Steve,Karl,Doug or anyone else did you ever hear about the incident
below ?
Today I had a couple hours to kill between appointments when I got off
the dinky at Aurora so I went to the library to do some research and stumbled on
a sad incident that was news to me.
In October 1954 Condr H Brown was found dead alongside track 6 in the west
yard at Eola. Here's what I put together from the Beacon News article and my
general knowledge of how things used to work. Brown was the Condr on #85 that
had pulled onto track 6 to be filled on the rear of his train by the west yard
engine(probably adding Ottawas and Streators on the rear while the engines p/u'd
more Wedrons on the head end), this was a nightly move in those days for this
job per my notes from interviews.
Brown was found as #85 was pulling off 6 track about six or seven car
lengths east of the old west yard shanty. He had massive trauma to his spine and
neck. Just trying to figure out how he got hit from behind when walking along
facing his train ? He had most likely gone to the yard office for bills and was
headed back for the waycar while watching his train go past. The rear man and
switch foreman(both of whom were on the w/c found him. Myron Karp was YDM that
shift(never knew he had YDM seniority).
The only thing I can come up with is the east yard engine must have crossed
over with a "dose" and shoved them into the adjacent track and a wide load
clipped him.
I do recall Bones telling about a man who got hit by a load of steel plate
in the west yard on a flat but I thought that was a switchman.
Anybody remember hearing about this incident ?
Leo