The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 27, 1902, Page 5

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1902, CORONER LELAND AND JURY LISTEN TO TESTIMONY OF WITNESSES WHO PARTICIPATED IN TERRIBLE RAILROAD DISASTER EXONERATE PROCRESOS OFFICERS Inspectors Bolles and Bulger Find No One to Blame. Determine That Oil Con- tained Low Grade of Gasoline. Declare It Was Unwise to Put Fluid Aboard Vessel When Men Were Working on Her. - — Captains Bolles and Bulger, United States local inspectors of steam vessels, completed their decision last evening on the explosion on board the Progreso on December 3, which caused the death of twelve persons. The decision is a com- prehensive epitome of all the evidence in the case as to the facts and as to the dif- ferent gualities of petroleum ofls and their ranges of flashing and burning. The.following are the findings From the testimony taken and an examina- tion of the bull made by us after the explo slon we are of the opinion that the wreck n_explosion the fuel tank oil time of the d ity of 1940 parre be used for fuel on on. It was pumped on the tug Sea Rover, carry the from th Ol ¢ any at Oleum, . to the dock where the Progreso lay GASOLINE IN THE OIL. d of this ofl taken from the <t afte tanks of the Union Ca nalvsis hemists n (Baume) gravi grees Fahrei temperature, the § of the forward fireroom was'9® feet 20° inches from ard end of the boiler. A 24| between the forward fireroom and the k. The bulkheads of the coffer b, 42 inches in lengt! in two at this place. SO HAD UNSAFE FUEL. consideration of the sed office th tandard ger, and might p he_explosion g IVETS TO BLAME. HOT R Then, the vessel not having been completed, and there be bout fifty aifferent least, the time stating some the gas evol flame wa was imposs Therefore, ferred upon us by secticn of the T Fiates Revised Statutes, we exoner: licensed officers of the steamer Prog: blame whatsoever in connection wi which resulted in her destruct h of twelve persons who wer time nelusion we would say that the use on steam vessels, esy flashed from 200 to 250 d hich we considered saf o laws prescribing the de ol to be used, it was impossible ted States Inspectors of St rmulate any rules or regulations in relation thereto, WELL ENOWN YOUNG MASON VICTIM OF PNEUMONIA Walter B. Burner, Assistant Secre- tary of Republican State Cen- tral Committee, Dies. Waiter Burner, only son of Henry Bur- xier, registrar of the Scottish Rite Ma- sons, passed away at his home, 1214 Noe street, on Christmas eve. The deceased was 32 years of age and was widely Jnown and popular in the city. During 1he last political campaign he acted as as- tant to .Secretary Wilson of the Re- ublican State Central Committee. The de- ceased was a prominent member of Oc- cidental Lodge of Masons and of the Ger- man Club of this city. A little over a week ago he was stricken down with pneumonia and he lay in a precarious condition for several days be- sre the end came.. The young man had most promising future and he was be- ved by all who knew him, owing to his good natured manner and sunny sition. ¢ funeral will take place to-morrow from the Masonic Temple; the interment will be at Mountain View Cemetery, Oak- land. Newspapers are now being sold through & machines nfin. 1 &utomatic in Ber] on board | EOWIN _AUSTIN | HE first official blame for the steps to fix the terrible railroad saster at Byron last Saturday t were taken yesterd b; oner Leland and a jury com n citizens of this city. E dduced at the inquest that dence was rounding the lamentable accident. KEd- win James Joyce, the fireman on the Stockton fiyer, admitted under oath thas both himself and Engineer McGuire saw | the danger signal flashed by the brake- of the but claimed the man had not proceeded the required ance from his train provided by the rules of the company. Witnesses told what they had done to prevent the accident and others testified what had oc wcdiately before the cras! Many witnesses were examined re are to be subvenaed to give evi- nce. Engineer McGuire, upon whom ap- man n de parently an effort is being made to place the blame, was unable to appear before the Coron He was represented at the inquest yesterday rafiroad company r present o gu: The inquest erday was held over the bod lents of this city who lost their lives in the disastcr. The r omposed of the.following citi- by als an attorney. o had a legal ad- its interests. Beale stregt; . Crist, street; C. W. g, 512 rd street: C. L. Lej Mission t; George Blasdell, 151 Minna street rkery, 1i¢ First street, and H. Spear street. Eeaaarrs o HAD CEARGE OF THE OWL. Conductor Dolan Tells’ What He Did to Prevent Collision. , conductor on the Owl was the first witness called by the | Coroner. He testified that he resided at 7 Geary street, this city, and has been the employ of the Southern of the it continues tination. The rive 2t Fresno at 10 ductor of the train that was | Stockton flyer. ident occurred De- | cember. I looked at my watch. | We left the mo se. Taere was nothing to delay us re on time until we reached Port Costa, when the air would not re- lease from the train and the engineer had | trouble getting to the water tank. I do not know why the air stuck. 