The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1916-02-01
KNOCKOUT BLOW To
STAGGERING SERVICE
TWO PASSENGER TRAINS SPEND
NIGHT IN SAME DRIFT
NEAR HERE.
NO TRAIN FROM NORTH
RAILWAYS RUNNING SHORT OF
COAI-MUCH PERISHABLE
FREIGHT Is LOST.

Snow, carried on swirling winds
yesterday and last night, drifted and
packed in cuts, with the result that
railways in this section Of the state
have not, in recent years, been more
completely ~disorganized than they
were yesterday and today.
Both the Milwaukee passenger
train due from the south at 2:15
o'clock yesterday afternoon, and the
passenger train scheduled to arrive
from the east at 40 o'clock this
morning, reached the city, a few min
utes apart, at about II o'clock this
forenoon. The trains, with their
crews and 200 or so passengers, spent
a large part of the night behind a
snowdrift three miles east of Col
man, and nineteen miles east of this
city.
Two Are Stuck.
AS has been the custom during the
last week or so, the train from the
south did not attempt to make the
trip to this city over the cutoff, but
on leaving Sioux Falls detoured BY
the way of Egan. According to those
on the train, reasonably good prog
ress was made until the drift east Of
Colman was reached. There the two
engines pulling the train were I'M
able to proceed and one of them went
dead" in the snowpiles. A distress
call was sent to Madison, and an en-
CINE with snow %shovelers aboard was
sent to assist i'm the digging out pro
cess. 1t was several hours later that
the train due here at 1:10 in the
morning, came along and was held
up by the stalled train ahead.
No Train from North.
When the trains arrived here this
forenoon, three engines, one of them
without a fire, were ahead of the
south train.
There will be no passenger train
from the north today, and it is pre-
dicted that the train from the south,
which should have reached Bristol
last night. will arrive at its terminus
in just about time tonight TO leave
NlItlt On EtlltuuiE NiillC lOlltOi wv
morning, but one whole trip late.
by the time the morning trains
reached the city, all but one of the
battery of sixteen engines in the local
roundhouse had been called into
service.
Some Return To Bed.
The %eastbound passenger train,
d. 10 lou, M - I . I a 81 -,
the morning, was held up at the local
passenger station about eight hours.
Persons holding tickets for that train
were informed that they could, if
they desired, return to their beds, as
there was slight likelihood that the
train would depart before the time Of
the next succeeding train on the
same line, this forenoon.
Despite the fact that dozens were
doubtless delayed while en- route to
transact important business, travellers
at the depot, the Lake Park hotel and
those who waited i'm restaurants,
made the best of their enforced delay.
Many were the puns handed round,
and practically all the drollery had TO
do with the weather. Spontaneous
merriment welled forth in the mems
waiting room of the passenger station
when an elderly man from Yankton
remarked that he could just as well
have made the journey he is now on
two or three weeks ago, but that he
had delayed starting most of the
winter, as ii is not his policy to travel
in unsettled weather.
Much Freight Lost.
During the cold snap, which start
ed eight days ago, and which some
trainmen declare is proving the Sc
verest detriment to transportation of
which they remember, freight has
been piling up at Just about every
city and town in the northwest. 1t
has been found inadvisable TO start
freight trains out on the Madison
lines except on three days. and then
the trains averaged only about seven
cars each. Except in a few isolated
instances where the coal supply had
run low, it is not thought that the
freight congestion has caused severe
suffering, although it is believed that
vast quantities of fruits and other
perishable goods have been spoiled.
Since a week & last night some
500 tons of coal-about 100 tons a
day-has been burned by locomotives
coaling at the Madison roundhouse.
The amount consumed is about twice
as much as is used under normal on
ditions. 1t is pointed out that al
though few freight trains are run
ming, it requires double the usual
number of engines to pull passenger
trains, and that the extreme cold
makes necessary a full head of steam
to keep coaches habitable. 1t is said
that while no grave danger of a coal
famine in the railway yards exists to-
day, the weather will have to mod
crate shortly or coal must come from
the outside, even If transported in eX-
press cars.
nj AV C0AI CuIDuCkITC