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Statement of Engineer J. D. Wilkie
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Examination by Mr. Lehmer.
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| Q. | You were engineer on train No. 3 June 25th, engine 22 were you?
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| A. | Yes.
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| Q. | What has been our experience as an engineer?
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| A. | Mostly on S.P. on the Valley and Mountain Divisions. Seven years all told.
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| Q. | Did you leave El Portal on time?
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| A. | Very near it, four or five minutes late.
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| Q. | Were you delayed anywhere?
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| A. | Yes. about 30 minutes at South Fork.
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| Q. | At the time of the accident how fast were you running?
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| A. | Not over 18 miles per hour.
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| Q. | What is the schedule time of this train?
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| A. | Never figured it but think it is 25 to 28 miles an hour from El Portal to Merced.
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| Q. | The running time between North Fork and Bagby is less than 20 miles per hour?
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| A. | I was making about 18 miles per hour because I had slowed down around the sharp curve.
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| Q. | You may now tell us just what happened at time of the wreck.
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| A. | I had slowed down a quarter of a mile back and had just released my brakes and was drifting down there and just about making running time, when I felt the driver go off onto the ties. I immediately applied the air brakes and started the sand to running so that if any wheels were on the tracks the sand would help to hold the train.
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| Q. | How far did you go after you felt the engine on the ties?
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| A. | I looked it over afterwards and estimated it at 110 feet.
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| Q. | If you made the stop in that distance you could not have been going over 18 or 20 miles per hour.
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| A. | Yes sir, was letting the train pick up her own speed.
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| Q. | Before you noticed the wheels were on the ties, did you notice anything unusual about the tracks?
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Page Two.
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| A. | Everything seemed to be running nicely.
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| Q. | What in your opinion was the cause of the derailment?
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| A. | It would be pretty hard for me to say. I would not want to make a statement as to what caused it. The equipment seemed to be good and the engine was in first class shape. The cars, as far as I could see were in good condition, and had been inspected by the head car inspector before leaving El Portal and pronounced okay. It is a case that will happen with the best of equipment.
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| Q. | In speaking of the equipment why do you speak of it rather than the engine, when the engine was first to leave the track?
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| A. | The engine trucks did not leave the track. The wheels on the left side dropped off but could find no place where they had run on the ties as they set on the base of the rail and were on the base of the rail when the engine stopped.
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Examination By Mr. Higgins.
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| Q. | Do you ever work in between North Fork and Mountain King at any time?
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| A. | No sir.
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| Q. | Were you making up any time?
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| A. | No sir.
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| Q. | Were you making running time?
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| A. | Not doing better than running time.
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| Q. | Do you know the exact time of the accident?
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| A. | No sir, I do not.
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| Q. | How long before had you released and before you felt it go off?
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| A. | I released just as we came on the sharp curve.
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| Q. | How many seconds?
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| A. | It must have been seven or eight seconds from where I released, I never figured holding the air on the curves.
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Examination by Mr. Handford
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| Q. | When you stopped, what was the condition of your engine and what did you have off the track?
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| A. | The tank wheels were all off, and the drivers on the left side, the rest of the wheels were on the rails, pony truck and the drivers on the right side were on; both drivers on the right side were off, they were on the base of the rail.
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| Q. | Had the rail turned over?
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| A. | No sir, it had slued up on its corner and the wheels were on the corner of the rails - but not very much.
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| Q. | The drivers had not climbed the rail?
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| A. | No sir.
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| Q. | The two cars back of the tank were down the embankment?
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| A. | Yes sir, they were in the water.
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| Q. | The next car?
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| A. | The forward wheels of the forward Pullman were derailed.
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| Q. | How many cars had you in the train?
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| A. | Four cars, two Pullmans, one coach, and one combination.
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| Q. | After the accident did you notice if there was a loose tire on your engine?
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| A. | I had a tire forced off an inch on account of this rail. It was perfectly cool, as I had not used the brake coming down the hill.
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| Q. | Which tire was this?
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| A. | The right forward, it was forced off an inch, toward the inside.
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| Q. | What do you think was the cause of this tire slipping in?