1am not responsible o that. The e attends to it. We ere delayed We | lost a little tim did not steam well. all right, but were not making the usual run- ning time. The engine was not heavy enough landle the train. After we left Port Costa we did not make up time. The Owl is a long train. Nothing else transpired until the acci- Gent. T think we were steadlly losing time. I d der it dangerous, as we were far head of other trains and could keep out of the After leaving Oakland, we are ordinari- -two minutes spart. From the time topped at Byron untll wg were struck, I nutes elapsed. = We are due at nd the Stockton fiyer Is due at Everything was all right. There sufficient time between the trains. “Why did your'train stop at Byron?” asked Coroner Leland. “‘On account of the engine,” replied the Vh u do at Byron when the train stooped? “1 was sitting at a desk in the buffet car checking up my tickets. I felt the train coming to a stop and got out. I opened up the vestibule and by that time the train had stopped. My brakeman got out at the front of the buffet car and was on the ground ahead of me. The en- { ginecer was also on the ground. He said to the brakeman, ‘Where is Bill?’ meaning me, and was answered, ‘Here he is," as 1 came up. Engineer Kerr then sald to me, ‘Bill, my engine is dead. See if you can get a freight train to take us to Tracy.’ 1 then turned to my head brake- man and,said, ‘Ed, go back and see that George is out flagging 84, which is the Stockton flyer. I went back to the engine and then crossed and looking back I saw the rear brakeman had already gone back. He had a red and white Jantern. My front end brakeman went on back. I got half way to the depot, which was 600 feet away, when I heard the en- gineer of the flyer give two short blasts of the whistle, immediately after he gave the whistle for the station. I walked into the depot and sent the following tel- egram to the dispatcher; ‘1411 is dead. Will have to take engine 1250. Have an- Effort Is Made to Place Blame for Wreck on Engineer of Stockton Flyer. I | throws more light on the conditions sur- | | | The | two short blast f | Buchanan street; W. | other engine at Tracy.” Just as I finished the dispatch the station agent's wife came in and , “The Stockton flyer has run into the Owl!” ) “Did you consider your dutles ended when you sent the flagman back?” % v he had gone, and I sent an extra man back as extra precaution to see that he had gone. He had seven minutes. That was plenty of time.” What distance should he have gone oR?" “He should have gone back as far as he could.” “What are the rules of the company— be how far are flagmen expected to go back?"” “Between a quarter and a half mile.” “What are the duties of a rear brake- man going back?” \ He is supposed to go back the moment the train comes to a standstill. In stormy or udy weather he must use torpe- dce: “What were the weather donditions on this night?” , “It was a clear, dark night.” “Where were you when you heard the = “I was half way between the Owl en- and the station.” “What time did you arrive at Byron?" asked a juror. “We arrived at T The fiyer was due at Byron at 7:12,” replied the witnes. “You are absolutely certain you arrived there at “1 looked at my watch.” & minutes did you lose from Oakland mole to Byron?” enty minutes.” “Do you think the flagman had time to g0 back.” ) “Yes, sir.” The witness tedfified that the brake g | man's 1 erns were in first-class con@ tion. He id he sent a brakeman back to notify the rear brakeman to flag the | train, and when you sent the latter back he did not consider there was any fur- ther danger. “When you heard the whistle of the Stockton flyer, how far in the rear of your train was it?” asked Frank P. Kel- ttorney for the railroad. early half a mile,” replied Dolan. “Then when you heard those whistles | the fiyer's engineer had plenty of time to stop—he had plenty of time to come to a lete stop without touching the rear our train? V. Meyers, an attorney for Engineer | McGuire, questioned the witness closely. | He w unable to shake Dolan’s testi- mony. The attorney objected to Dolan giving his surmises on the wreck, but the oroner overruled his objections, inform- i him that the engineer would receive protection. 