El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-12-22
Passengers Say Rail that
DitchedT. &P. Train Had
Long Been Broken.
SIX INCH segment Of broken 80

n pound rail was brought to FL
Paso by one Of the passengers on
the wrecked Texas & Pacific train Sat
urday and is being held in a safety de-
post vault as evidence Of the cause Of
the wreck I'm. which % people were in
jUred and the lives of more than 100
passengers jeopardized.
The rail segment is six inches long
and was taken from the track at the
point east Of Fort Hancock, where the
west bound passenger s-E.n was
wrecked. One end Of the piece Of steel
rail shows where the breaK occurred
which caused the accident The preak
was SO old that it mad rusted In the
crack and so many trains had passed
over IL that the rough edges OF the
perpendicular break had been worn
smooth by the RUBBING OF the ENDS AS
further proof that the break mad Deen
there for some time, the top of the rail
was beTeled on each side Of the crack,
where the heavy train Wheels had
pounded against the break.
This broken piece Of rail was is
inches from the nearest joint and SIX
inches from the end Of the fish plate,
winch held the joint in place. The
break had occurred between ties, max
ing il more dangerous, as there was
nothing under 1T to support the broken
ends when the trains passed over II.
ought to have been discovered and re-
paired as soon as it occurred, as the
double click of the wheels passing over
the break and the nearby rail joint
should have attracted the attention OF
experienced railroad men.
Day Coach Does Not OvertUrn.
When the train left the rails the
combination smoking and negro coach,
the diner and Pullman car turned over
The day coach did not turn over
Passengers say that the first they
knew Of the wreck was when some
guns belonging to a soldier patrol.
which had been stacked in one end of
the car, started sliding down the aisle
Then the passengers commenced TO
slide out Of their seats and skid into
the aisle. Mrs. W. p McClenny, Of Mo-
renci, Ariz. broke one of the windows
as she tried to protect her baby, which
she was holding. Many Of the pasSen-
gers in the day coach braced them
selves IN the aisle and prevented them
selves being thrown. This car left the
rails, the rear trucks were torn off
and the car skidded along the right
ofWay without OverturninS.
Dining Car Worst Damaged.
The dining car was the worst
wrecked, the passengers say. Every
thing was loose in this car and there
was a rain of pans, pots, water bottles,
CHINA ana silver as the diner was
turned over The two negroes, Thorn
son and Spaight, who were the most
seriously injured, were in this car.
gers having breakfast and they We're
thrown gainst the ceiling of t6g car
with their grape fruit, eggs and coffee
following them In the standard Pull
man, which also turned ever, many of
the passengers We're lot vet dressed
and they soon appeared along the
track IN every Conceivable form Of
neglige. A rollcaIl of the Pullman pas
Sl1lss1s' Ja-5s-2nade from the berth list
which the conductor had, and all were
seen to be out but Mrs. W. A. Miller,
whose hip was injured. She had to
be lifted through the window Of the
car.
All Injured Quickly Removed.
The local men who were on the train
say that the uninjured passengers
showed much presence of mind and had
removed all of the injured from the
wreck before the arrival Of the sol
diers, as it was feared that the train
might take fire from the range in the
diner which vas filled with coal when
the car overturned. None of the cars
in the train were Of steel, the passen-
gers say, and all would nave burned
If the train had caught fire
Flying Glass Gashes TrRinmen-
Conductor y r. McClOud was IN the
sleeper which was overturned in the
derailment He was struck by falling
seats, his back was wrenched and his
right wrist was badly cut by flying
glass. Flagman John Lang was eat
ing breakfast in the diner when the
diner left the rails and turned over.
lie was cut on the race by WINDOW
glass and was covered with blood
when he got out Of the wreck. There /
were cuts on his cheeks, a cut under
the right ear and he was bruised on
the body with his fail in the car
The train crew says that the bag
gage car left the rails but sid not turn
over The chair car was the first to
go over. It was followed by the other
cars, including the sleeper. Many of
the passengers were in their berths
when the wreck occurred and were
thrown from their beds into the aisle
The sleeper was found bottom side up
with the passengers inside. Both Of
the women most seriously injured
were in the sleeper.
Woman Thought Umhurf, ColIapse8
A woman who gave the name Of Mrs.
". P. AICClenny, of MOrenci, Ariz. was
not thought to have been injured at
the time OF the wreck, and walked
about the scene of the accident with
her small baby in her arms. Just be-
fore she started to board the relief
train she collapsed and was hysterical
when the train arrived in Ell PasO. She
was taken from the train in an auto
mobile to the ROlstOn hospital.
Thompson and Spaight two negroes,
who were badly injured, were in the
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