Since Smitty asked for more SVRy accident reports, I will do one more. On Jan. 14, 1911 two section workers of Japanese decent from section 8 which was Dixie (MP69), took a push car to Prairie City (MP80). The following day part way up the long grade to Dixie at what the accident report referred to as mill spur (probably about MP72), the returning section workers flagged down train #22 and tied their push car to the back end of coach 20. One of the section workers T. Norieda, road the push car. Once the train was in motion again, the conductor W.F. Fuller was moving through the train to the back to collect fairs and spoke to Mr. Norieda on the push car to determine how many section workers were going to Baker as one of the other Japanese workers was in hospital. The man on the car answered 3 and then the conductor told him that the push car was a bad place to ride. Mr. Norieda stayed on the car none the less. The conductor stated in his report of the accident that the workers foreman Charlie Cook was on the engine and had warned the workers many times about riding the push cars. Then conductor Fuller returned to the baggage car to continue his paper work. As the train approached the switch for the lower switch back (MP68) Fuller told brakeman Jennings that he was going to the head end to see if the section foreman Cook riding in the cab was going to Austin, as the conductor had torn the back of his pants and hoped that Cook could run over to the conductors home and grab him a pair of pants. Fuller remained on the engine until they pulled over the switch. Once the back end of the train was clear of the switch brakeman Jennings lined the switch and gave a back up signal. Then engineer J.N. Ferguson eased the train back until the coach was 10 or 20 feet past the frog then gave it some steam. Fuller was on the side of the engine ready to step off, and as he hit the ground he looked to the rear and saw that the push car was 6 or 8 feet from the end. (I am not sure if he means that the push car was 6 or 8 feet from the end of the train, or from the end of the upper tail track, or 6 or 8 feet under the rear of the train). Fuller jumped back into the gangway and told Ferguson the engineer that they had hit something, and at the same time the emergency was pulled back on the train. Ferguson closed the throttle and stopped the train. When they investigated they found that the section worker Mr. Norieda was under the train and his body was "torn to pieces" per brakeman Jennings written account. Conductor Fuller walked to Dixie so that he could telephone the dispatcher in Baker for instructions. Brakeman Jennings and Austin town marshal Gibbs were left in charge of the body. The Grant county sheriff summoned a doctor from Canyon City to come make a report. The root cause of the accident was found to have been a short piece of wood that had somehow found it's way to laying across the rail when the push car was being shoved by the coach. The light push car with Mr. Norieda was thus derailed and and Mr. Norieda was thrown under the train which was traveling about 6 MPH at the time of the accident. The circumstances of the accident were put before a jury in Prairie City and the railroad and all other employees were exonerated.
