Montana Train Wreck

Manawatu Times, Volume 63, Issue 179, 1 August 1938, Page 12

Montana Train Wreck

WORST OF RECENT YEARS NEW YORK, Juno 19. The Olympian, crack passenger train of the Miiwauk.ee Railroad, plunged through a crumpling bridge early to-day into the seething, flooded Custer Creek, I Eastern Montana, carrying more than 130 persons to death. ( Reports by railroad officials indicated That there were approximately 160 pas-j sougers aboard, of whom more than 50 were dead or believed missing, 65 injured and about 40 known to nave es- 1 caped injury. | The tragedy was the worst in American railway history m recent years, and was the first on the Chicago, ' Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad in 20 years in which a paying passenger met * death. .weakened Bridge Coif apses. It came without warning as the 11- j car, air-conditioned train, en route ‘ from Chicago to Tacoma, Washington, sped througn a cloudburst in the Custer Creek section 26 miles east of Miles City, Montana, shortly after midnight. The bridge, buffeted by waters of a “flash flood" from the storm racing down tne gulch —almost dry a few mm--1 utes earlier —sagged under the weight of, the steam locomotive and sent it uuitiiug into the stream ami against opposite bank, dragging the tender, baggage car, man car, two coaches and. .two tourist sleepers into the flood. I j A track walker had reported that the j j creek was nearly dry only a few min- J utes before the train passed. > Passengers Caught V/xiuoat Waning. ' The passengers, most of them sleepMg or drowsing in their seats, were caught without warn.ng. | Several passengers escaped from the submerged wreckage when train-men smashed windows to allow them to escape. Turee porters who assisted in the rescue work said they saw "six or seven" bodies swept through car winuows and carried downstream by the | current. j A hospital tram was rushed from I Miles City to the isolated scene of the crash, 26 miles east, as soon as word of the accident reached the city. The hos- • pital train brought the injured to ' Miles City for treatment. Rescue Crews Save 25 Lives. Rescue crews dragged nearly 25 injured passengers from tho first coach that hurdled the missing bridge span t

~nd -landed on the west side of the creek beside the broken baggage car. When the rescue crew and the Custer county Coroner, Mr. Ralph Bray, began txie work of removing the injured, water was pouring into the coach windows on tho upper aide, filling the car until water covered the seats. Cries and screams mingled with the hiss of steam from the broken boilers and the shouts of the rescue crews as flashlights and locomotive lights slashI ed into the dawn. j A few dead were removed from the car. They had been killed by the terrific impact that had twisted the steel coaches like tin.