1 might say,” said Dolan, “the en- gineer evidently did not expect to find the Owl at the station—"" “I am representing the engineer,” in- terrupted Meyers, “and I don’t think it is falr for this witness to attempt to say what the engineer thought.” “Let this witness make his statement,” said Dr. Leland. “Before a Coroner’s jury it makes little difference. We will do all we can to protect the engineer.” “He evidently expected to find a freight train at the lower end of the yard,” con- tinued the witness. ““He never expected to find the Owl there. He was going to slow down by the station, but instead of finding the freight he found the Owl 600 feet west of the station. He should have scen the lights of the Owl at least one mile back. That was giving him a big margin. The lights on the track should bhave warned him miies back, as he had a clear track and the going was level.” FLASHES SIGNAL TO FLYER. George B. Cole, the rear brakeman on the Owl, who flashed the signal to the on- coming Stockton flyer, was the next wit- ness examined. He sald he lived at 2131 ‘Ward street, Berkeley, and was a pas- senger train brakeman by occupation. He stated he had been in the employ of the ccmpany since 1885 and had been running on the Owl for the past two years. In kis statement he said: 1 did not learn anvthing was wrong with the train until we reached Byron. I observed we were a little behind time. I think we were fourteen or fifteen minutes behind time at By- ron. Before the train came to a standstill I was off the train and was trotting back with my lighted lanterns to flag the fiyer. I could see the flyer coming. 1 should judge it was about four miles away. I could see her head- light very plainly and I ran l:grd it. She was traveling at the rate of a a minute. It would have reached our train In four or five minutes. I think I was back a quarter of a mile when the engincer answered my sighal. He answered my signal with two toots. This was {immediately after he whistled for the sta- tion. He had sufficlent time to slow down (- ter he whistled. He could have stooped and on THE WITNESS... . WITNESSES WHO TESTIFIED AT DIED AFTER BEING BROUGHT - THE REMAINS OF THE VICTIMS OF THE BYRON DISASTER WHO INQUEST HELD YESTERDAY OVER TO THIS CITY. g o Fireman Joyce Testifies He Saw the Lights of the Owl When 2000 Feet Distant. picked me up. I stepped off the track on the engineer's side. As soon as the flyer passed me I started back. When the train passed me the whedis on the engine were revolving. The | brakes were noi set. Had they been set T would have knewn it, as I would have seen the sparks when the brakes came in contact with | the wheels. “What were the condition of your lamps on the rear of the Owl?” asked the Cor- oner. “My lamps were in splendid condition,” enswered Cole. “When did you last see the lamps?” ‘“After the engineer answered my sig- nal 1 looked back toward the Owl and | saw the lights plainl; At what distance from the train could you have seen those lights?” “Oh, this night those lights could have been seen at a distance of two miles.”” “Did the forward brakeman deliver the message to you?” o, sir.” t was your duty to flag the train?” acked Attorney Meyers. “Yes, sir,” sald Cole. “If it were shown that. you neglected that duty you will be held severely re- sponsible?” Yes, sir.” ‘Where were you riding before the ac- cident?" “In the rear coach. I was on the rear platform because the coach was filled and because I could see the headlight on the other train.”” ’ “Did you think the other train was too | close to you?” ' “No, sir. I rode coach was: crowded.” “How did you know vour train was go- ing to come to a dead stop?” “You can tell by the motion train.” “Why did you swing your lantern when the other train was three miles away?"” “I simply swung the lan.ps as I ran toward the oncoming train. I would nat- urally swing them by running.” ENGINE BREAKS DOWN. Louis C. Kerr Testifies to Disabling of Locomotive. Louis C. Kerr, engineer on the Owl, was the next witness. He sald he lived at 2312_Fulton street, Berkeley, and was a locomotive engineer by profession and had been in- the employ of the Southern Pacific Company since 1872. Continuing he said: I have been running a passenger train for twenty years. 1 have been on this line eleven years. I have been on the Owl run for nearly four years. The number of the engine I had on the night of the accident was 1411. She was one of the best engines of her kind in her class. She was a passenger engine heavy enough for the work assigned her. 1 inspected the englne before it was turned over to me. It was assigned for the rur by the foreman of the roundhouse. The Inspectors look over the en- gine and pass upon It before it leaves the i roundhouse. 1 knew the engine was in good condition by Inspecting it myself. 1 had run the engmne before. I used her a month ago. She was in good trim. “How long after leaving Oakland did you find she was not fit for the work?” “Between Brentwood and Byron.” “What caused the delay at Port Costa?"’ “The track was greasy and we ran : little past the water tank.” “When dld you notice that this engine was not capable of making the time?" “We noticed it after passing' Neroley. ‘We gave her a good sanding and she re- ‘sponded all right." She was In good trim Urtil she reached Brentwood. We passed that station four minutes late and when we arrived at Byron we were six minutes late. We passed Brentwood at forty miles an hour. As we neared Byron she grad- there because the of the ually slowed down. We passed Brent- wood at 6:56 and I figure we arrived near on station at' 7:04.” to make the station at “Yes, sir, but we could not.” “How much steam did you have?” ‘‘About forty or fifty pound “Why didn’t vou signal the brakeman to go back and flag the flyer?” *“I did not have enough steam.” “Was it your duty to whistle to the brakeman to go back?"’ “Yes, it was my duty, but I did not deem it necessary, because when I jump- ed down I notified the conductor and he sent the front brakeman back.” “How many tubes were leaking?” “I did not notice.” ““Was your boiler leaking when you left the roundhouse?” “No, sir.” “The conductor says you were twenty minutes late and the brakeman says you | were fifteen minutes late at Byron, and | you say you were only six minutes late. ! How do you account for the discrepancies in time?" asked Coroner Leland. “L don’t know why. They must have been mixed up by the questions,” replied “We try to make our questions plain," replied the Coroner. “Did you hear the Whistles of the oncomjng train?” “No, sir. i was working near the fire and ghe noise prevented me from ng them.” “In cases of this kind, where you are in charge of a train like the Owl, running on specified time, when yeu are losing ume what extra precautions do you take to prevent accidents?” “I depend upon the crew—on the rear brakeman and the tail lights.” “Then there is nothing to guard thne safety of the passengers but the rear brakeman?’ “The conductor is in charge train.” “Did you communicate with the con- ductor after leaving Brentwood?"” “No, sir.” “You have signals?"”’ “Yes, sir; whistles.” ““Had you blown your whistles is it likely that the flver's engineer wopld have heard them?" “1 don’t know.” “How many pounds of steam would it take to blow your whistle?’ “I never tried that.” ‘“‘Is there any signais to give to an on- coming train?” “No, sir. Only to a rear brakeman.” “You didn’t feel called upon to make any demonstration on account of the rear train?” “Only to notify the conductor. Let me explain. When we sent the brakeman back to notify Cole to flag the train wo saw a light on the ground at the rear end of the train. I saw him start toward the fiyer and expected the train to be stopped by the rear brakeman.” “If you had discovered any serious trcuble with the engine after you took her out of the roundhouse would you have taken her out on the run?” “No, sir; I would have reported it to the foreman of the roundhouse.” Attorney Meyers then took the witness in hand and asked: “‘Would you, as a practical engineer, want to rely upon a whistle to warn you of danger?” “No, sir,” replied Kerr. ““Is that the reason you did not use a whistle?” ““We never use a whistle for something of the four or five miles away."” “Is it not a matter of pfactical knowl- < ) McGuire Is Unable to Attend the In- quest. DWIN JAMES JOYCE, fireman on the Stockton flyer, was the most important witness at the evening session. He came to the Coroner’'s office bearing the marks of his se- vere experience on board the engine that crashed into the rear car of the Owl traln. His face was covered with burns from the scalding steam and his right hand was bandaged. Joyce did not prove a good witness for himself or for the rall- road company. He was fearful of in< criminating himself. His evidence was full of contradictions and it was difficult to pin him down to facts. He has evi- dently not recovered from the terrible experience through which he went. Joyce stated under examination that he has been in the employ of the railroad company for the past four years; that he worked his way up from wiper and was ambitious to be an engineer. He said the trip on last Saturday night was the first he has had on the flyer. He said the fiyer was running on time and that he gave the engine sand three or four times during the trip. He swore En- gineer McGuire was not drinking and was in full command of his senses on the night of the disaster. Joyce admitted that he saw the rear lights of the Owl about 2000 feet distant. He also saw the flagman’s signal, and that McGuire saw the signal about the same time and at once proceeded to slacken the engine’s speed. He said he saw the lights in the rear of the Owl about the same time he saw the signal waved by Brakeman Cole. In his testi- mony