The ICC report details the technical events leading up to the
wreck. The personal details of the incident exist only in the minds
of those close to the wreck.
I was notified of the incident by the wife of a Q Engineer with whom
we were good friends. Natural curiosity caused me to drive to
Montgomery and "see" what happened. What I SAW was far beyond what
one would expect to "see" at a derailment. The devastation of the
locomotives was so complete that three of us, two other Q Engineers
and myself, were, at first, unable to identify what pieces had been
the lead unit of the Q train.
When I arrived at Montgomery the town was FULL of cars and people.
I parked near the north end of the Lyon Metal parking lot. On the
walk to the wreck site I met the two Engineer's mentioned earlier.
We chatted about the events of the day and wondered if anyone was
hurt. Bob, one of the two, was in the C&I pool and was 2 or 3 times
out. Mike, the other Engineer, had marked off to take his wife to
the Doctor. I had tied up early that afternoon and was in no danger
of being called. Bob, Mike and I walked toward Anchor Brush Co. to
get a view of the equipment west of the point of impact.
As we got close to Anchor Brush a Switchman, Jimmy, was comming out
of the restricted area that had been created by the police. Jimmy
was on the Lyon Job and his engine and crew were at the wallpaper
plant (Western Electric). They were blocked by the RI train on the
branch and couldn't get out. As Jimmy approached, Bob asked
him "how'd the crew make out"? "They didn't" was the reply. The
three of us couldn't understand how this could be as the "lead" Q E7
didn't look all that bad. Its windshield was smashed in but not to
the degree one would expect in a fatal wreck. We mentioned this to
Jimmy who told us that the E7 was NOT the lead unit. The lead unit
was on the north side of the main and was UNDER a Rock Island
engine.
About this time Mike asked Jimmy who the crews were. George
Donaldson was 3's Engineer and George Lincoln was his Fireman. When
the name of the Q Pilot (on the RI engine) was mentioned Mike almost
passed out. When Mike marked off that morning Engineer R L Parker
became first-out and, later, took the call to work the Pilot job on
the RI detour. Of the four killed in the collision three were Q men
and the other was the RI Engineer.
As photos show, the cab of the lead RI engine was ripped away from
the rest of the carbody and lay several feet west and north of the
remains of the locomotive. With such enormous devastation it's easy
to understand how the men in that cab could be killed. What is not
as easily understood is how a Road Foreman of Engines could have
been standing in the middle of that same cab at the time of impact
and survive. A long time after the wreck "Mac" told me he was
leaning against the electrical cabinet watching 3's headlight
approach. All of a sudden the headlight "went crazy" and the next
thing he knew he was on the ground covered with blankets. One never
knows.
No. three was reported to be going 56 MPH when she went through the
switch and headed down the branch toward the RI train. Appearantly,
3's engines made it through the switch without tipping over and hit
the lead RI engine standing up. The lead truck of 3's lead unit
ended up on top of the RI engine that lost its cab.
As all this was happening a westward RI detour train was standing on
main 1 behind a red signal waiting for things to clear so he could
start down the branch. That didn't happen.
Karl
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