Crash on the NG

Forwarded by a friend-

The Denver and Rio Grande head-on crash, Toltec, CO – 29 September 1922
The Fourth Division of the Denver and Rio Grande Western extended from Alamosa, CO to Chama, NM, 92.41 miles. This narrow-gauge, single-track line through fascinating and varied scenery still exists as a tourist museum carrier. On 29 September 1922, the daily-except-Sunday Alamosa-Durango Train No. 115 had engine No. 169, 2 baggage cars, a baggage-RPO, 2 coaches and a parlor car, all of wooden construction. It left Antonito, 30 miles east of Toltec, at 9.20 am, about an hour behind time, holding order No. 24: "No 115 Eng 169 run one 1 hour late Lava to Osier fifty 50 mins late Osier to Cumbres," a clear and perfectly understandable order.

Engine 411 had broken a main rod, and was limping to the shops at Alamosa for repair. Extra 411 East received order No. 24 at Cumbres, 20 miles west of Toltec. Operator Lively said Engineman Smith read the order back to him correctly in the office. Fireman McGuire said when Smith climbed into the cab he said: "We have an hour and fifty minutes on No. 115, so I guess we can go to Big Horn." Extra 411 departed Cumbres at 9.35 am in fine, clear autumn weather, with the aspen already golden. No. 115 and Extra 411 met about a mile east of Toltec at 11.10 am, moving at about 18 mph and 15 mph, respectively, on a curve that varied from 3° to 20° on a grade from 0.17% to 1.42%, with a cliff on one side and a canyon on the other, visibility less than two carlengths. The engineman and fireman of No. 115 were, unfortunately, killed, and 23 others were injured.
There was no conductor present, since Extra 411 was a light engine, but we expect from all other experience that a conductor would have made no difference. It is clear that a wrong impression, in this case the adding of the hour and the fifty minutes, once formed is persistent. The fireman did not read the order; if he had, his impression might have been different. After the collision, the order was quite clear to engineman Smith.
Train Order Accidents (du.edu)