Freight Conductor Loses Leg in Railway Accident
A brutal industrial accident at the Prosser railyard leaves a local conductor with a life-altering injury.
George Ford, a conductor on the local freight, sustained injuries while working in the yard at Prosser on Sunday that necessitated the amputation of his right leg above the knee. He was trying to couple the engine onto the cars at the time, when the pilot-bar broke and his leg was caught in the jam. Ford was taken to Ellensburg, where he will receive every attention.
“He was trying to couple the engine onto the cars at the time, when the pilot-bar broke and his leg was caught in the jam.”
This reflects the extreme physical danger inherent in early railroad work, a common reality in the expansion of the Yakima Valley. Today, rail safety is heavily regulated, but the incident highlights how precarious life was for the laborers who built the region's infrastructure.
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