The Oskaloosa herald., 1911-12-21
ENGINEER DEAD
At THE THROTTLE
Pete Golden Of the Burlington Sue
cumbs at Post Of Duty.
TWO TRAINS BADLY WRECKED
Fortunately Passengers on oskaIoosa
, Train Had Just Cleared the
Coaches and Trainmen Were in
the Depot at the Time.


Tracy, Ia, Dec. Especial: With
Engineer Pete Golden of Des Moines
dead at the throttle, freight No 80,
east bound on the Burlington from
Des Moines, dashed through the sta
ton of Tracy about nine-thirty
o'clock this morning and with speed
unchecked plowed through the Oska-
loosa passenger train, standing on
the track at the depot.
The engine and several cars of the
freight train were also in the mix
up and made a great pile of wreck
age that will suspend traffic until the
tlacks can be cleared.
Golden must have been dead sew
eral minutes for he made no attempt
to slow down for the entrance to the
station yard. When the fireman, who
had been working on the furnace,
noted that the engine was almost at
| the station house, he knew something
was wrong. Looking ahead he saw
that collision with the rear of the
| passenger train could not be avoided.
He looked at the engineer, saw that
he was dead and had barely time to
save himself by jumping. The en-
CINE and heavy freight cars plowed
through the two coaches of the Os-
kaloosa train, but the engine, No.
! "a, was not injured. Fortunately no
one was hurt to any extent in the
collision. The wreck occurred at a
time when the coaches were cleared
of passengers and the train men were
at the depot. ~
Fireman Ernest says that the en-
gineer was sick about fifteen miles
back, little distance out of Knox
vile, that he had a fainting or sink
ing spell of some kind and complain
ed of intense pains about the heart
He had summoned the fireman from
HIS post at the time, but as he revived
almost Immediately and said he was
better the fireman went back to his
side and attended to his work with
the boiler He had looked in on the
engineers side sevral times and had
spoken to Golden several times, ask
ing him how he felt and had received
assurance that the engineer was feel
ing better and that he was all right.
The fireman believes that Golden
4 could not have been dead more than
FIVE minutes at the most,as he spoke to
him only a few minutes before he
! noted that the train was not stopping
fOy the station.
Golden, it is said, has been suffer-
| ing from heart trouble, somthing of
the nature OF angina pectoris, and
has been frequently ill., He is a
man of family, leaving widow and
several children.
The coaches Of the Oskaioosa pas
senger train had pulled into the
station only short time before and
were at the north end of the yard,
standing on the main line track, while
the engine was on the turn table in
preparation TO making the return
trip to Oskaloosa. The cars are
"shunted' onto the main line and
then pulled to the siding when the
engine is turned. Engine "a was
not attached to- the coaches at the
time the wreck occurred.
| Pete Golden, the dead engineer is
an old time Burlington engineer and
has been more or less prominently
in the service of the company for
twenty years. He came to the Iowa
division about 1883 and has been run.
ming Iowa passenger and freight
trains on q. divisions ever since. He
was formerly running between OF
tumwa and Creston and into Burling.
ton. Several years ago he was con-
cerned in a mix UP on the main line
that resulted in his being transferred
TO the branch service" He resided
for a number of years at Ottumwa,
where he married a Miss Mungoyen
He was q man OF excellent character,
genial and friendly, and was liked by
all who knew him. He was near fifty
| pparS Df are