the witness said: I saw the red light on the track, but he was not out the required distance—fifteen tele- graph poles. We could see the lights on the back of the Owl about 2000 feet. 1 don’t think we are accountable for that aceldent. Had that brakeman béen out further than he was, we would have had a better chance to stop’ the train. When I saw the lights I thought it was freight train 238, which runs from Oakland to Tracy. I know we were going into the train. I braced myself to pre- vent being thrown out of the window. Engi- neer McGuire tried to stop the train. He did everything he could to stop. roner Leland and the members of the jury questioned the fireman for more than an hour. He contradicted himself re- peatedly. e was evasive in his answera and befogged the whole testimony. Dur- ing the examination Attorney Meyers, who has been engaged to look after the interests of Engineer McGuire, had a lit- tle tilt with’ the Coroner. Meyers asked the witness the fpllowing question: “Is It not a fact, Mr. Joyce, that e man riding on an engine running at sixty miles an hour, who sees lights on the rear of a train, with eternity staring him in the face, is unable to take note of all the little matters that you have been asked about?” The Coroner objecied to the style of question and Meyers asserted that an effort was being made to pin the witness down on the merest detafls and to force him to admit finally things that would incriminate him. % “If you will permit me, Mr. Meyers,” said the Coroner, “this investigation is directed purely through me. In regard to criticising our method, you may leave | that out.” “But the witness is evidently not in a condition to testify,” retorted Meyers. “You will allow us to judge of that.” Attorney Kelly of the railroad company declined to ask the witness a question because he believed Joyce was not him- sélf. George J. Duncan and G. F. Swartz, two brakemen on the Stockton flyer, were interrogated at length. They testified that they feit the alr brakes being set a few seconds before the accident. They sald that after the air brakes had been set and the emergency brakes put cn the train continued for more than a thousand feet before it struck the rear end of the Owl. An effort will be made to-day to take the testimony of Engineer McGuire at the Southern Pacific Hospital. If the doctors will permit the man to give his testimony the Coroner and jury will visit the hospital. All the railroad employes who testified yesterday will testify again at Martinez to-da. e e e e e e ] ) edge ‘that an engineer riding on an an- gine running at a high rate of speed can- not hear a whistle?” “No, sir; he cannot hear a whistle. The noise is too great.” Harry Hayman, the roundhouse fore- man, was placed on the stand in order to AT BYRON AILAOAD MES THE COAL KINS Balks Movement Insti- tuted on Behalf of the Poor. Knoxville PhilanthropistFiles Allegation of Discrimi- nation. yr— WASHINGTON, Dee. 26.—F. W. Austin of Knoxville, Tenn., trading as the “Live 2nd Let Live Coal Company,” which he says was formed to supply coal to the poor and whose profits are donated to the Knoxville Women's Christian Associ- ation for the poor, has flled a complaint with the Interstate Commerce Commis- sion, alleging that the Southern Rallway is discriminating in the supply of cars for the coal trade. Austin says his company’'s charges are ‘“greatly below the extortlonate charges per ton exacted by the other coal deal- ers of Knoxville,” and that these dealers have formed a combination and fixed a schedule of prices and agreed not to seil below this schedule. The complaint alleges that, in supply- ing cars for the transportation of coal fromy the mines at Jellico, Tenn., to Knox- ville and other points on the southern and connecting lines, the defendant com- pany Is discriminating against the com- plainant, the owners of the mines ship- ping to the complainant, the consumers and the city of Knoxville itseif, and that the railway company is legally required to supply the complainant with sufficient cars to enable it to do business and com- pete on equal terms with other estab- lished coal dealers in Knoxville. An in- vestigation is asked for. @ il oo e | tell what he knew of engine 1411, which was uged in pulling the Owl train. The witp€ss said it was a good machine and that it had been inspected by him. He szid engines would break down if they were just out of the shops. He read the following report on the engine: May, 1896—Came out of shop with mew fire x. May 29, 1902—Came out of shops with general repairs. December 13, 1902—Boiler tested. Fire box tound in good 'condition. December 20—Examined her before her run and found her In good condition. The witness testified that the leaking tubes were repaired at Tracy and the en- gine was used the following day and is now