Re: C&S Cab Curtains. Part 2 Wreck of #75
Posted by Mike Trent on
URL: http://c-sng-discussion-forum.254.s1.nabble.com/C-S-Cab-Curtains-Part-2-Modern-Style-Inside-hung-Curtains-with-Top-Roll-tp1181p1198.html
Interesting, Rick, as usual.
I'm enclosing the picture of engine #75 being raised at the wreck site below Boreas in January '36.
I find this quite interesting within this discussion because you can see the right side cab curtain crumpled up in a heap on the gangway next to the engineer's door. Below the engineer's door, you can see the long tail of the curtain laying on the gangway and hanging off the side as it would have been at the time of the wreck.
A little background on the wreck from Doug Schnarbush, who fired #73, which was coupled with #75 and went off first.
When #73, on the point, went over the side, it remained upright the entire time and distance that it came to rest, and then slowly rolled over to the right. Doug jumped off the left side gangway as the engine went over, and he came to a soft landing in the snow. The only sound he heard was the engine still slowly working steam. He called out for Engineer Charlie Thomas, but heard nothing in reply. He climbed back up on the overturned #73, and got back into the gangway. He opened the firebox, and then managed to get into the cab to close the throttle. He never described how he pulled the cab curtain out of the way to accomplish this, but it never dawned on me to have asked. Once he got off the engine again, he called out again for Charlie Thomas and this time he heard him answer back. Doug found him leaning up against a nearby tree, where he had gone once he jumped off as the engine had started to roll over. Thomas wanted to stay where he was, completely exhausted. Doug knew he needed to get back up to flag the train, which had been following behind as the helpers cleared the way. He made his way up the hill in the driving, freezing snow, and found the wrecked #75 and it's fireman, Clinton Eshe, standing nearby. Eshe told him that #75's engineer Charlie Williamson was dead. Unlike #73, #75 had gone over hard to the right, not far below the track. It must have slid some distance on it's side, because the airpump was torn loose and had damaged the jacketing behind before it smashed the front of the cab.
Both Scharbush and Eshe climbed up to the track and began walking upgrade to be able to stop #537 with time enough to get it stopped. Doug said when he swung up into the cab he scared engineer Tom Gibbony half to death, as he was completely covered in snow and ice.
The attached photo shows the rear of #75. The rear door is bent outward a bit just below the window. I believe this was where they jacked the door wide enough to recover Williamson's body, as it was removed shortly after the wreck, with gear that they had on the train.
After going over this a couple of times with Schnarbush, I called Clinton Eshe, who was living in Baley at the time. Eshe was conversational, but really didn't want to talk much about the wreck. I told him what Doug had told me, and he agreed that it was accurate, but didn't add anything new. Again, I now wish I'd had the awareness to ask about those cab curtains. The picture shows they were taken loose from the top, and Eshe must have done it, because he had managed to reach Williamson before Doug had climed up from below. Chris' work on finding all these photos has added possibly a new dimension to the story. Did that cab curtain prevent Charlie Williamson from any chance to escape the cab before the engine went over? It would have happened pretty fast, but there would have been a few seconds.....
Eshe was promoted to Engineer in 1936, and these two were the last living enginemen from the "West End" in 1986 when this and other information was collected. Including, Rick, about all the "picking up and setting out" being done Eastbound!
Anyway, check out the photo. I have tried to "fix" the image by raising the contrast from the original, which was taken, I believe, by railroader Brownie Anderson.
URL: http://c-sng-discussion-forum.254.s1.nabble.com/C-S-Cab-Curtains-Part-2-Modern-Style-Inside-hung-Curtains-with-Top-Roll-tp1181p1198.html
Interesting, Rick, as usual.
I'm enclosing the picture of engine #75 being raised at the wreck site below Boreas in January '36.
I find this quite interesting within this discussion because you can see the right side cab curtain crumpled up in a heap on the gangway next to the engineer's door. Below the engineer's door, you can see the long tail of the curtain laying on the gangway and hanging off the side as it would have been at the time of the wreck.
A little background on the wreck from Doug Schnarbush, who fired #73, which was coupled with #75 and went off first.
When #73, on the point, went over the side, it remained upright the entire time and distance that it came to rest, and then slowly rolled over to the right. Doug jumped off the left side gangway as the engine went over, and he came to a soft landing in the snow. The only sound he heard was the engine still slowly working steam. He called out for Engineer Charlie Thomas, but heard nothing in reply. He climbed back up on the overturned #73, and got back into the gangway. He opened the firebox, and then managed to get into the cab to close the throttle. He never described how he pulled the cab curtain out of the way to accomplish this, but it never dawned on me to have asked. Once he got off the engine again, he called out again for Charlie Thomas and this time he heard him answer back. Doug found him leaning up against a nearby tree, where he had gone once he jumped off as the engine had started to roll over. Thomas wanted to stay where he was, completely exhausted. Doug knew he needed to get back up to flag the train, which had been following behind as the helpers cleared the way. He made his way up the hill in the driving, freezing snow, and found the wrecked #75 and it's fireman, Clinton Eshe, standing nearby. Eshe told him that #75's engineer Charlie Williamson was dead. Unlike #73, #75 had gone over hard to the right, not far below the track. It must have slid some distance on it's side, because the airpump was torn loose and had damaged the jacketing behind before it smashed the front of the cab.
Both Scharbush and Eshe climbed up to the track and began walking upgrade to be able to stop #537 with time enough to get it stopped. Doug said when he swung up into the cab he scared engineer Tom Gibbony half to death, as he was completely covered in snow and ice.
The attached photo shows the rear of #75. The rear door is bent outward a bit just below the window. I believe this was where they jacked the door wide enough to recover Williamson's body, as it was removed shortly after the wreck, with gear that they had on the train.
After going over this a couple of times with Schnarbush, I called Clinton Eshe, who was living in Baley at the time. Eshe was conversational, but really didn't want to talk much about the wreck. I told him what Doug had told me, and he agreed that it was accurate, but didn't add anything new. Again, I now wish I'd had the awareness to ask about those cab curtains. The picture shows they were taken loose from the top, and Eshe must have done it, because he had managed to reach Williamson before Doug had climed up from below. Chris' work on finding all these photos has added possibly a new dimension to the story. Did that cab curtain prevent Charlie Williamson from any chance to escape the cab before the engine went over? It would have happened pretty fast, but there would have been a few seconds.....
Eshe was promoted to Engineer in 1936, and these two were the last living enginemen from the "West End" in 1986 when this and other information was collected. Including, Rick, about all the "picking up and setting out" being done Eastbound!
Anyway, check out the photo. I have tried to "fix" the image by raising the contrast from the original, which was taken, I believe, by railroader Brownie Anderson.
| Free forum by Nabble | Edit this page |