Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 January 1910 — MONON PASSENGER TRAIN LEAVES TRACK NEAR PARR [ARTICLE]

MONON PASSENGER TRAIN LEAVES TRACK NEAR PARR

Train No. 36, Dae Here at 5:30, and Running Late, is Derailed By a Broken Rail. NOT A PASSENGER WAS INJURED , TTnuaal Duck With the Monon and Cars Bemaln Upright in Bough Half Mile on the Ties. Passenger train No. 36, due to pass through Rensselaer at 6:30 o’clock, from Indianapolis, was derailed about a mile and a half north of Parr this Friday morning and, although going at a tremendous speed the train was not overturned and not a passenger or trainman was even bruised. The train was about a half hour late and was taking advantage of the smooth, straight track to make up as much of the time as possible. It Is probable that it was going from 60 to 70 miles an hour. A defective rail broke squarely in two, a piece five feet long being broken out. The engine, the mail coach, combination baggage and smoking car and the day coach passed over the broken rail before it broke, but the four sleeping coaches left the rails all or partly and for almost a half mile ran along the ground. Twenty or more rails on the east side of the track were jerked loose from the spikes and turned over, but the coached remained upright and finally Engineer D. Miller brought the engine to a standstill. Conductor M. Mason was on the train and he at once hastened through the sleepers and found that none were injured. He also inspected the train and found that aside from a disabled truck on the combination car nothing was injured or off the track but The sleepers. The combination coach was temporarily repaired and the passengers on. the sleepers moved to the day coach and that part of the train proceeded to Chicago. When it arrived at Fair Oaks the combination coach was set on the siding. The milk train reached the scene of the wreck in time for the crew to be of some assistance in getting it on its way. It then backed to Rensselaer and remained here until the track wa§ cleared up and repaired. General Superintendent J. B. Sucese and Trainmaster Quinby, the former being accompanied by his private secretary, Roy Chissom, arrived here in Mr. Sucese’s private business car at about 10 o’clock, and proceeded to the scene of the wreck, where they took direct charge of the situation and by 1:30 o’clock the track was cleared up and passable. The trains due here at 10:05 and 10:55 were sent around on the Michigan City division. The fact that the wreck had no more serious termination can be attributed to the solidly frozen ground, for had the ground been soft or had the accident occurred on a curve serious consequences would have followed. The defective rail that caused the trouble had been previously cracked and possibly had been defective for some time, but the flaw was In the web under the angle bar and could not have been seen by a track inspector. Conductor Mason was in charge of the same train when it left the track three years ago last August at the J. H. Holden residence. It is understood that Chas. Grow, the mail clerk, was on the train.