The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-12-04
THREE MEN DIE
IN AN EXPLOSION
Hurled TO Death While in Cab
Of Locomotive on Rio
Grande.
ACCIDENT OCCURS NEAR
SOLDIER SUMMIT SATURDAY
Boiler ExpIodes for Some Cause
Unknown and Employees Of
Road Perish.
Dead.

DSaO.
WILLIAM A. GOODALE, engineer,
30 years old, single; lived at Geo West
First South street.
ARTHUR B. SPEAR, fireman. %
years old, single; lived at 963 West
Second North street.
ELBERT LESLIE MATHIS, brake.
man; man "a years old. single; lived at 2S6
West Second Sonth street: came hero
not long ago from Hollister, Cal.
These men. employees Of the Denver
Mo Grande railway, arc dead and
valuable property destroyed due to an
explosion, of the boiler Of locomotive
on the Rio Grande railroad SATURDAY.
morning at 5:45 clock The place
where the accident occurred was about
one mile east of Soldier Summit. on
the Rio Grande, on the greatest railroad
grade in Utah, and one of the worst
grades in the state.
The force of the explosion was ter
rife, and the body of the engineer was
hurled more than 800 feet from the
machine which he was driving. while
inc boiler OF the engine was thrown
more than 100 feet from the frame
All of the dead were horribly man.
| gled.
| NauSo OAhuOWus
The cause of the explosion will prob
lieved that the water in the boiler had
become low and that the fireman
| turned the cold water into the boiler
and the explosion almost immediately
followed. The only three men who
could shed any light on the real cause
OF the explosion are dead. Their rail
rond companions say that they were
reliable and competent men, and the
railroad officials say the same thing.
The latter also say that the engine was
! in hrstclass condition and they can
see no other reason for the accident
than that the boiler must have been
empty. However. thorough investipa.
| likelihood that any definite light will
ever be shed on the terrible accident.
Train Was an Extra.
The train was in charge of Engineer
Goodale and Conductor T. +. Durkin.
1T was an extra westbound freight
train consisting of the engine, tender
and eighteen loaded freight cars and
the caboose. The grade at the point
OF the accident is a heavy one and
the train was not proceeding at
speed of over SIX or seven miles an
hour. Suddenly and without warning
the explosion occurred. hurting the
three trainmen to their death and dam
aging many dollars worth of railroad
property.
Trainmen to Rescue
Conductor Durkin and Rear Brake
man w, II. Cane were in the caboose
at the time and were hurled to the
floor of the car. AS quickly rs they
could get out they hurried to the front
of the train. where they were met
few seconds later by A. /, Ward, con-
ductor of freight train that was run
ming short distance ahead Of the
extra. So great was the force of the
explosion that Conductor Ward was
thrown from his feet in the caboosc in
which he was riding.
Guarding Against Wreck
As soon as the railroad men bad
gathered, flagmen were sent in both
directions to stop approaching trains,
and the work of searching for the miss
ing was commenced The body of Fire
man Spear was the first found on the
tender, with the head almost severed,
his legs crushed and mapgled, and his
arms almost torn from the body, with
the entire body In q more or less bor-
ribly mangled condition. With the dim
light from tho train lanterns, the body
was taken from the tank and laid be-
side tho roadbed.
Other Bodies Found
A search of several minutes followed
when the body of Brakeman Mathis
was found. about three car lengths
back and to the left of the car. The
body was fearfully mangled, though
not as bad as that of the fireman.
Mathis had been riding on the engine
at the time OF The accident. His body
was tenderly carried and laid beside
that Of the dead fireman 1t was sonc
time later before the body Of the en-
eineer was found 1t was located over
3o0 feet, or about tho distance of
half of one of the long Salt Lake City
blocks. TO the rear of the train. The
body of the engineer was not as badly
as were the other two, and it
will never be known whether he was
killed instantly by the explosion or
whether death came as he struck the
hard ground.
Entire Train Damaged
Some idea of the force Of the explo.
sion can be gathered from the distance
which the body of the engineer was
hurled, and the fact that the boiler OF
lie engine was hurled from the frame
1t least 100 feet, while every car in
he train was more or less damaged,
md the telegraph wires of the railroad
company and the Western Union
,roken Both tracks wero strewn with
lebris, and IL was not until Saturday
,fternoon that they were cleared for
Officials Notified
As quickly as possible wire was
ent to officers of the company in this
itv II stated that one man was dead
nd two missing. and that wrecking
rev was needed The work Of mar
ha ling the wrecking crew was COM