The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1912-06-07

ond wreck within few days &C.
Cured yesterday afternoon on the
Great Western road near Altura, this
county, and resulted In one death
and a spectacular plunge of a car
down a $50 foot embankment. James
McGrath, Twenty-Five years old, of
Mankato, a brakeman on the train,
was killed.
On Memorial day, while the regu-
Lar train was coming to WinOna
from the west, large refrigerator
car at the end of the train leaped
the tracks into Bear creek valley,
and rolled down a thirty-foot en-
bankment, carrying with it the ca.
boose in which were four train.
men.
All were injured slightly and were
treated at the Winona hospital.
The cars were placed back on the
rails yesterday and when the regu.
lar train passed that point yesterday
afternoon they were picked up and
incorporated as part of the train
McGrath .on Refrigerator Car.
The refrigerator car was placed
ahead of the engine and, according
W Tic uICO, was OtotioiSo
as brakeman thereon.
The train had gone only a few
miles, when the front trucks OF
the heavy car jumped the tracks.
On one side of the tracks at that
Point is the deep ravine and on the
other the almost perpendicular side
of the cliff.
The brakeman jumped to the cliff
side, while the car broke from the
engine and rolled into the ravine.
McGrath was unable to hang to
the cliff side and fell back upon the
rails in front of the engine and was
cut in two. The car was reduced
to kindling wood
Story in Detail.
The Winona Independent publish
ed the following story of the wreck
and death of James McGrath:
Within three miles of the point
where the wreck on the Great West
ern road last Thursday hurled two
cars down the thirty-foOt embank-
ment and slightly injured four OF
the trainmen, second derail
ment occurred yesterday afternoon
few rods west of the Bear Creek
valley bridge, bringing death to one
of the trainmen and further damage
to the rolling stock. The wreck OF
yesterday is traced directly to the
car which led to the derailment last
Thursday.
James H. McGrath, a brakeman
employed on the wrecking train, was
killed by being crushed under the
engine.
Since the wreck of Thursday, a
wrecking crew has been operating
in Bear Creek valley on the horse
shoe bend picking up the large re,
| frigerator car and the caboOse which
went into, the ditch. 1t was not un,
til yesterday that the two cars were
again placed on the rails. The en-
CINE, headed westward, was set in
the middle of the train. The re.
frigerator car was placed at the
head of the train and directly be.
hind it was a large derrick car. Be.
hind the engine were two other
cars of the wrecking outfit and the
caboose which figured in last Thurs
days accident, was at the rear.
The extra train left the scene of
the wreck with the two wrecked
cars shortly after four o'clock, Con-
ductor f. L. Weston and Engineer
r. l.. White, both of Rochester, in
charge Besides the trainmen. Train
master Harris of Redwing was a
passenger The plan was to take
the cars to Rochester and thence to
the shops to repair the damage
which had been done i'm the drop
down the hill side. Extra precau-
tons were taken to prevent further
trouble. Orderes were given not to
proceed moe than five or six miles
an hour until the train was out of
the valley. Brakeman McGrath was
stationed on the forward car-the
refrigerator car-and acted in the
capacity of a lookout" as is re-
CURED in the movement of trains
when the engine is not at the head.
Jumps Track Again.
The train had passed around the
horseshoe bend in safety and what
were considered treacherous places
on the roadbed were left behind
without difficulty. While the train
was mounting the steep incline this
side of the village of Altura, three
miles from where Thursdays wreck
occurred, the font trucks of the re-
frigerator car again jumped the
tracks. The car heaved and it is