The evening times., 1911-08-07

Spikes and Fish Plates on Two
Rails Removed Within
Moorhead City Limits
ENGINE TENDER and MAIL
CARLEFT THE TRACK
Mystery Surrounds the DsstardIy At.
tempt and Officials Unable to Ac.
count For Any Motive-Same At
tempt on Northern Pacific.

Fargo, N. D., Aug. IA bold at
yards this morning to wreck the Great
Northern passenger train No. 9. It
reaches here at 5 a. m. from st. Paul
enroute to Winnipeg, and on crossing
inside the city limits Of .Moorhead,
the engine, tender and mail car left
the track. It was found that the
spikes and fish plates from two rails
had been removed. Some hours aft
erwards a crowbar and other tools
were found concealed in the weeds
nearby.
There is no doubt whatever about
an attempt being made to. wreck the
train, but the railroad officials are
puzzled as to the motive. 1t is held
it could not have been for the pur-
pose of robbery or some other loca-
ton further from the city limits
would have been chosen. Another
theory that it might have been planned
to wreck the Oriental Limited which
passes through here at O'Clock, but
that train passed safely over the
track.
No one was injured. The wreck
did not even shake up the passengers
seriously, as the train was moving
slowly over the crossing at the time
of the derailment. After the wreck
was cleared away new engine was
secured and the train proceeded north
five hours late.
Another mystery in connection with
the affair is the removal Of the spikes
and fshplates from the rails on the
Northern Pacific less than quarter
of a mile from the scene of the Great
Northern wreck The trains, however.
passed over this place safely.
Story Of Passengers. '%r-@F
That Great Northern train No. 3
went off of the track short distance
north of the Moorhead railroad yards
as result of the fiendish work of
unprincipled men, is the conclusion
Conductor C. P. Lond has arrived at.
The train arrived in this city at 1:25
this afternoon.
Passengers on the train when in
terviewed at the depot stated that 1t
was lucky that the train was only
running about twelve or fifteen miles
an hour, as If any higher speed had
been made, fatalities would undoubt-
edly have been reported.
According to railroad men, who
were at the scene of the wreck, the
spikes had been taken out of the ties
on the inner side of the curve where
the accident occurred, for three rail
lengths. A clawbar and wrench,
which the men who had done the
work had taken out of a tool house
- - thn
found laying in the grass near where
the engine left the track.
Investigation revealed the fact that
two rail lengths on the Northern Pa
cific main line, which crosses the
Great Northern tracks at that point,
had also been tampered with. one
spike, being ell that held one Of the
rails in position, all Of the other
spikes and the angle bars having
been removed.
That wrecks on both lines was the
object Of the flends who did the work
Is almost certain In the minds Of the
special agents of both railroads, who
have arrived at the scene and who
are the present time working on the
mystery.
| According to Conductor Lond, the
fact that Engineer Brislam and Fire
man Falkenberg stuck to their posts
in the cab Of the engine and brought
the train to stop. is one Of the rea-
sons that no injuries are to be re-
ported.
The train crew Of No. 9 this morn
ing was Conductor c. p. Lond, En-.
gineer Brislam, Fireman Falkenberg
Brakemen Sweeney and Griffith.