Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1911-02-23
Serious Accident Forty-five
Miles West of albuquerque in
Which Passengers Have Mar
veIouS Escape from Death,
HEAVY STEEL TEARS
THROUGH PULLMAN CAR
Conductor Sleeping in Berth
Suffers Serious Injury; Most
of Injured Passengers Able to
Continue Journey,

Continue Journey,
Nine persons. seven men and two
women, were injured at Garcia sta
ton, forty-two miles west of Albuquer
que, at 1850 yesterday afternoon,
when eastbound Santa Fe train No 2.
the crack mail train between Los
Angeles and Chicago. was derailed as
the result of soft track. caused, 1t is
believed by recent rains. T. j. Collins,
Pullman conductor of Chicago, sus-
tanned the most serious injury. receiv-
ing q badly crushed elbow. Collins
was asleep In a berth in the standard
Pullman car Apache" when the crash
came. James Leffingwell, of Terre
Haute. Ind, an old man, who was i'll
before he left Los Angeles, was con-
sderably unstrung as the result of the
jolting and excitement and he and
Collins were sent to the Santa Fe hos
pital here. The other seven persons
were more or less bruised, but all
were able to continue their journey,
an. hour after their arrival in Albu-
querque.
The wreck occurred ten minutes be-
fore O'Clock, when the train was
bowling along at a speed estimated at
forty-five miles an hour. being some-
what behind schedule. Word of the
wreck was received in Albuquerque
about s:3e and a special train. carry
ing Santa Fe Surgeon J. w. Colbert
and several Santa Fe employees, left
for the scene OF the disaster at once.
DR.. w, d. Radcliffe. Santa Fe surgeon
at Belen. had also gone to the wreck
on q special and reached there about
the same time as the special from Al
buquerque DIR. Colbert and DR.. Rad
cliffe extended first aid to the injur
ed Immediately upon their arrival at
Garcia. the women and children being
given the preference. Hasty exami-
nations by the surgeons convinced
them that no one had been seriously
hurt.
<t'tOihi w wv 0iNhNoS,o INV
wreck was one of the most miraculous
in the history of the Santa Fe coast
lines. That a score or moro of people
were not killed outright and dozens
seriously injured is considered moth
ing less than miracle by those who
were on the train when the wreck
happened. 1t was just another case of
ttCa at,fa a lnal - A
talk of railroad men on every railroad
in the country.
The wreck. came without an instants
warning either to the trainmen of the
passengers. The engine and tender.
baggage and mail car and smoker
separated from the balance of the
train. when the engine struck the soft
track, the coupling between the smok-
er and the chair car being broken In
two.
The engine, with its tender and trio
of cars rushed along, Engineer Earl
Walker frantlcally using every effort
to bring the big locomotive to a stop.
The rear trucks of the smoker had
been torn away from their fastenings
anu IUt DdSStDStfS III tittt var iioSt-
" men. were given a trip over the
ties for quarter of a mile which was
the most realistic demonstration of
bump the bumps" that they ever ex-
pected to experience. The head part
of the train was finally brought to a
stop. only after the lives of the occu-
pants of the smoker had once more
4, N trtt lfu
narrowly escaped being sideswiped by
a narrow culvert.
In the meanwhile the chair car two
tourists and the standard apache" 4"
with the passengers, most or whom
were old men and women. going east
after wlntering in California, and
women and children, We're being shot
over the Santa Fe right of way on both
sides of the track. The chair car was
the first to leave the track, retaining
its upright position, on the right hand
side of the right of way. The first
tourist then took the leap and turned
over on its side. The second tourist
jumped off the opposite side but did
not turn over.
iHf Apdtht, tiit ihSA 'pi w ''"''
the track. did so only after heavy
steel rail, torn up from the track.
had showed itself through the drawing
room OF the forward end. The rail-
entered the car at right angles, pass
ed almost completely through the
drawing room and came within thirty
inches Of punching q hole through the
opposite side OF the car. Fortunately
the drawing room was unoccupied
The force of the impact with which
rail and car met. however, resulted In
the Apache being lifted up in the air
and held there. while its trucks slid
out from under IL. The Apache was
then. as II moved by steam derrick
placed upright some feet over on the
right OF way.
The panic inside the four cars in
the ditch may well be realized. Pande-
| fTs....l.y....u np..~<. 4 Ss<sl