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| A. | My theory is that the left driver setting on the base of the rail forced the engine over and slipped the tire, as it would be almost impossible to turn the right rail over as it was spiked down in first class shape; on account of the left drivers dropping on the ground something had to give and the weakest point would be the one to give on account of the rail not turning over.
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Page Three.
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| Q. | Did you have the engine the day before?
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| A. | No sir, I took her while she was in the trouble and helped put her on the track.
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| Q. | There was no indication of the tire trouble at that time?
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| A. | No sir, these wheels were on the rails that day had nothing on the ground.
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| Q. | What do you think left the track first?
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| A. | I would not dare to make a statement. I have no way of knowing. It was so dark I could not see anything.
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| Q. | The first thing you felt was the engine?
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| A. | Yes sir.
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| Q. | If your tank had gone off first you would have felt it?
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| A. | Yes sir.
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| Q. | If the cars would have jumped first you would have felt them first?
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| A. | Yes sir.
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| Q. | The first you remember the drivers dropped off?
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Re-examination by Mr. Higgins.
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| Q. | Did you notice anything on the ball of the rail on the right side where the flange was resting against the rail where it had been cutting as it forced against it?
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| A. | No sir, I did not notice. It looked bright as though something had rubbed along it.
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| Q. | Did you notice it being rubbed?
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Re-examination by Mr. Lehmer.
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| Q. | Are you familiar with our instruction as to speed of train making up time and careful running?
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| A. | I have understood they they do not want to make up time on the running time of three and four. It is the general understanding that if we make three and four's running time we make a good run.
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Examination of Jas. K. Leonard, Fireman.
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| Q. | You were the fireman on train 3, 25th?
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| A. | Yes sir.
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| Q. | Did you leave El Portal on time?
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| A. | Not over five minutes late.
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| Q. | Were you delayed anywhere?
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| A. | At South Fork for No. 2 about 30 minutes.
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| Q. | Do know what the running time is on No. 3?
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| A. | I do not. That was my first trip on this run this season.
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| Q. | You had fired on other runs?
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| A. | Yes sir.
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| Q. | In running from South Fork to point of the accident, were you running faster than you would consider schedule time in there?
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| A. | No. I had inquired from engineer down by Saxon Creek, I said are we making any time, he said, No." I remember distinctly having asked about this.
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| Q. | You have formed a pretty good idea of speed have you from your experience on the road?
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| A. | Yes sir.
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| Q. | What would you judge would be the rate of speed at the time of this accident?
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| A. | Not over ten miles per hour, he had set up his brakes.
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| Q. | What were you doing at the time the engine left the rails?
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| A. | I had just put on the injector, had hardly sat down.
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| Q. | Please tell us just what occurred at the time of the accident.
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| A. | At the time of the accident I remember a jerking and the tank went off. It began to jump and I put out the fire the first thing I did. I remember thinking if the engine went, it was going into the river. I shut the oil off and went out onto the running board, on his side. I did not get off before the engine stopped, then I jumped right back up and shut off the injector. The engineer said, "they are in the river, have you got a red light?" I did not wait for the red light. I grabbed up the red light and started back to protect the rear end.
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Page Four.
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| Q. | How far back did you go?
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| A. | I went pretty near to the second turn beyond North Fork and saw the log extra coming. I flagged the train and met Conductor Cody. I told him to go back to Mountain King and telephone that two coaches were in the river and everyone hurt. I met engineer Grant next and we cut off the engine to go down to the wreck. We set up ten or twelve brakes on the train when conductor came with his telephone outfit and said he did not go back to telephone but would cut in at the wreck. We hurried on down to the scene of the wreck.
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| Q. | Do you know what caused the engine to leave the track?
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| A. | I do not think the engine left the track until later. I did not think the engine was off the track until I looked at it later.
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| Q. | You knew the engine tank was off?
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| A. | Yes sir, tender made quite a noise. It was after we stopped till we heard the cars rolling.
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| Q. | As you were coming along there, did you notice anything unusual about the track?
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| A. | Did not notice anything.
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| Q. | Before getting on the engine at El Portal, did you examine the engine?
