collapse he walked oft over the
fallen roof smoking his pipe.
Assistant Superintendent Turner was
on the stairs of the building at the
time and fell to the first floor but was
unhurt. He Immediately assumed
charge of clearing the Wreckage SO
cars could be run out.
John Brandenburg, who is one of the
Oldest conductors on the road, was
nrecipitated into the car pits and Sc
verely bruised and shaken, hut was
around again within a half hour.
Motorman Large and Conductor
Young, who were in charge OF the tram
that wrecked the building, escaped un-
hurt, as both were in the forward car,
while it was the rear car which jumped
the switch The rear car was a total
wreck and three other cars that were
in the front of the barn at the lIhe
were badly damaged.
The escape of the men in the car
barn was little less than marvellous,
for where they had been standing a
short time previously the floor was
covered with the debris and Wreckage
of walls and roof.
The entire 'front.' Oh the StCOlld SlolS
was supported on four or five wooden
posts and was made of brick, the lower
story being entirely open.
1t is reported the city building IN
spector had condemned the building be-
cause of the weakness of the ends, and
that the architect for the railway COM
pany already had been instructed to
prepare plans for remodeling or
STRENGTHENING the structure so as to
make it safe.
That part of the barn where the ac-
cident occurred is used as the leaving
point of the Los Angeles cars and usu-
ally a crowd is assembled there.
The accident occurring at the time 1t
did found little or no crowd awaiting
departure from the barn.
The west end was constructed just
as the east end is and the barn will
have to be rebuilt, except in the middle,
where it is only a huge roof supported
on columns and two side walls that
extend the length of the block between
Fair Oaks and Raymond avenues.