The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-03-01
Santa Fe Train, Held Up by
Snow, Reaches Topeka.
From Sunday Morning Till Mid
night Thursday on Way.
HELD TWO DAYS IN SYRACUSE
Walls of Snow Shut Light Out
of Cars.
Passengers Auction Off Train
to "KiIl'' Time.

From Sunday morning until midnight
Thursday night coming from Albuquer
que to Topeka sounds more like the
tale of travel by wagon and OK team
that were formerly the means of tran
sit acress the Santa Fe trail, than the
story of a trip made on one of the
finest trains of a great railway sys-
tenn. Yet the trip was made by train
and the speed was such as to cause
near panic among some of the pas
sengers. But the train was heIu up
nearly three days ana nights on the
way
Il never saw such sights said NJ.
T. COate, 1916 East Thirteenth street,
who was passenger on what left
Albuquerque Sunday morning as Nd.
10. AT times the snow shut the day
light out of the cars as completely
as tunnel. We couldn't look out the
window and see the top of the drifts
because the walls of snow were so
close to the car
Mr.. Coates first stop was at Wagon
Mound, n. NJ, where No. s, the train
ahead of them, had stuck III the snow.
There was only one store, little adobe
affair. Prices at the store took a rise
which makes the workings of the su-
gar trust seem like benevolence., The
first customer at the store purchased
pork ana beans for 10 cents a can
The rest paid from 25 cents to higher
prices for the same article.
He Sold Out Quickly.
Everything that fellow had was
solo,, Mr.. Coate said. Even the tin
buckets We're purchased to make COT
fee in. We were held UP seven hours.
The trains were then moved aIonS
until La Junta was reached. There the
passengers were held nine hours. But
they were well fed and kept warm.
hi hot
comfort was done, Mr.. Coate declar-
ed. After this delay the trip was I'm
dertaken again
We managed to reach Syracuse
Mr.. Coate said, " and there we stayed
for two days and nights. And 1 wish
you could appreciate the way we felt
when we received reports from the
outside world. There was all the way
from 3 to 100 miles of snow to be
removed before We could bulge, ac-
cording to the reports we received.
THE passengers did everything they
knew how to do to pass the time,
he continued. I'VE traded everything
we had and then traded back again.
We shoveled snow, threw snowballs,
and did about everything to be done
in that country except sink an irriga-
ton well. We even auctiOned off the
train which sold for a low price be-
cause no one could guarantee a deliv-
cry of it to some point where it would
be available for use on a railroad.
But of course the end came. I
can't tell you how glad 1 was when 1
heard an operator tell a member of
the train crew that only $50 yards of
snow remained to be moved before
we would start for home. We left
the next morning. We passed engines |
lying on their backs in the snow near
Spearville. The company had been /
using them to buck snow drifts. They
finally rolled off the track into the sea
of white which surrounded everything. |
They looked like immense horses who, |
after having been exhausted, had lain
down to die.
1--WE had lot of fun out of Hutch |
inscn. The Rock Island and Santa !
Fe run side by side for some distance
Our trains left at the same TIM |
There were some pretty races and we
could almost talk to each other. Some |
times we were ahead and some times
it was the other train.
1--WE were now travelling several days
late. We had lost our schedule, num- |
Der and reputation. We ran this way |
until we reached Newton. There we
became the fourth section of No. 4. |
And if you think we didn't pound the
rails until they were hot from Newton |
you had better guess again. !
Mr.. Coate was returning from work |
on the new reading room and Harvey /
house in New Mexico when the train |
ON which he rode ran into the snow.