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Show Pace 1IA THE HERALD. Provo. L'uh. SuiKlijr. February M. 1M0 On Center St. TheDayHeber Creeper ,Orem 4. Train Collided By N. LA VEFL CBRISTENSEN About the most unlikely place (or a train collision to occur would be Provo's Center Street at Second West, is the beart of the business district. Indeed, today there's nary a trace of a railroad SW--- '1 track risible at that location. the tracks But as many Provoans will recall of the Denver k Rio Grande's "Heber Creeper" once ran north and south, crossing Center Street at that point. And the Salt Lake It Utah Railroad electric ran east and west, intersecting the Heber Creeper's trackage. A train wreck did occur! It happened on Oct. 4, 1918, just before the close of who World War I. There are Provo but those interviewed had remember the col lisjo a bard time with the date, guessing all the way from 1915 to 1830. The Provo Post, a competitor of The Provo Herald of that era, twnnered the train wreck in its Oct. 4, 1918 issue. The Herald whose files are missing for that period) and the Salt Lake papers also chronicled the wreck. rs The of the 3 Post had a special advantage. H C. Hicks, one paper's editors, was in a good position to get the "scoop." He was a passenger on the interurban when it collided with the Creeper. We presume be wrote the story. Nobody was' killed. Damage was substantial but not massive the trains were going too slowly for that. Mayer Amecf Injured But 14 persons were injured enough to have their names listed in newspaper accounts. The list included some prominent people including Mayor LeRoy Dixon of Provo, Schools Supt. L. E. Editor Kicks, and Albert Mabey, later bishop of the Provo Fifth Ward who was the most seriously injured. For people too new in Provo to remember the trains involved in Hie Center Street happening: The so nicknamed for its speed (or "Heber Creeper" was the Heber Branch of the Denver k lack of it) Rio Grande. This particular line gave up the ghost 20 years or so ago and its trackage through Provo was pulled out to facilitate widening of Second West back In the late 1950s. The electric interurban, nicknamed the "Orem" after W. C. Orem, the engineer employed to build the line, was known officially as the Salt Lake ft Utah Railroad. It operated between Pavson and Salt Lake City and closed down Feb. 26, 1946 after more than three decades of service. (Orem City also was named for Mr. Orem.) