Re: C & C Narrow Gauge Then & Now photos #14 & new details...

Fireman Fitzgerald was pinned in the locomotive and very badly scalded by steam. Brakeman Oliver was pinned and crushed in the wreck. Both men died of their injuries before reaching the hospital. As the soil at the wreck site is quite loose it was probably not too difficult to extricate them both. But then they had to be transported to the nearest hospital which was in Sparks. Both men were probably loaded onto #8 and taken as fast as possible to Mina where a special train was made up to take them to Sparks. Oliver realized he was dying and had a telegram sent to stop his 10 year old son Ralph from leaving Promontory Point, UT (where he was staying with his deceased mom's grandparents) to come and visit his dad (Ralph turned 10 on the day hs father died. His mother had died in in 1908 and an older sister had died in 1905).
As Brian points out the weather appears to be cold even though it is June. We were there last June 13th and is was cold and rainy. Even the day after the rain it was cool with clear skies.
Here's the photo of the cast iron piece we dug up. At this point we still didn't know what it was....