Gallitzin, Pennsylvania
Train Wreck
January 1904
MATCHES SET FIRE TO WRECKAGE
Runaway Engine Crashes Into Rear of Freight
in Upper Railroad Yard and Engineer William
Burbank is Injured -–Three Cars Burned.
While Engineers William Burbank of this city,
was bringing his engine, No. 1734, running
light, off the mountain this morning, after
assisting a passenger train to Gallitzin,
something got wrong with the reverse lever and
throttle near the “Big Pond” half a mile above
BO office, and because the engineer could not
work either of them, the engine ran away.
At the upper end of the yard was standing a PG-4
freight, the cabin of which had been switched to
the [illegible] the freight itself wating [sic]
for the block to be run to the classification
yards, east of the city.
Into this train Burbank’s engine crashed,
telescoping three cars loaded with merchandise
and consigned to Altoona. Tobacco, law books,
mattings, canned goods, etc., were scattered
over the tracks.
The collision ignited some of the matches in one
of the cars and they set fire to the wreckage.
No. 6 fire company was called out but before
they got into service the car had already been
aflamed [sic]. They quickly extinguished the
blaze.
Engineer Burbank had his back injured, but not
seriously. His engine was pretty badly used up.
Altoona Mirror, Altoona, PA 22 Jan 1904
Transcribed by
Bekky
Tatar-Kinsey. Thanks, Bekky!
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