The Ogden standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1902-1910, 1910-01-18
EXPERIENCES IN THE WRECK

II was asleep In the smoker, the
fourth car back from the engine, when
the crash came" said w r Dennis
prominent sheepman OF Heber, Utah,
on Monday night. WAS curled up In
n seat when the air brakes went on
and the Jerk threw me forward to the
floor. ! picked myself up and was
just getting into the seat again when
the engines hit. 1t seemed to be
about ten seconds The jolt threw me
to the floor again, and when | tried
to gain my feet again tho bouncing
up and down of the smoker on It's
springs threw me down again. Final.
" got to my feet and left the car to
see what was up
The smoker mad not left the rails.
and all the cars behind us were also
all right The three cars ahead were
all over on their sides, off TO one side
of the track the baggage and two mall
cars. The trucks of the engine and
all the wrecked passenger car trucks
were piled in heap on the other side
OF the track. The passenger engine
was Knocked nearly 10 pieces, while
the freight engine was standing on
III hpoV WIN tAiC thb hOOuN AH'iN1
five feet up In the air. the engine boh
er being at about an angle OF As de-
grees.
"Out OF the cab window hung the
body OF the dead engineer. His neck,
we found later, wns broken. probably
because the shock threw him back
against the cab so that the edge of
the window hit him just under the
ear. A pathetic thing was that his
own son was one OF the brakemen on
the passenger train that caused his
death The son found his father
hanging there.
The tender of the freight engin,
had been knocked entirely over the
first coal car OF the freight train and
was on top of the second car. The
trucks OF both freight engine and ten
der were jammed back under the tilt
ed.up boiler.
The fireman of the freight tBrid.
enbecker) would have been all right
probably if he had STAYED In his cab,
the very place where the engineer was
killed instantly The fireman Jumped
through that window twenty-five feet
mp in the air and landed on the frozen
ground The impact broke his ankle
and threw him forward 90 that his
head hit rail- and tore the skin from
one side OF his face He may be in.
jured internally: 1t is too soon to tell
certainly one way or the other
THE freight brakeman (KrolD was
down between two steel coal cars way
at the rear OF the train, fixing some.
thing, apparently. The freight was
fully half mile long. and so far as
| could see every drawhead was stove
in. jamming each steel car flat emo.
to-end tight against the one behind
H. The brakeman was only one car
from the caboose, and his BODY was
smashed flat between the two cars.
He was not over an inch thick. crush.
ed to a pulp. and probably never knew
what hit him.
The fireman hurt on the passcn-
ger (BiXler) was scalded We found
him over near that pile OF trucks |
spoke of.whcre he had rolled and wriG
gled in his pain. He was out of his
head part of the time and died about
five minutes after we got him fixed up.
| have had some experience helping
the doctor in Heber, so helped take
care OF him. We had to cut his cloth
ing OF OF him. and all the head and
breast was cooked by the hot water
or steam Part of his hair came off.
and there were scaldS in rings around
his legs like bands. After we had his
wounds dressed the doctor whispered
10 me that he was dying, so | walked
away.
The railroad men did everything
they could, both those in the wreck
and those who came on the relief
train They passed blanks through
the train or the way 10 Ogden and
asked each of US to write out our ac-
count of the wreck. il we were hurt
in any way. and II not to say so on
the blank | was not hurt at all and
said so They did everything there
was to be done. and so did the passen-
gers. Everybody did, but most OF
us could not do much. we picked
mp the wounded fixed their hurts. at
tended to the dead, put them on the
train and came on to ogden.
The switch that was left open was
the kind that has handle down near
the ground. and was on the left side
of the main track, For half Il mile
back the engineer leaning out OF his