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| A. | Yes sir, examined it all over. She was in the yard a couple hours and I looked it all around.
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| Q. | Did you look it over more than usual?
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| A. | Not a great deal more, although we did at Bagby. We gave her a better examination at Bagby before we went back to El Portal
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Examination by Mr. Handford
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| Q. | I understand that they found some tire trouble in the forward right hand driver. Did you notice it?
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| A. | I noticed it the next morning, 2 1/2 hours later. Some one said the tire had slipped and I went and looked at it.
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| Q. | You were firing the engine the day before when the train was in trouble?
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| A. | No sir.
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Examination of R. E. Stites, Car Inspector. By Mr. Lehmer.
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| Q. | What position do you hold?
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| A. | Car repaired.
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| Q. | How did you happen to be on No. 3 the night of June 25th?
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| A. | We had some cars derailed the day before and Mr. Higgins sent me back to El Portal and told me to look them over carefully and come back with them, which was on No. 3, June 25th.
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| Q. | Where were you riding?
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| A. | I was riding on the combination car in the second seat from the back on the left hand side.
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| Q. | What passengers were in the car with you?
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| A. | Mr. Harris, a couple of tourists were on the opposite side and the brakeman and Conductor and myself on the other side. There were six of us.
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| Q. | What was your experience during the accident?
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| A. | I was laying down in the seat and must have dozing off. There was a kind of jerking and I saw everyone else jump and I jumped up and started for the door and about that time something threw me back and that is as far as I can remember. Only I recollect the experience of going down.
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| Q. | You had gone up and down the road frequently, did you at any time notice the train running faster than you thought it should for their schedule time?
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| A. | They took pretty good caution that night. He was not running very fast.
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Examination By Mr. Handford
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| Q. | Can you tell what time the accident happened?
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| A. | It must have been between nine and 9:30 because we met No. 2 at South Fork at exactly 9:00.
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| Q. | How long did you wait at South Fork?
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| A. | 1/2 or 3/4 of an hour.
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| Q. | What is the leaving time at El Portal?
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| A. | 8:00 o'clock.
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Page Five.
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Examination of F. L. Higgins, SMP. By O. W. Lehmer
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| Q. | Were you at the place of the derailment of the day before?
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| A. | Yes sir.
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| Q. | Did you look the engine over?
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| A. | Yes sir, I did. I also had James Leonard go over it. Also examined the cars thoroughly. I sent car repairer Stites back to El Portal with the cars and told him to look them over there again.
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| Q. | Who brought the engine into Bagby the night after the accident?
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| A. | Engineer Wilkie.
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| Q. | Was the engine derailed in moving it from point of accident to Bagby?
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| A. | Yes sir, they had her off two times I believe.
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Examination by Mr. Handford.
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| Q. | What is the distance between centers on the driving wheels?
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| A. | Eight feet nine inches.
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| Q. | What on your lead truck?
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| A. | I could not give it off-hand. I can furnish you the full engine specification.
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| Q. | This tire was put on when?
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| A. | About three weeks ago.
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| Q. | On the day before, do you know if any portion of the engine was off the rail.
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| A. | The rear drivers and tender trucks were off.
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Examination by Mr. Tuttle
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| Q. | Were you on the train that went off the night before?
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| A. | Yes sir.
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| Q. | Did the train run any distance before it was stopped?
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| A. | About two car lengths.
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| Q. | The rear driver was off was it?
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| A. | Yes Sir. All we had to do was to pull the engine onto the track.
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Page Six.
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| Q. | Did you make any particular examination of the drivers?
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| A. | Yes sir, went all over it.
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| Q. | Did you use the usual methods for determining the tightness of the tire? How do you do that.
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| A. | You tell by the sound when they are cold and by the way they shrink. The fits are made in the factory.
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| Q. | Tires do get loose do they?
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| A. | Sometimes.
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| Q. | Do you know whether it is caused by putting on the emergency?
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| A. | Well I do not think it was in this case. Do not think he had time. Continual grinding of the brakes until they get hot might loosen the tire.
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| Q. | Your judgment is that it would require considerable time to develop heat?
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| A. | Yes sir. That is a slip. These marks show it has been forced right off. The tires have a 2 1/2 inch leeway.
