Presented by Bettye Lessley:
Big Locomotive Goes Into a Ditch in Sylacauga
Fifteen Cars Wrecked, Traffic Delayed, No One Seriously Injured
Friday afternoon a rear end collision occurred between two freight trains near the Sylacauga Brick Company yard, on the Central of Georgia tracks in which one locomotive was rolled down an embankment after completely demolishing the cab and wrecking fifteen cars of the train ahead. Lineman working on the Western Union lines at this point left a wire reel in the middle of the track, which was run over by the last running freight, which stopped to remove the wire from the locomotive wheels. The flagman was sent back and the engineer was in the act of reaching under the tender for the wire when the freight running behind rushed into the one that had stopped. The trains were running so close together that the flagman did not have time to go the required distance to flag the second train. No one was seriously injured, but both crews were badly bruised, one member buried all except his head under the coal. Traffic was held up for a number of hours, and the wrecking crew is still at work taking up the locomotive.
The Sylacauga News September 16, 1926
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