Jasper County Democrat, Volume 10, Number 28, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 October 1907 — BUMPED INTO FREIGHT TRAIN. [ARTICLE]

BUMPED INTO FREIGHT TRAIN.

Passenger Train No. 31 Wrecked Here Sunday Morning. Another wreck occurred on the Monon last Sunday morning at 4:49 when the southbound Chica-go-Cincinnati fast mail crashed into the rear end of through freight No. 71 on the curve west of the Spitler crossing, The freight train was preparing to take the siding east of the station to allow the passenger to go by, and the engine was at the station at the time of the collision. The rear brakeman had evidently failed to do his duty in going back promptly to flag the passenger, although he had started, it is said, and had gotten back about one or two car lengths when the passenger came rushing around the curve at a 40-mile-an-hour speed, having scarcely begun t) reduce speed for the station about one eighth of a mile away. It crashed into the rear end of the freight with fearful force, leaving scarcely a vestige of the caboose, and four flat oars immediately ahead thereof were broken into kindling and their trucks piled up together in front of the engine, which then toppled nearly over on its side, a mass of broken and twisted iron.

Fortunately no one was in the caboose at the time or they would have been ground to pieces, the freight crew with the exception of the dilatory rear brakeman being up at the front end of the train. The engineer and fireman of the wrecked passenger engine escaped without injury and none of the train back of the engine left the tracks or was injured in any way, although the passengers got a severe shaking up. The train was made up of two mail cars, a combination baggage and smoker, one day coach and the Pullman sleeper Holyoke, and was drawn by engine No. 353.

Soon after the collision the debris in front of the engine took fire and the city fire whistle was sounded to callout the fire depart* ment to put out the blaze. The whistle aroused the entire town and it was soon learned what the trouble was v the first intimation that most people had that there had been a wreck, though those living near the scene had heard the collision and hurried to the wreck to lend their aid should it be needed. The fire was put out with a few buckets of water, and about 7:30 a special train was. backed up from Monon and the passengers transferred and carried on south. The wreck train arrived from Lafayette about 8 a. m., and proceeded to clear the tracks and lay a temporary track just south of that torn up over which the southbound 2:04 p. m., train passed, all other trains having been sent around by the Michigan City division. The wrecked engine was righted Sunday evening and was taken to the shops for repairs. This wreck is about the fifth one the Monon has had in the past two years at or near Rensselaer and Fair Oaks, and occurred only a few car lengths south of where northbound marl No. 36 was wrecked on Saturday morning, August 11, of last year. In all of these there has been no loss of life nor serious injury, but the damage to rolling stock has been a great many thousands of dollars. The fault for this last wreck seems to have been wholly with the freight crew, who had stopped to cut in a box car before taking the siding and were delayed by the pulling out of a draw-bar, But it is alleged the conductor had instructed the rear brakeman to go back and flag “31” to avoid all possible danger of accident. As The Democrat has before stated, trains are run at too great a speed around this particular curve, end, unless a stop is put to such reckless speed there, a wreck will occur some of these times that will be attended with considerable loss of lift and a therefore greater financial loss to the road than any it has yet sustained here.