Grayson County TXGenWeb

The Snyder Signal
Friday, April 28, 1911

A KATY PASSENGER TRAIN IS WRECKED
Fireman Ed Pierson Thrown Headlong Into Furnace of His Engine

Cleburne, Texas, April 24 - (Special to the Signal) - The south bound passenger train over the Katy was wrecked at Connelly switch between Alvarado and Grandview last night and Engineer Williams of Denison instantly killed and Fireman Ed Pierson of the same city is missing and is supposed to have been pitched headlong into his own fire box and incinerated. No passengers were injured. The wreck was caused by a freight train standing on the switch, but too long and part of the cars reaching on the main track.

FATAL WRECK ON M.K. & T. RAILWAY
South Bound Katy Flyer Crashes Into Freight Train at Connelly

ENGINEER ON FLYER KILLED
Fireman Is Missing and Believed to Have Been Burned Up im Fire Box of Engine - No Passengers Hurt.
By Associated Press
Cleburne, April 24 - The south bound Katy Flyer struck a freight train at Connelly switch between Alvarado and Grandview last night, partially wrecking the passenger train and splintering a number of freight cars. Engineer Tom Williams of Denison was killed and fireman Ed Pierson, also of Denison, Texas, is also believed to have been pitched headlong through the door of his fire box into the engine furnace. He is missing and this theory is the only possible solution of the mystery of his disappearance. It is believed that his body was literally burned up.

No Passengers Hurt
No passengers were injured. The freight had taken a siding but was too long for the switch some of the cars remaining on the main line.

Mistaken Signals
Engineer Williams was one of the oldest men in the Katy service and had been running on the flyer for several years. Railroad men believe that Williams mistook a signal to the freight train for the "high ball" signalling him to come ahead.