Eastbound train 310 was involved in a grade crossing accident October 10, 1938 just east of Columbus, KS at Edgeman Road. The train, locomotive 186 with a combination mail-baggage car and combination chair-snack car, struck a 1928 REO Speedwagon loaded with 550 gallons of kerosene resulting in the deaths of the engineer and fireman as well as the driver of the truck and passenger on the truck. The ICC accident investigation report can be found on line in the ICC historical library. The locomotive had been moved as far as Carl Junction, MO. According to the notation on the back of one of the photographs, the rear driver tires had worked loose and the locomotive was set out. While you cannot make it out in the scan, the ownership marking on the rear of the tender of 186 appears to be for the K.C.M. & B. I found the below pictures in an antique store in Pierce City, MO several years ago. Jeff Cooney, Lindsay, TX
On page 78 of "Frisco Southwest", there's a 1940 version of that little train: Engine 186 (After repairs), 15' RPO-baggage and the coach-snack car. A "Pike-Size Passenger Train" indeed! Tom
Karl, cannot be absolutely certain, but I looked with a magnifying glass and it does appear to be a section of rail sticking out of the fire box. Why.....?
I note I have a copy of the accident report. I'll give it a look later today when I have some time to see what it says. Ken
I just had a few free moments, so I gave the accident report a read. This is ICC Investigation No. 2299 - Columbus, Kansas, 10/10/1938. SLSF 186 and its two-car train were not derailed in the accident. The train, and parts of the truck tank which were impaled on the pilot, came to rest 890 feet after the impact. The truck chassis was pushed 84 feet from the point of impact. The engineer, fireman and the two occupants of the tank truck, carrying 550 gallons of kerosine, were the four fatalities. The locomotive hit the tank truck behind the cab but just ahead of the rear wheels of the truck chassis. An immediate explosion and kerosine spray fire occured. The locomotive headlight was on and neighbors and crew reported hearing the whistle. Nothing suggests the rail in the firebox was the result of any aspect of the collision. It must have been put in there as part of the recovery. There is no mention in the report of any track being torn up. Ken
A poem and story about this wreck appears in the book Frisco Folks which was written by William Bain. The poem was later turned into a song entitled Frisco's Tommy Tucker by Wayne Moore and appears as the first song on the album A Treasury of American Railroad Songs, Ballads and Folklore made by Shiloh Records of Huntington Beach, California in 1997. Tommy Tucker was the Frisco fireman who perished and he was 49 years old. A story about the accident also appeared in the Columbus Kansas Daily Advocate on Sept. 10, 1938. I have a copy of the album and it is a good song. John Chambers
Would the rail (or any object) in the firebox door be there to keep the butterfly doors open?? Maybe to hold them open to put out the fire?? Tom
Or, a thought I had as a possibility - there was a section of rail laying along side the ROW. During the clean-up, the track gang shoved it in the firebox as a way to recover it and get it back to the shop/yard for reuse. Just a thought. ken
186 is an oil burner and wouldn't have had Butterfly doors. If you look closely, it looks like the firebox door has been removed.
