A Burlington Wreck.

GALESBURG, Ill., Oct. 21. --- The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy fast passenger train, No. 5, which left Chicago at 10:30 o'clock last night, met with a terrible accident at the pottery switch near Monmouth, sixteen miles west of here. Twenty-five minutes later the train was running at a high rate of speed. The facts show that the switch was partly turned and the locomotive left the main track and started on the side track. Some of the cars kept on the main track, and as a result the whole train of seven cars, save the sleeper, were derailed and turned over on their side, the cars being scattered around in great confusion. There was no telescoping.

There were on the engine Engineer A. A. EMERY and Fireman NELS ANDERSON, of this city, and GEORGE COURTNEY, the traveling engineer, who went on the trip to see how the new locomotive worked. ANDERSON was blown from the cab by the steam. EMERY and COURTNEY had no chance to escape and their bodies were found close to the locomotive. The baggage and express men were thrown across their cars but miraculously escaped injury.

A young man named FRANK S. JOHNSON, of Avon, who with W. R. HARDEY, of Abingdon, was standing on the steps of the smoking car, attempted to jump off and was thrown under the wheels and killed. HARDEY jumped and escaped injury. The baggage car caught fire but the flames were promptly extinguished by Baggageman JOHN DORES. OSCAR SIMMERMAN was pitched through a window of the smoking car and was unhurt. He hurried back to stop two in-coming trains.

The saddest casualty happened in the chair car. In the middle of the car sat MR. GEORGE ALLEN, his wife and baby. She was next to the window and as the car tipped over her head was driven through the window and she was instantly killed. The baby was hurled across the car and save a cut on the head, was uninjured.

A large force of surgeons and railroad officials went from here and Burlington.

In addition to the four killed, eighteen were injured but the injuries of some were so slight that they left on the next train. Great surprise is expressed that the list of fatalities is not larger.

Those killed are: MRS. GEORGE ALLEN, Loomis, Illinois; T. L. JOHNSON, Avon, Illinois; GEORGE COURTNEY, Galesburg, Illinois; A. A. EMERY, Galesburg, Illinois.

F. C. RICE, superintendent of the Illinois lines of the C. B. & Q., expressed the opinion that the switch had been tampered with. After the wreck the switch was found half turned with the pin hanging down and the switch locked. A switch engine had been working on the sidetrack during the afternoon, but subsequently seven trains passed over the switch in safety. Just a year ago the fast mail ran off the same switch and several were injured. It is a standard split switch and was regarded as perfectly safe.

Aspen Weekly Times Colorado 1891-10-24
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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!