Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1911-04-26
STEEL SPANS OVER RIVER At
STEAMBOAT ROCK GO DOWN
WITH TRAIN.
SIXTEEN CARS WRECKED
BUT NO ONE is INJURED
DeraiIed Cars Run Over Bridge, Tear
ing Spans From Place, and PiIins
Rolling Stock in River Bed-Traffic
Greatly Delaye6-Passenser Trains
Detour to AckIey.

Rolling stock was demolished, mer-
chandise destroyed and part of stee!
bridge torn down when fast freight NO.
go, south bound on the Iowa Central
ran off the track and went thru the
bridge over the Iowa river at Steam
boat Rock at $40 Tuesday evening.
From the standpoint OF property loss
the wreck is one Of the worst the COM
pany has had in years, but 1t was most
fort innate in that no one was injured,
and it is hard to understand how the
enginemen escaped.
Two spans of the bridge were torn
out. and twelve empty and six loaded
cars were derailed, some of them being
demolished and their contents badly
damaged One engine kept the track.
the other hangs partly off the bridge
and it's tank is a wreck. Traffic will
probably be delayed for twenty-four
hours or more.
DeraIme1t the Cause.
According to the trainmen the de-
ralrnent of a refrigerator car, the first
car in the rear of the locomotives, was
the cause of the wreck. 1t left the
track about 200 feet north Of the bridge
The engine tank ahead Of it was drag
ged off and cars following it were like
wise deraiied before the bridge was
reached. When the derailed tank and
cars struck the north end of the stee!
bridge over the river they displaced
and then tore out the two north spans
into which the derailed cars We're
dumped. Others We're piled up along
the track and right of-way approaching
the bridge. The head locomotive stuck
to the rails and crossed the two spans
before they went down. The rear loco
motive got part way across before the
bridge was torn loose, then it partly
toppled off the bridge.
Enginen1en Jump From Danger.
The enginemen jumped from their
locomotives as soon as they saw that
part of the train was derailed. and that
| II was probable that the train would
/! go off the ge. This accounts for
their escaping injury or death. There
lis no water under the north two spans
OF the bridge, the drop from the bridge
TO the river bed at this point bei.-g
about eight or ten feet Oscar o. Green
engineer. ard G. Baxter, fireman, both
Of this city. We're on the head locomo-
tive, No. 100. J. H. Benson. engineer.
and his fireman, J. C. Carberry, We're
! on the 421, the second locomotive. 1t Is
estimated the train was running from
twenty-five to thirty miles an hour
when the derailment occurred. Charles
Worley. conductor, of this city, was in
| charge of the train.
Wreck Presents Curious Sight.
! The wreck presented curious sight.
A great iron sirler of the bridge was
run thru the locomotive tank. and an
| immense wooden beam was forced thru
/ the frebox Of locomotive No 421
Among the merchandise in the debris
was a car of butter and eggs, one Of
canned goods. one Of lumber. and one
, Of oats. Several Of the empty cars
were reduced TO little more than kind
ling wood The track was torn up for
a distance of about 200 feet
Passenger Trains Detoured.
Upon receipt of the news Of the
wreck here, w J. Fordham. a conduc-
tor, who had been sent north with an
extra at 3: 45 o'clock, was stopped at
Clifford and hurried back here to take
the wrecker and crew to Steamboat
Rock.
! During the night no effort was made
! to get any trains but passengers thru
The trains with the heaviest equipment
and engines were detoured by the way
| Of Clifford. over the Northwestern, to
J Webster City, and from there over the
| Illinois Central to Ackley. No. 6, the
southbound night passenger. made this
roundabout journey, reaching here at
, 9 o'clock this morning The lighter
trains were detoured by way of Eldora
the Northwestern to Iowa Falls, and
| the Illinois Central to Ackley
No. 3. the northbound passenger. ran
no farther than Eldora Tuesday even
ing. There 1t remained during the
night. returning south as No this
morning. When it was announced in
the northbound passenger NO. last
night that the train would not 20 far
ther than Eldora, many passengers due
for points north Of there, got off and
remained here.
1t Is not known how long it will take
! before the wreckage is cleared and the
bridge repaired sufficiently to be used.
but it will probably not be before some
time Thursday.