The Monroe Wreck: Two Railway Men Perish in Midnight Crash
A westbound Great Northern overland train slams into a siding near Monroe, claiming the lives of a head brakeman and a fireman.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Last evening at 8:10 o'clock, the westbound Great Northern overland train ran into an open switch just east of Monroe and crashed into two box cars on a siding. Engineer George Zignis, of Seattle, saved himself by jumping, although he was severely injured. G. Marshall, of Interbay, head brakeman, was riding in the cab and was instantly killed. Fireman Tom Downing, also of Interbay, was pinned down by the rail of the tender and remained mortally injured in that position for four hours, until the arrival of the wrecking machinery. He bravely talked with those trying to rescue him, but died before being extricated. The accident occurred just as the train was slowing up to cross the bridge near Monroe. The freights were demolished and the engine, tender, baggage, and mail cars of the overland were derailed and smashed.
“He bravely talked with those trying to rescue him, but died before being extricated.”
Rail safety and the treatment of railway workers were defining issues of the early 20th century in Washington, reflecting the heavy human cost of the rapid expansion of transit lines through the Cascades.
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