Whetzel - Engineer - Montgomery InGenWeb Project

Tuesday morning the train on the Monon due here at about 2 o’clock met with a disastrous wreck at South Raub and as a result four people are dead and many injured. The train left Lafayette at 12:40 in charge of Conductor Hubbard, and consisted of a baggage car, a mail car, smoker, ladies’ coach, and a Pullman parlor car. The train was very heavily loaded and was run by engineer Whetzel, of Lafayette, and Fireman James Hudlow. The train was running very rapidly and one of the officials of the road states that it was making close to sixty miles an hour. At South Raub, ten miles south of Lafayette, a freight engine and caboose in charge of Lewis Raub, engineer and Fireman Croft, was waiting on the sidetrack about fifty feet from the main line. Engineer Raub had been waiting for about half an hour and when he saw the headlight of the passenger was standing in front of his engine and waved his lantern that all was well and started back to his engine. An instant later the passenger dashed upon the sidetrack and Raub was caught and thrown fifty feet and his body when found was lying under the mail coach, terribly mashed. Engineer Whetzel bravely stuck to his post and reversed his engine and put on the air brakes. He was badly scalded and died at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Lafayette Wednesday morning. James Hudlow, the fireman, was instantly killed and his body was found in the ruins of the cab at one side of the track. The body of Thomas Croft, fireman on the freight, was found between the two engines, crushed into an unrecognizable mass.

(*Head Brakeman Kane, of Lafayette, who was responsible for the wreck, after the wreck, started at once for his home in Lafayette, where he was later arrested)

(*Details of crash are in this newspaper issue)

Note I did not find anyone in Indiana on FAGrave that would match this guy - he deserves a first name - anyone know, let me know and I will add it - kbz