Jasper County Democrat, Volume 9, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 August 1906 — WRECK AT RENSSELAER. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

WRECK AT RENSSELAER.

Train No. 36 Jumps Track on Curve At West Side of Town.

CARS AND ENGINE TURN OVER While Going at Full Speed But No One Killed. PASSENGERS BADLY SHAKEN VP And Had a Miraculous Escape From Horrible Death,—Wreck Not All Cleared Till Tuesday. The Monon had another “bloodless wreck” Saturday morning, when its Cincinnati-Chicago train was completely ditched here on the curve at the west side of town while going at full speed. The engine, blind-baggage, mail, combination smoker and baggage, day coach and three Pullman sleepers, “Estria,” “Alabama” and “Holyoke,” were all wrecked, and the wonder is that it was not accompanied with great loss of life. There were about 100 passengers on board the train, and except for a few minor scratches and bruises to a few of them, all escaped injury and no bones were broken. This train makes no stop here, and goes through Rensselaer at about 5:30 a. m. On Saturday morning it was in charge of conductor Mort Mason, of Indianapolis, brakeman W. M. Coey, of Medaryville—a brother of Mrs. C. B. Reprogle of Rensselaer —engineer Frank Miller and fireman Harry Osborne, both of Indianapolis. The train was a few minutes late and was probably running a little faster than its fast schedule time, not slacking up a particle, perceptibly, for the station, nor on striking the curve just west of the Coen <t Brady elevator. Many people who have seen the train go around this curve on previous occasions had predicted a wreck some time, and it finally came, for on rounding the curve Saturday morning, the engine jumped the track and went pounding over the ties for same distance, finally turning over on its left side and partly across the track at the west side of James Nelson’s pig stye and piling the coaches up in the form of letter “S” with the day coach forming the center at the sides of the track close to the Dan Stoner property, and scared Jim’s pig so badly that it had no appetite the rest of the day. It all happened so quickly that neither the engineer nor fireman had a chance to jump, but both escaped from the cab without injury after it ceased its antics. A hurried scrambling of the passengers in scant attire from the coaches next resulted, and anxious inquiries by passengers and the town people who hurried to the scene disclosed the fact that all had escaped with a few minor scratches, making it another of the Monon’s “lucky” accidents. The track around this curve had been rebaliasted with fresh gravel recently, and the heavy train probably caused the track to slide in the loose gravel', finally breaking the rails and tumbling engine and cars into a heap. The ground being level the coaches did not turn completely over, except the blind baggage, which lay flat on its side. The mail and baggage-smoker were thrown thirty feet to the west of track, but two large hickory trees probably saved the two latter from being turned completely over and may have helped to save some of the other cars. Several hundred feet of track was torn up, some of the front ends of the cars partly buried in the dirt and gravel, the trucks torn out from under the coaches and sleepers, and taken altogether it was about as complete a wreck as is often seen, every car but the rear sleeper being tipped partly over and torn up quite badly in places. The rear sleeper was off the track but was standing upright. A telegraph pole at the west side of the track was broken off slick and clean near the ground and the day coach stood nbarly at

right angles with |he rest of the train, while the other coaches formed the tails of a letter “8” and stripped of their trucks lay on both sides of the old roadbed and some of them 30 to 50 feet west of where the track was. The coup-

lings held the train together and prevented much damage. It was noticed that some of the railroad ties were rotten and unfit for service, and spikes ‘ would be easily pulled out of the decayed wood. The train had been preceded a short time before by the “prize fight special,” bound from Indianapolis to Chicago, and loaded with Chicago sports who had taken in the Herman-Yanger fight at J. Frank Hanly’s town, the Louisville-Chicago train, and the south-bound Indianapolis train, and it may be that the spikes holding the rails to the ties had been loosened by some of these trains. Yanger himself, the defeated Chicago pug, but whose defeat was sweetened by his share ($2,000) of the over $6,000 gate receipts to the fight—was on the wrecked train, together with some eight or ten of his crowd. The few injured slightly were: John Meadows, Indianapolis, cut in forehead. C. R. Overman, Cincinnati, two cuts on head and hip bruised. George W. Eidren, Green Bay, Wis., cuts on head and face. Mrs. George Morgan, Chicago, neck spratmed. J. M. Gidding, Duluth, Minn, legs bruised. William Halloran, Cincinnati; small cuts on forehead. David Elhion, Cincinnati, leg bruised. Wm. M. Coey, brakeman, Medaryville, cuts on bead and knee. B H. Cook, mail clerk, ear cut, back wrenched. L. E. Martin, leg bruised. B. F. Schwabig, Chicago, leg injured. All the injuries, so far as could be ascertained, were very slight, the shook to the nervous system of some of the passengers no doubt being more severe than the injuries received. A few passengers who were on board bound for the G. A. R. encampment, backed out and returned home. Ab a result of the wreck all trains were sent around by the Michigan City division and Wilders to Chicago, the milk train coming west over the 3-1 and C. & E. I. and backing down and taking the wreck passengers on board several hours later. A temporary track was laid just west of the old roadbed and the wrecked coaches and trucks pushed to one side enough to let trains pass Saturday evening, but with two wrecking crews a part of the time it took until Tuesday to get the wreck completely cleared .away, the engine being the last to be moved. The blind baggage was a complete wreck, bat the other cars can no

doubt be repaired, although the expense will be considerable, as they are nearly all wrenched badly and broken in places. Had it not been for the fact that the train was made up of good, strong and solid cars, and the ground being level, great loss of life would certainly have resulted. With the ordinary flimsy cars, such as are usually run on excursion trains, the coaches would have been broken into kindling wood and half the passengers killed. Another thing, had the railroad people consented to have this train stop here—as all trains should—

the wreck would never have occurred, as it would have been impossible to have gotten under such headway by the time it reached the curve. The train that goes through here about 2:25 a. m., south, does not stop here, either, and it is said to go around this curve at a fearful speed. A wreck for it, too, has been predicted, but could also be averted by requiring it to stop here, as it would be necessary to slacken speed before striking the curve. The wrecked train was the same as thatUemolished north of Fair Oaks, July 13, which was also a very fortunate wreck in that all escaped with a few bruises, although the cars and engine were badly wrecked. The two wrecks, while accompanied by no loss of life, have cost the railroad company a good many thousand dollars. Practically every person in the city viewed the wreck Saturday, and hundreds of country people also drove out to see just what a genuine railroad wreck resembled. Sunday brought most all the town people and hundreds more from the country to view the interesting work of the wrecking crews in hoisting the debris about with the big car derricks, and the Spitler grove had the appearance of a huge picnic party, many people remaining out there most of the day. John Holcomb, one of the wrecking crew, got his arm caught in moving the cab and it was broken in two places.

VIEWS OF THE WRECK, AND SHOWING WRECK CREWS AT WORK.