The Semi-weekly leader. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1905-1941, 1913-08-23
FAST |. c. TRAIN DERAILS
Six Coaches Leave the Track at
Bogue chitto, Two Of Them
Turning Turtle.

The most disastrous wreck ever
occurring in South Mississippi as
far as damage and destruction to
railroad property is concerned,
took place Thursday morning
at 11:18, at Bogue Chitto.
ten miles south of here, when the
Panama Limited. passing that
place where no stop is made, and
running at a speed of 80 miles an
hour, was ditched on an embank-
ment Is feet high. The engine,
strange tosay, never left the rails,
although the tender and six other
cars were thrown off the track, two
of them being on their sides, the
ends being 40 feet from the main
track. Almost as strange was the
tact chat the awful concussion
failed to kill anyone. The follow
ing were the only parties seriously
hurt. they being taken to McComb
on a relief train an hour after the
smash up:-
Harry Watson. of Brandon, Miss.
received right thermasic injury.
Parker Cunningham. an empIoye
of the l. c. Company, of McComb,
Miss, riding as a passenger, was
injured In the back.
H. 7. Morley. of Morley. La a
sleeping car occupant, suffered a
sprained ankle.
Grant Taylor, negro, of New
Orleans, was cut severely in the
head and scalp.
The big locomotive, No. 1120,
pulling the train, was in charge of
Engineer H. s. Fordish, with Burr
Brown, a negro, as his fireman.
Conductor Dick Woods looked
after the passengers on the fastest
train the Illinois Central runs.
The smash came Just hundred
yards north of the Bogue Chitto
depot. and as the train was on time
the engineer correctly described it
when he stated he was ''just rock
ing along" when the whole train
seemed to be leaving the track and |
he shut off the steam.
The accident is attributed to the
bucking of the rails. or spreading, |
caused by the intense heat of an |
August sun. Where the train left |
the rails the road bed was consider
ed perfect. being graveled on the
inside of the rails over the ties
and from all outside appearances
there could not be more perfect |
piece of railroad track. After the
smash, inspection showed entire
length of rails torn from the ties.
as iTe ! as the ties themselyes being
pulled out OF the gravel bed Tor |
yards, one rail having been bent
almost in semi-circle. After the
tender of the engine went off the
track the mail car followed, but |
never turned over. Neither did |
the baggage and express car imme-
diately behind, in which corpse
WAS being transported, and
aside from breaking a gallon of ex-
press whisky. no damage was done
to the car, except to the trucks.
The smoker and negro coach follow
ed. but only turned over on their
sides as did the passenger coach
behind, each of these cars turning
in opposite directions, with an end
jutting out into open space over
the 18-foot bank, the day coach |
blocking traffic on the west side.
being the south bound track of the
l. C.'s double track system at this
point. The six-wheel trucks of the
two coaches overturned we're on the
sides of their cars on the tracks |
and in vertical positions.
The other coaches behind these,
the first being the diner. IN which
Conductor Woods was when the
crash came. we're all upright. but
in precarious leaning positions.
This wreck. one of others 10
which the new steel coaches have
been tested. showed their super
iority over the wood cars. as there
is no doubt but that 40 20 80 lives
would have been sacrificed had the
old style coaches been on this train.