Jasper County Democrat, Volume 11, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 July 1908 — MILK SPILLED [ARTICLE]

MILK SPILLED

And Passengers Given a Shaking Up II MU ANO FREI6HT TRAIN WRECK At Lowell Sunday Morning, When a South Bound Freight Crushed. Into the Former. < What might have been a bad wreck occurred on the Monon Sunday Just north of Lowell, when the milk train and a through freight collided head on. Frank Maloy, the Lowell agent, was on the platform when the train pulled out for Cedar Lake, and to his horror he saw the freight rounding the curve only a few hundred feet away and bearing down on the passenger train at considerable speed. The engineer on the passenger had seen the freight and had brought his train to a dead stop, in fact was trying to back up out of the way. But he had not discovered the freight soon enough, and before he could get started back the two engines had welded themselves together, and the freight train being much the heavier pushed the passenger back en the track some twenty-five feet and this is all that saved the expense of several first class funerals, provided there would have been enough pieces found to have identified the owners. The most seriously hurt person was Wright Hinkle of Monon, who had his nose broken and his under lip badly cut. He was on his way to Denver to attend the democratic national convention, but after the wreck he got his wounds dressed and after taking a look at himself concluded he was in no shape to go, as he no doubt would have become more famous than the Dutch fisherman from that town who sunburned his nose in a most horrible way, causing everyone he met to inquire what was the matter with the nose. The milk train passengers from Rensselaer were J. A. McFarland, N. Littlefield and John H. Jessen. They were none of them seriously hurt, and outside of some painful bruises escaped in pretty good shape. The freight crew and engineer—an extra man—were clearly to blame for the whole thing, and something more than a mere dismissal should be their fate. The freight should have run into siding at Cedar Lake instead of trying to reach Lowell ahead of the milk train. Both engines were badly damaged, all the big lot of milk cans on the milk train upset and every gallon of the milk spilled and the platforms on one or two cars smashed up. One or two cars on the freight were also somewhat damaged. The engineers and firemen stuck to their posts and escaped Injury except the engineer of the passenger who had a couple of fingers badly bruised. The track was not torn up, and after a delay of five hours the wreck was cleared away and an engine from the Hammond yards, that came down with the wreck train, took the milk train on to Chicago. The baggage car was so badly damaged that it was cut out and run to the shops for repairs. The northbound passenger trains and also the southbound trains went around by Wilder, the afternoon trains being being the first to go over the line after the wreck.