Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1911-11-21
Double Header Freight Trains
Crash Together on Steep
Grade Near Summit Of Abo
Pass on Belen Out Off,
INJURED HURRIED TO
CITY ON SPECIAL TRAIN
Bodies Of Dead Firemen Pinned
in Wreckage Defy All Efforts
to Remove Themi Traffic
Badly Delayed,

Two men were killed ana seven oth-
ers scalded and otherwise frightful-
~ injured In a collision between two
douhle-header freight trains ten
miles cast OF Mountainair on the Be
len cut-off at o'clock yesterday af-
ternoon.
FIREMAN n. KEITH, OF Belcn.
FIREMAN A. J. DAUGHERTl, OF
CLOVIS.
The Injured.
Teiegraph Operator Roy Horton OF
Scholle, n. NJ, right arm crushed
At elbow.
Engineer G. II. Napznger. badly
scalded about face and chest
Brakeman Thorne, scalded and Sc
verely bruised.
Fireman c. w. Schmidt. injured
about the back and legs.
Engineer piersun. feet and back In
jured.
Fireman Scott, face, head and
shoulders scalded.
Engineer Pat Maloney. back, hand
and ankle injured.
The injured were brought TO AL
buquerque on a special train which
arrived here at 1880 last night and
the unfortunate train and enginemeh,
swathed In bandaRes. were removed to
81. Josephs hospital In ambulaneeH.
OF the Injured Engineer Maloney
alone was able To walk TO the ambt-
lance from the train.
At 3 o'clock this morning Ave physi-
clans were still working over the in
lured men az the hospital and every
hope was held out that the lives OF
Inli uf them Would be saved.
An opernt ton was performed on
Telegraph Operator Roy Horton,
whose arm was badly crushed. II "
believed however. that unless unfof-
seen complications engue the Young
man viii escape with the loss OF only
Il portion of his right hand
In the ease of Fireman schmidt the
surgeons had not decided whether or
not II would be necessary to Hmpu-
tate the injured mans leg. which had
been severely crushed.
The wreck occurred In deep cut
known as Red cut, two miles east or
Schole and about ten miles east OF
Mountalnair.
The trains one local freight and
the other an enstbound red ball
each drawn bN two giant locomotives
of the SS6 class. met head-on at a
sharp curve. The red BALI going NJ
grade, was travelling at about flfteeh
miles an hour. while the local on the
downhill pun, II was said, was going
slightly faster.
The crash came without warning
and Engineer Mhloney seems To nave
been the only man OF the four en-
gine crews who succeeded IN jumping
before the monster engines came TO-
pether Even he was severely M
mred by flying fragments OF iron.
So great was the impact that the
two unfortunate firemen, Keith ana
Daugherty. were pinned In their CAPS
one standing In the gnngNay ana the
other as he stopped before the open
furnace door Efforts to remove the
bodies of the men from the wreck
nnr wore without avail, and when
Tho speclal train bearing the injured,
1eft The scene the cOrpses were SUI
held in the twisted mass OF IRON anu
steel Both Of the dead flremen were
al work on the casthound red bhll'
The conductor of the local walked
hartk to Abu and word of the wreck
was al once Flashed TO CLOVIS ana be
len. and wreekers were dispatchou
from both places. A relief tram was
made up at Belen and In charge OF
Or. w. II. Demsey. made q fasl run
up the pass 10 the scene OF tle catHs-
trophe. At Scholle Dr. G. w. blaok,
Of Mountainnir joined the Unln az"
Ahe swo physicians did eNeiFthihs
possible 20 mitigate the suileflhss ~
the unfortunate men ana thty WI
made as comfortable us possihie TOT
tho long ride into Albuquerque
Arriving here pr. j. Il. Wfotnt Dt'
=. g. Cornish and Pr w W. SPhisut
with four ambulnnces ana CORPS !"
attendants and nurses, we're az VI,
station ana the injured were fenoNsa
to the hospital as quickly as poss,o'v;
Nome of the trainmcn who arrived
on tho specin could offer amy eNpia
nation of the accident and none wouiu
hn-ard "a theory ass to the cause. Lo-
eat officials of the railroad company
Ultevise professed ignorance. Two
claim agents who were on hand when
the relief train arrived apparently de-
ynted themselves entirely TO seeing 10
Il that nn employees Of the company
refrained from discussing the aecl-
|
concerning II.
From the conduct Of the claim
agents il would appear that the loca,
officials have not as yet been advised
~ the policy Of the Santa Fe, IN com
mon with nearly all Of the great rail-
road systems to give out fun infor-
nation concerning accidents IN order
10 prevent the spread Of Wild runors
md evnenerated accounts which al
WAYS resulted under the old policy OF
c0ncenlment
The catastrophe Is the most serious
In the history of the Eastern Railroad
Of New Mexico. as the Belen "eut-
orr il officially known, and Y VIII
br many hours before traffic Is re-
suNed,
The crash occurred In a deep cut,
where il ia impossible to build a
'shno-flv. and four huge locomotives
ana two long strings of freight ears
are piled up In a shapeless mass of
twisted iron aud steel. Fortunately