The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1917-07-19
TRAINS
PILE UP CARS
LAST WEEK THURSDAY AND THIS
WEEK WEDNESDAY WE HAVE
WRECKS EAST OF AURORA
COAL AND LUMBER TCHED-.NONEH HURT
100000 Seems to Have Settled on tho
Railroad Between Aurora and
Grant Siding

thursday afternoon a freight train
or the c. & n. w. railway decided
that ii was tired Of work and pro-
ceeded to lay itself out all over the
peaceful country three and a half
miles east OF Aurora. AS a conse-
Quence fifteen cars were piled up in
a mess and thousands of dollars worth
OF valuable commodities were scrap
ped. One car of automobiles was in
the miX-up and will be SEN right
back to the factory. They were Over
lands and We're consigned TO the
agent at Nolga Three carloads
of scrap iron were ditched, one
car OF coal and several ears of lum-
Der that was destined for the new
elevator being erected by the Sexau-
ers at volga.
AS a wreck near Manchester was
demanding the attention of the wreck
ing crew and wrecker from Huron,
the n at Tracy was sen TO the
scene Of the Aurora accident. All the
section men that could be taken there
were ordered out and Friday others
from crews as far as Waterfowl were
sent to help clear up the mess. The
passenger train from the east on Fri
day evening came as far as the wreck
and the WATERFOWL train that lays
here all day was sem down to bring
the transferred mail and passengers
in. All passengers going anywhere
west or north were sem out that night
to Redfeld. Friday morning the 10:4S
train from the west went down to the
wreck and the same method of trans
fer was carried on. The Manchester
wreck having been cleared up the
wrecker from the west came down
Friday noon and helped out so that
Friday evening the passenger train
came through only a little late.
The cause of the wreck may be that
a wheel got loose on the axel, a rail
may have been loose or some other
cause not known. 1t was a pure acci
dent as far as car be learned which
no foresight could have prevented.
One brakeman was slightly injured,
hut was able to keep at work and at
tend to his duties. 1t was certainly
as complete a demolishing OF property
that could have happened in a plain
wreck and the way things were piled
indicates the heft of the train. 1t
was a double header, but neither en-
CINE was damaged, being ahead OF the
derailment.
Quite a number OF automobile par
ties visited the scene from BroOkings
and If the railroad company had been
forhanded they might have made some
money by charging admission. The
entire population of Aurora We're there
several times. Farmers in the neigh
borhood were employed to transfer
passengers and mail.
The wreck near Manchester was not
az bad. There a stretch OF track was
torn up, but the derailed cars were
r,ostly off the track. The road was
opened from the west early Friday.
Everything was running as usual by
Saturday morning, including the claim
agent, and he is running over time at
present trying TO find out how much
the company is stuck for.
The track between Aurora and Grant
siding must have a hoodoo hanging
over it. Tuesday evening about ten
o'clock another freight train, again one
coming west, doubled up in the middle
and put eight cars in the ditch. Three
OF them were coal and the rest empties.
40 one hurt physically, though it IS
presumed that there are many ruffled
faelings from the division superintend-
is probably the swaying Of a big Goa
car loaded full, that got to swinging as
they came down the grade. or it might
be a broken brake beam dropping
down. The railway officials do not EN-
tertain any idea that there are any
human agencies at work in causing
these wrecks, and from the general
railway news all over the country it
would not indicate that any wrecking
of trains Is being carried on.
About four or five hundred feet OF
track was torn up, and the usual