Dunkerton, IA Train Accident, Mar 1912

THIRTY INJURED IN TRAIN WRECK; VICTIMS RUSHED TO THE HOSPITAL; ONE WILL DIE.

PULLMAN AND THREE COACHES ARE DERAILED.

TRAIN WAS RUNNING AT HIGH SPEED.

LEAVES TRACK AT AN EARLY HOUR NEAR DUNKERTON.

SURGEONS ARE SUMMONED TO SCENE AND TWELVE ARE REMOVED TO PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL -- HUDSON MAN IS HURT.

Fatally Injured
Unidentified man, believed to be ANDREW BENNETT, Bryant, S. D.; fracture at base of skull besides other bad cuts on upper body. At Presbyterian hospital; will die.
Seriously Injured.
T. F. GLENNY, Hudson, Iowa; collar bone broken, one rib fractured, seriious cuts about body. At Presbyterian hospital.
GEORGE DELAHEY, Ottawa, Canada; injured about head, cuts on upper body. At Presbyterian hospital.
JOHN YOUNGBLOOD, Amarillo, Texas; serious scalp wound. At Presbyterian hospital.
JAMES FOLEY, Minneapolis; injured about head and face; may be internally hurt. At Presbyterian hospital.
TIMOTHY FOLEY, Minneapolis, son of JAMES FOLEY; injured about lower body, bad cut on left leg. At Presbyterian hospital.
FRED STRUBE, Des Moines; injured about head and upper body. At Presbyterian hospital.
C. H. HALL, Nevada, Iowa; scalp wounds, right side of head badly cut. Treated at Presbyterian hospital and later discharged.
FRANK GORDON, Reinbeck; injured about head. Treated at Presbyterian hospital and later discharged.
A. E. BRAND, foreman C. G. W. railway, Des Moines; left side of head badly cut, ear nearly severed, left wrist injured and one finger cut. Treated at Presbyterian hospital and later discharged.
BELL PAPAS, a Greek, New York; slightly injured about upper body and head. Treated at Presbyterian hospital and later discharged.
GEORGE BLODAS, New York; slightly injured about upper body and head. Treated at hospital and later discharged.
JAMES MAXWELL, C. G. W. traveling engineer, Des Moines; collar bone and rib fractured. Taken to physician's office.
JAMES LARSEN, St. Joe., Mo.; scalp wound. Taken to physician's office.
JAMES HARACOP, Des Moines; back sprained and bruised. Taken to physician's office.
Injuries Not Serious.
A. C. MILLER, Des Moines.
MRS. EDWARD McINTIRE, St. Paul.
EDWARD McINTIRE, St. Paul.
E. C. NEWMAN, Elk Lick, Pa.
W. T. BROWN, Waterloo.
H. W. WOLFE, Waterloo.
WILLIAM GILBERT, State Center.
D. W. PARKER, St. Paul.
R. H. PATCHEN, Parkersburg, Pa.
A. H. BRANDHORST, Hudson.
JOHN FUNK.
E. T. JONES, Minneapolis.
F. L. GORDON, Reinbeck.
W. H. RICHARDSON, Des Moines.
GEORGE BLUMINDY, Des Moines.
J. H. LANDHOLT, New York.
W. M. JOHNSON, Des Moines.
H. E. SINGERHOUSE, St. Paul.

ANDREW BENNETT of Bryant, S. D., was fatally injured and thirty-one other passengers more or less seriously hurt when southbound Chicago Great Western passenger train No. 1 was derailed three miles north of Dunkerton at 2:45 o'clock this morning. The accident occurred on a slight curve about midway between Dunkerton and Fairbank. The train was running but a few minutes late and at the normal speed of forty miles an hour.
The train consisted of a locomotive, baggage and mail cars, three chair cars, and the steel Pullman sleeper "Roselle." The foremost chair car, while rounding the curve, lurched violently from the rails followed by the two remaining chair cars and the sleeper. The chair cars rain on the frozen ground a short distance, turning over on one side thirty feet from the track. The Pullman although derailed, remained upright.
Within the wrecked cars the scene was one of the wildest confusion. Passengers were tossed about and the series of crashes was most terrifying. Nearly all the windows were broken and many cut and slashed by the jagged ends of glass that rained down from the upturned side of the coach.
When the train left the track the lighting system was interrupted and the wreck victims had a difficult time trying to crawl out of the battered cars. The broken seats and glass littered interior made their attempts to move about in the blackness quite hazardous and some of the slightly injured passengers were nearly half an hour making their way out of the wrecked train.

Walked Miles In Snow.
Conductor H. M. PECK of Des Moines was in the sleeper checking his ticket collections when the wreck occurred. Hurrying from this car which was but slightly damaged he soon realized the extent of the wreck. Recollecting that Fairbank had been passed but a few minutes before he set out on foot to walk the four miles in the blinding snow storm. The long walk consumed an hour and it was nut until 3:45 a.m. that the Great Western officials were advised of the accident. Conductor PECK suffered two bad bruises on his head and had one shoulder wrenched. He was not aware of his injuries for some time after the accident.

Waterloo Reporter Iowa 1912-03-14
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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!