A remote railroad bridge collapsed east of Casper, Wyoming, after days of rain and a passenger train went off the tracks at the washout into Cole Creek, killing an estimated 30 people on Sept. 27, 1923.
"Being on a curve, the bridge was not visible to the headlights of the train until it was too late," Wikipedia said. "The only surviving member of the train or engine crew stated that the emergency brakes were only applied just before the train plunged off the rails."
Roundhouse, track and bridge gangs responded on rescue trains from Casper and came upon travelers trapped atop a sleeping car, according to Wikipedia.
"A cable rope obtained from the Big Muddy oil field was thrown over to the marooned sleepers" and "men, women and children went hand-over-hand from the sleeper to the east bank, a distance of more than 150 feet," the Dallas Morning News said.
Denver's Rocky Mountain News reported a man crossed the cable with a baby in his arms "tied in an old gunny sack."
Wikipedia said the train consisted of seven cars, and was operated jointly by the Burlington and the Colorado and Southern. The Associated Press said Train No. 30 was bound for Denver from Casper. The locomotive and smoking car were completely submerged, AP said.
This is an excerpt of a dispatch on the front page of the Sept. 30, 1927, edition of the Rocky Mountain News by Deane H. Dickason:
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.