Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 83, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 April 1913 — BORROWED PILE DRIVER IN TROUBLE [ARTICLE]

BORROWED PILE DRIVER IN TROUBLE

Monon Secured One From E., J. & E. and It Caused Lot of Damage At Lafayette. Lafayette Courier. The Monon railroad had a destructive accident about 11 o’clock last night at the Fourth street overhead bridge. The company borrowed a huge pile driver from the E., J. & E. railroad and was rushing it through on a freight train to Broad Ripple, near Indianapolis. The train was a long one and was to be detoured by the Big Four from here to Indianapolis. While running at a fair rate of Speed the driver of the pile driver failed to clear the top of the Fourth street bridge and the boom of the driver crashed through the side of the caboose on the rear of the train, entirely demolishing it. Conductor Eli Hull, Brakemen Keiner and Chauston, and Switchman “Slim” Thomas, who were standing ofl the rear platform of the caboose at the time, escaped injury. If they had been inside the caboose they would have been killed. The train was not stopped until it passed Smith street and the swaying boom of the pile driver demolished the fence at the house owtaed by Theodore'Boiler at Third street and the Monon tracks. The family of Lawrence Biehn were greatly frightened by the noise attending the tearing -down of the fences and trees in the yard. The fence of a house just south of the Boiler home was also badly damaged. The pile driver was wrecked.