The Switchman's Last Ride
A tragic industrial death on the waterfront sparks a collective act of solidarity among rail workers.
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.
Funeral services for John F. McDonald, the switchman who died of injuries received after being run down by cars on Railroad Avenue on Saturday night, were held yesterday. Following the service, the remains were taken on a special train provided by Superintendent Kline to Calvary Cemetery. All thirty yardmen and twenty women accompanied the remains, with Yardmaster A.J. Erisman remaining to manage the yard. Since the accident, the area of Railroad Avenue at the foot of Madison Street has been planked over. Yardmaster Erisman stated that the rails were laid in a hurry to expedite car movement, and that he had previously warned the men—McDonald included—to be careful because the area was an active construction zone.
“All the thirty yardmen and twenty women went out on the train, Yardmaster A. J. Erisman alone remaining in charge of the yard.”
Railroad Avenue, once the dangerous industrial heart of the waterfront, is now the site of the bustling Alaskan Way and the site of massive infrastructure changes. This story highlights the extreme human cost of the city's rapid industrial expansion in the 1890s, where 'hurry' led to preventable fatalities.
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