The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1924-12-25
500 Line COACH IS
HURLED INTO RIVER
EIGHT KILLED IN WRECK NEAR
CHIPPEWA FALLS, WISDOM
SIN, SATURDAY
LOCAL MAN ON TRAIN
DR.. r. H. SWEETMAN IN HEAD
COACH, WAS NOT MOLESTED
BODIES RECOVERED

Chippewa Falls, Wis, De. 20
Eight passengers were killed, two of
them from Minneapolis, when a cafe
| observation car of a 500 Line train
tumbled from a trestle into the Chip
pewa river near this city, Saturday
afternoon. Seven were hurt, includ-
ing Minneapolis woman.
The dining car, overturning in it's
fall of 60 feet, was almost completely
submerged and after search of
nine hours officials were not entirely
certain that all bodies had been re-
moved from the coach.
The diner, the last of the string of
cars in the train, was derailed at a
switch 100 yards from the trestle
over the Chippewa river. 1t scraped
along the ties, remaining upright UNI
til it was drawn onto the bridge Then
it swerved sharply, snapped off at
the coupling, and dropped into the
river, wheels uppermost.
The force of the fall carried the
front end of the GAR into the muddy
bottom of the river, and so firmly was
it imbedded that the rear end re-
manned several feet above the surface
of the water. The river is about
seven feet at that point.
Those who escaped from the car
crawled out the rear door or wormed
their way through the windows which
had been thrown open by some of the
passengers Immediately after the de-
railment.
Once outside the coach, they chung
to wheels and trucks until rowboat
which had put out from shore, carried
them to safety.
Two men attempted to gain the
shore by swimming, but the icy water,
Slapped their strength and witnesses
saw them go under.
When the rescuers reached tie
coach, most of the passengers were
still alive, their clothing caked in the
ice which formed quickly in the 10
below weather.
Those who had drowned are be-
lieved to have been so badly injured
in the falling coach that they were
unable to help themselves. During
the afternoon a line was stretched
from the shore to the partly sub
merged car, and raft was anchored
while the searchers continued their
only Is passengers were in the coach,
but some reports placed the number
at 18.
Several boys who had taken a row.
boat earlier in the day to use for 60
ing over their trap lines aided ma
terially in the rescue. Tie boys were
but short distance from the bridge
when the coach plunged into the
river. They Immediately worked
their way to that side of the river and
gave the boat to the rescue workers,
who picked up several of the victims,
took them across the river and hur-
ried them to a hospital here in auto
mobiles.
The two Minneapolis persons who
were killed in the accident, Charles
M. Pardoe and his daughter, Mrs.
Florence Higus, were en- route to Ber-
lin, Wis, to visit relatives over the
Holidays.
DR.. R. H. Sweetman of Sank
Centre was a passenger on the train
being enroute to attend the funeral
of an older sister, Mrs. Lewis Lar
son, who died at Stockbridge, Wis,
Thursday of last week, as a result
of stroke of appoplexy. Mrs. Lar
son will be remembered by many
Sank Centre people as she spent
three weeks at the Sweetman home
in this city last summer. Dr. Sweet
man returned to his home in this city
Monday evening.
Conversing with the Herald editor
Wednesday morning the Doctor said
that ordinarily this 500 Line train
is made up Of three coaches, but be-
cause of bad connections from the
west, when the train left st. Paul a
Pullman car and combination cafe
and observation car were added to
the train, the latter being at the
rear end.
DIR. Sweetman was riding in the
day coach just ahead of the sleeper.
He said they left st. Paul a few
minutes late and when they arrived
at the Chippewa river about 12:45
P. M, on the outskirts of Cheppewa
Falls, they were over an hour late.
He said the day coach was COM
pletely filed and the passengers
were becoming somewhat impatient