The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-01-02
BLEW ROOF OFF.
Rock Island Passenger Coach
UnrOOfed i'm West Kansas.
Passengers Panic Stricken But
Leave Car Uninjured.

If you think that the wind was
blowing hard in Topeka Sunday and
last night, stop and think of what
happened to a half hundred shivering
passengers on the Rock Island in
western Kansas last night. The cold
''northwester' blew SO hard against
No. %, that fast Colorado train on
the Rock Island, that the entire roof
was lifted from a passenger coach and
the passengers sat in their seats with
the cold, leaking clouds above them
and the snow blowing on their uncov-
cred heads.
The roof of the car was blown from
the train and landed in a corn field
three car lengths from the. railroad
ht-of-way. No one was hurt. The
engineer, who was boarded up in his
cab fighting his way through the
binding snow and wind and trying
to encourage his fireman to feed the
furnace with extra energy, didn't
know of the accident to his train un-
til he heard the whistle of the bell
cord in his roost
The train was stopped, the passen-
gers were transferred to other cars on
the train and the car was switched
from the train at the next stop. De-
spite the accident the engineer pulled
his string of heavily loaded coaches
into Topeka but 80 minutes behind
time.
The Rock Island seems to have been
in the path of the storm through Kan
Sas. All of the Rock Island towns
from the western Kansas villages to
the towns in the southwest and east
ern borders announce fierce winds,
light snow below zero temperature
and extreme cold.
This morning the telegraph depart
ment of the road was unable to get a
number of the terminals along the
lines through Kansas.
I'VE can't get any word from Dallas
and our wires are in bad shape on
the Clay Center line" said E. L. Whit
ney, superintendent of telegraph, this
morning. I'VE have the train wires
working and we have been able to
dispatch our traffic, but the rest of
our wires are out of service. From
all conditions it looks as though the
Topeka variety of weather is prevalent
over all of the western lines of the
Rock Island
! Reports from Herington, wellington
| Wichita, Hutchinson and Salina state
that the weather is below zero and has
been since last evening. Cold north
west winds are reported and a light
snow.
The cause of the break in the wires
comes from two sources-the extreme
cold and the wind. The suddenness OF
/ CI0 COlQ WCdU1lST COHIIdCbCO the wires
| in such manner that they snapped
easily when struck with the hard wind
The wind was gusty and the wires
slashed on the ground.
All the trains last evening, all night
and this morning were behind time
They ranged from 15 minutes to .cwo
hours. This was the general condition
on the Santa Fe and the Union Pa
cific.
ion the Santa Fe reports from Cha
mute, Wellington, Arkansas City and
Emporia show cold weather of the zero
quality. In Chanute, Arkansas City and
Wellington the weather was at the zero
point this morning. At Emporia the
| thermometer had dropped to four de-
grees below zero.
| The Santa Fe and Union Pacific have
| had little trouble with their wires but
not enough to cause any serious de-
laws