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| Q. | It requires quite a pressure to put it off?
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| A. | Yes sir, it does.
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| Q. | Considering the engine accident, to what do you attribute the pushing of the tire?
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| A. | The way the wheels were pushed in between the rails, on the right hand side of the wheels were on the rail wedged up against it, and on the left hand side the wheels were down on the web of the rail, and the tire on the right side was wedged in with heavy pressure.
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| Q. | You want to be understood that if the tire was pressed in only an inch, that would not have been enough to let the wheel off the track?
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| A. | Certainly not.
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| Q. | Then there must have been more than an inch.
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| A. | No sir, The rails might have let them off.
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Examination of Geo. Dudley RM. By Mr. Lehmer.
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| Q. | What is your position with this company?
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| A. | Roadmaster.
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| Q. | How long have you been in the employ of the Yosemite Valley RR?
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| A. | Since April 20th, 1909.
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| Q. | How long as roadmaster?
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| A. | Since March 15th, 1913.
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| Q. | As roadmaster what are your duties?
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| A. | See to the safety of the track and bridges and keep track of water services.
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| Q. | Where were you employed before entering the service of the Yosemite Valley R. R. Co?
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| A. | Way roadmaster for the Sierra Ry Company about five months.
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| Q. | And previous to the Sierra Ry Company?
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| A. | As extra Gang foreman with the Western Pacific from March 1907 to September 1908.
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| Q. | And previous to your employment on the Western Pacific?
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| A. | Extra Gang foreman on the Santa Fe.
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| Q. | How many years experience have you had in actual track service?
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| A. | 18 years.
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| Q. | In general, what is your method in looking after the safety of your track?
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| A. | The section foreman goes over it almost every day. I go over it as often as opportunity permits. I go over it on foot probably once a month. Portions of it more frequently.
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| Q. | How often do you make the trip over the road?
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| A. | Twice a week and some portions of it every day.
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| Q. | You aim to ride on the rear of the train to watch the track?
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| A. | Yes sir. Well I aim to get most of it by walking over it, when I am riding, I ride the rear of the train.
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Page Seven
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| Q. | How do you inspect the defect the defective ties and material?
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| A. | Well a man can see the condition of the ties with his eye.
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| Q. | Your experience in track work has developed the faculty when a tie is deteriorating?
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| A. | Yes sir.
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| Q. | You do not have to dig down around it to determine?
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| A. | No sir.
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| Q. | You were not on the train the night of the 25th?
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| A. | No sir.
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| Q. | When did you first get on the ground after the accident?
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| A. | At 2:40 am with the relief train.
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| Q. | When you got there did you examine the track?
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| A. | The first thing we did was to take care of the engine.
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| Q. | After the relief train left, did you examine the track?
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| A. | Yes sir, at the first opportunity and looked at the position of the cars.
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| Q. | Tell us what you found.
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| A. | I found the engine with the pony trucks and drivers on the right hand side on the rail. The tank was on the ground. The two cars were down the embankment, forward truck of the forward Pullman was off the rail, all the rest were on the rail. The two left drivers were on the inside of the outer rail of the curve. The tire on the right forward driver was slipped one and one quarter inches rubbing the engine frame. Between the Pullman car and the engine the ties were badly cut and mashed and the outer rail was four or five feet from the ends of the ties. The inter rail was all right and in position in every way. The rail that the first Pullman stood on was partially turned, just canted over at an angle of about 30 degrees.
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| Q. | The cars or engine did not climb the rails?
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| A. | The outer rail of the curve was crowded out, it is a ten degree curve. The wheels left the rail at a point 63 feet west of point of tangent 2848 plus 3.7, of ten degree curve right hand west bound.
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| A. | Engine ran on the ties seven and one rail lengths. The track gauge is four feet nine inches, elevation four inches, eased off one inch to the 33 foot rail, line surface is good and could not be better.
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| Q. | What was the condition of the ties in this seven rail lengths prior to the accident?
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| A. | They were good, safe and in pretty good shape.
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| Q. | How long prior to the accident had the section foreman changed ties on that section?
