The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1911-12-27

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cars toppled over just at they ran on
to n bridge. which was $50 feet long.
The four cars fell from the side OF
the bridge to the ice, sixty feet be-
low. The engine and first two cars
stopped on the bridge.
Engine men, train crew and passen.
gers hurried to the river to help the
imprisoned unfortunates. 1t was a bit.
ter cold night. thirty-f five degrees be-
low zero. This intensified the suffering
OF the wounded. The rcscuers were
no able to 10 much before the
wreckage caught fire. In less than halt
an hour the wreck and the bridge
We're consumed.
Thirty-six of the eighty-four passen-
gers n trainmen persisted. Forty
four were injured.
Foresight could not have ayerted the
disaster which occurred on the Wa
bash near Cass, Ind, on the night Of
June 20, 1901.
Train No. 3 was proceeding at its
usual speed at about l o'clock in the
morning. A thunder storm was rag
ing.
suddenly in the glare Of the light
preaching each other along the line
of h railroad. The collision Of these
clouds produced a violent downpour
OF rain at the head Of q little valley
through which ran a small stream
which passed under the railroad
through Il three-foot culvert.
AS No. 3 reached the culvert the en-
CINE left the rails and plunged down
the north side Of the embankment.
The train was hurled over the south
side. Sixteen passengers were killed.
Twenty-stx passengers and two en-
ployes were injured. The engine and
five cars were totally wrecked.
An investigation showed that the
cloudburst had piled the water against
the embankment about six feet above
the top of the culvert. In running
through the culvert the water set up
a whirlpool motion which washed
away enough of the embankment to
weaken 1t and derail the train.
How the switch at Mentor, Ohio,
was misplaced and. caused the wreck
of the eastbound Twentieth Century
limited on the night Of June Fl, 1905,
will be known. Nineteen per-
Passenger train No. 10, which pre-
coded No. 26 an hour before the wreck
was the last to pass over the switch.
The station agent, who was on the
platform two or three minutes before
the arrival of the limited. noticed that
the switch was properly set. Then he
went inside.
| iiiA4Scu dppIOdCucUs travelling
sixty miles an hour. A water tower
shut off the view until the train was
close to the switch.
AS he engine dashed around the
curve the engineer shouted to his
fireman to jump, at the same time
making an emergency application of
the brakes. closing the throttle and
giving her sand.
Then came the crash. The engine
ran along the rails of the side track
for about seventy feet after taking
the frog. then it left the track and
a little farther on crashed into the
freight house. turned completely
around and fell into an excavation
with the tender and the first car on
top of it.. -.
Charles Watts. q veteran officer. Of
the Pennsylvania lines. who vas on
the train, gave a vivid account. of a
wreck at sixty miles an hour.
There were q number Of passen-
gers chatting around me when. With
out an %instant's warning. I was pitch
ed headlong over three seats forward.
The car went bouncing w the ties,
but kept right side up.
Passengers were hurled in every d.
rection and some of them began
screaming for help. The lights wen
out instantly, leaving us in total
darkness. The crashing of wood as the
front cars piled on top of one anoth-
er, together with the roar. Of escap-
ing steam, made a wild scene.
Fire broke out in the splintered
I reached the front car not a person
seemed to be stirling in the debris.
They were either killed OF were stun
ned and never regained consciousness.
Zone of the bravest men I ever saw
was the engineer. He walked around
after being taken out Of the ruins and
l said to him:
YOU'RE all right
"'No.' said he. I'm not all right. I
shall die. ! inhaled steam.' He did
die"
There was a celebration at Hazelton,
Pa. on Oct. 10. 1888. 1t attracted so
large a crowd that the Lehigh VAL
ley had to run eight excursion trains
to accommodate trafic. Special in
structions were issued and brakemen
we're placed on all of the engines N
the fireman's side as lOOkouts.
The sixth excursion train on its ar
rival at Muir Run at about s O'Clock In
the evening, found a signal set
against 1t. 1t stopped about 40 feet
beyond the station. The fiagman. &C.
cording to his " story only went
back as far as the station. He had
ample time to so farther. He knew
another train was close behind.
The seventh train. a double header.
was due eight minutes later. A sharp
curve Mt Mud Run and the river on
the left gave an unobstructed view for
a distance Of l.46O feet.
The lOOkOuts. on both engines Of tho
double header saw the red light. Neith-
or warned the engineers until II was
too late. The fagman apparently did
not see the train until It was within
$50 feet Of him. .. :
Then he swung his lantern.
Going at the rats of twenty-five