in service. Ar adjournment was then taken for lunch and at the afternoon session Coro- ner Leland stated that it was impossible to take the testimony of Engineer Mec- Guire, as the latter was not in physical condition to attend the investigation. alter J. Sewell, fireman on the Owl, corroborated the testimony of Emgineer Kerr. He stated that engine 1411 was a good mathine. He had been on the Owl ren for the past three months. The wit- ness testified that the engine began te lag after it left Brentwood. He claims he did not hear the whistle of the oncom- ing flyer. He remained on his engine snd was trying to keep the boiler hot when the rear-end collision occurred. Ecéwin Austin, a passenger brakeman on the Owl, was the next witness. He testified that he did not notice anything wreng with the Owl train until it stopped at Byron. He said he got off and ap- proached the engineer and while with the iatter was instructed by Conductor Dolan to go back and warn the rear brakeman to flag the flyer. He said he was hurry- ing back and had reached the dining car when he saw Brakeman Cole running up the track with two lanterns in his hands. The witness testifled that he heard the whistles answering Cole’s danger signals. Austin was subjected to a very close ex- cmination, but his testimony was not shaken. FORMER NARROW ESCAPE. Conductor Tells How Stockton Train Overtook Owl on Previous p- C. H. Schu, conductor on the StWckton Flyer, proved an excellent witness. He created a sensation by saying that on the previous trip of the Owl his train had cvertaken the Owl near Port Costa; that a collision was avoided at that time by 1eason of the fact that the brakeman had gone back 500 yards and flagged his en~ gineer. In part he testifled as followsy I am a conductor on the Stockton Flyer. I reside at 2035 Eagle avenue, Alameda. [ have been in the employ of the Southern Pa- | cific Railroad for sixteen years. I have been I -passenger conductor for six years. I have been on the Fiyer for the past two years. It is called the Fiyer because it makes the fastest time of any train the company has got. It run sixty miles an Hour. On the DigE:t of the accident we left Oakiand on time. We were about a minute late at ‘ntioch & a minute lata at Brentwood. We knew by the time table. another train was ahea Yes, trains have been cl ogether. 1 caught them before they reached Port Costa the day before. They were delayed by another train on the track. Wa did not run into them be- cause the flagman was back about 500 feet. I was in the rear coach of the Fiyer at the time of the coliision. The first I knew that something was wrong was when I heard the brakes being appiied. I got up and then the, shock threw me forward. [ at once quiseted the fears of the women passengers, and hav- ing lighted my lantern, I stepped off to ses what was the matter. x sent my brakeman back to flag_any train that might be coming behind us. When I got out of the car I saw Brakeman Cole coming toward me. He car- ried two lanterns and was running. When I saw him he was four or five car lengths away. The engineer could have seen the tafl lights of the Owl several miles away. I have seen them from Brentwood to Byron, James Rumsey, a brakeman in the em~ ploy of the Southern Pacific Company, residing at 1618 Thirteenth street, Oak- land, testified he wgs in charge of the freight train on the siding at Byron. He swears he saw the brakeman swing his light and heard the answering signal. He said he thought everything was all right and after seeing the brakeman flag the train turned around and was watching his men uncoupling the engine from the freight when he heard the crash. He is of the opinion that the engineer had ample time to stop his engine if the air was, working all right. Louis E. Taber, a brakeman on the freight train, testified that he heard the vhistles and told what he did after the anmer. He was unable to throw farther light on the case. g An adjournment was taken until the evening in order that two witnesses froms Stockton could reach this city. —_—— : VISITS SCENE OF THE WRECK. MARTINEZ, Dee. 26.—Coroner Curry of Ceontra Costa County, accompanied by the jurymen who have been sworn in to in- vestigate the Owl train disaster, went to Byron this morning to view the scene of the wreck. T. A. McMahon, a surveyor, also went along to measure off the dis- ances from the depot and other points of importance suggested by members of the jury. Coroner Curry is determined to leave no stone unturned to get at the facts and to place the blame where it be- longs. - The jury will meet to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, when the inquest will commence. Coroner Curry has been informed by the railroad officials that all those who were killed in the collision have been identified - and their remains cared for.