Steam Shovel Plunges Down Embankment
An engineer is hospitalized after a massive steam shovel collapses off a temporary track near the Northern Pacific depot.
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.
E. L. Doan, an engineer, suffered a broken leg, and several workmen narrowly escaped death late yesterday afternoon when a heavy steam shovel resting upon a temporary track near the Northern Pacific depot tumbled over a 25-foot embankment, which crumbled beneath the machine's weight. Doan was in the cab of the steam shovel with his fireman when the accident occurred, and was dragged unconscious from the wreckage a few minutes later. At first it was thought that the unfortunate man was seriously injured, and he was hurried to the N. P. hospital. A careful examination showed that besides being badly shaken up, his only injury was a fracture of his right leg above the ankle.
“a heavy steam shovel resting upon a temporary track... tumbled over a 25-foot embankment, which crumbled beneath the machine's weight.”
The heavy industrial work required to build Tacoma’s early depots frequently came at the cost of the workers' health. Modern construction safety standards represent a major evolution in how the city manages such dangerous infrastructure projects.
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