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| A. | He had not changed any there, for the reason that we did not consider it necessary.
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| Q. | How long before had he worked on that curve?
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| A. | It had been some time. It is in good shape on solid rock.
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| Q. | Had he been changing ties close there?
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| A. | He has been changing ties more or less in spots all over the section.
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| Q. | He had been renewing ties recently?
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| A. | Yes sir.
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| Q. | And if necessary would have renewed on this curve?
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| A. | Yes sir.
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| Q. | He has been putting new ties right along?
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| A. | Yes sir.
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| Q. | How many new ties has he put in this section the past year?
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| A. | Put in about 500 to the mile, he has a seven mile section, about 750 ties.
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| Q. | Practically one fifth of the ties of his section were removed?
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| A. | Yes sir.
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| Q. | On your inspection of the track. have you been in the habit of looking after elevation and gauge?
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| A. | Yes sir, especially for elevation and gauge.
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| Q. | How long has the foreman now in charge been on that section?
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| A. | Almost since construction.
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| Q. | What is your opinion as to his qualifications as section foreman?
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| A. | He is a first class man.
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| Q. | Has he ever called you for renewals that you have not supplied within a reasonable length of time?
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| A. | No sir.
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Page Eight
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| Q. | What are your instructions to foreman in making requisitions?
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| A. | It is usual to make an estimate on the ties in the fall previous in the year you could expect to use them and when you have made your estimate put in you requisition.
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| Q. | Had your requisitions been filled?
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| A. | They are being filled. We had a requisition for 15,000 ties, have already had 5,000 and are getting them at Merced Falls as fast as we can use them.
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| Q. | Have you any opinion as to the cause of this accident?
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| A. | I think it was caused by loose drive tire. If the track had spread the wheels on the inside of the curve would have dropped off the rail. That is the usual case when the track spreads. The first thing to drop was the wheels on the outer side of the curve. Both these drivers were on the rail, that is the drivers on the inside. After we put the engine on the track, we used three hours and fifteen minutes covering five miles. We had her off two times and almost off the rail all of the way all the way down on all right hand curves. She just did hang on. Where she dropped off the rail we gauged up everything absolutely tight, four feet eight and a half inches. At four feet eight and a half, we would just catch the top of the rail on a right hand curve. As soon as she got into the curve the frame of the engine just carried the wheel on the other end of the axle right off the rail.
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Examination by Mr. Handford.
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| Q. | Do you know approximately when that piece of track was built through there?
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| A. | In 1907.
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| Q. | You know from the records when tie renewals were begun on the line in general?
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| A. | In the late summer of 1912.
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| Q. | In your plan of tie renewal your foreman first look up the schedule as to how many should go in?
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| A. | They make an estimate and I go over the track and if they have not ordered enough I increase the estimate.
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| Q. | Have estimates ever been cut down any?
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| A. | No sir.
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| Q. | Practically all the ties in the vicinity of this accident are pine?
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| A. | Yes sir, that sections entirely on pine. We have redwood ties Pleasant Valley to Bagby, Bagby to Briceburg are pine. From Briceburg to El Portal they are redwood with the exception of four miles tied half and half four miles from Briceburg.
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| Q. | You conform to the standard of 18 ties to the 33 foot rail?
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| A. | Yes sir, that is our standard, all plated.
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| Q. | As regards spiking, you are using the three hole tie plate?
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| A. | Yes sir.
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| Q. | Do you spike any different on curves?
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| A. | Double spike on all curves of three degree and over, and anything under three on tangent, single spike.
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| Q. | Do you maintain any track walkers?
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| A. | Not outside of the section gang.
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| Q. | Do you have a man in the gang who walks track?
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| A. | Yes, when they do not get over the track with car.
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| Q. | How long are your sections?
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| A. | Practically 7 1/2 miles. We have ten sections in 78 miles.
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| Q. | How many men to the section?
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| A. | Four men and a foreman. There are times when we increase that number. We have two sections that have six men where we have road work.
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| Q. | Have you any extra gang?
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| A. | No sir.
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| Q. | All maintenance is on the section gang.
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| A. | Yes sir.
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Page Nine.
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