The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1915-07-22
ENGINE, # CARS, s MEN PLUNGE
THROUGH 4O-FOOT TRESTLE

arrived about nine o'clock Tuesday
night and were Immediately taken e
the undertaking parlors of NJ. II. Kocf
and prepared for burial which took
most all night and all day Wednesday
to put the body in any condition.
The body of the fireman was found
two miles further down the stream
about seven o'clock Tuesday evening
and was brought to this city on No
which arrived about nine o'clock
Wednesday morning. IL was bloody
and bruised in several places the worst
probably being on the back of his head
although his forehead was badly
bruised. His body was swollen con
siderably and it was thought he must
have lived sometime after being dump
ed into the water.
The unknown man and boy were
found about half way between the
fireman and brakeman and were taken
to Vaughn where the county will have
to bury them unless their relatives
are located.
The refrigerator car was demolish-
ed and the doors and other parts were
found two and three miles down the
ditch. Two coke cars were washed
$50 yards and one u mile from the
bridge. The engine sank where il fell
but parts of it were found down the
stream. The other coke cars were
piled in IA heap and it will be some
time before the wreckage will be re-
moved. Trains are being detoured
via Vaughn over the Santa Fe to Will
lard, thence to Torrance over the New
Mexico Central where il again strikes
the Southwestern.
Nine cars remained on the track be-
tween the wreck and caboose where
Conductor Ramsey and Brakeman l..
Jones were riding. At Vaughn Mr..
Ramsey said he intended to ride the
engine providing there was and local
freight to unload. at Indiole which
would have been in the front car, but
there was none so he was saved from
death in this manner.
The depth or the water was only
lS or 20 feet deep as measured by
Civil Engineer Stansbury, thus making
1t about the same distance to the top
of the bridge at it is about forty feet
from the rails to the bottom of the
canyon. This would give additional
proof that the under-pinning of the
bridge had been loosened by the swift
water as it tore down the steep ar
roya to the valley below, and when
the heavy engine and train shot down
the hill and was running about 20
miles an hour in order to pull the
grade on the other side, the bridge
went down and not until then was
the block system put to work. The
train was equipped with air brakes
and when the accident happened the
brake was set equally tight on each
car and this is what saved the whole
train together with the caboose, going
into the wreck.
IL is impossible to surmise the suf-
ferings and torture these men expert
enced before death came to their re-
lief, but it is quite evident that il the
three men had not been crushed to
death and the block signal been turn
ed. No. 4, with its eight cars of people
who were returning from California
and other western points would have
been hurled into eternity and instead
of three lives there would have been
Talking about miraculous escapes.
we might mention in connection with
this Incident the fact that this was
a run which regularly belonged to j.
W. Reynolds, engineer, of this city.
but Mr.. Brickley decided to take IL
and being an older man on the road,
he bumped Reynolds and was making
his first run, thus saving Mr.. Rey-
nolds' life. II will be remembered
that about five years ago Mr.. Rey-
nolds was bumped by Engineer Ell
kins who while making his first trip
on the run, was killed when the en-
gine exploded about twenty miles up
the Dawson near the Canadian river.
Ike Morris was the regular brakeman
on this train, but took a layoff and
was replaced by Kirby, who was
new man, and was making his first
trip out of Tucumcari. Fireman Pry-
or, who was killed, was called to go
out on No. |, but had not had suffi-
cient rest, so he traded places with
another fireman, letting him take No.
/, he waiting for the local, thus he
was killed while on another mans run.
The citizens OF Tucumcari were
shocked and excitement ran high when
the news reached here Of the death
OF our fellow townsmen, one of whom
was Harve Brickley. who has been a
resident of Tucumcari for l2 years.
a man who has saved his money and
invested same until he was one of our
wealthiest citizens. He had threaten
ed to quit railroading and intended to
do so before long but the fascination
of running an engine held to him so
strongly that he continued the work
lie was "a careful and courageous en-
gineer and will be greatly missed by
the railroad company who considered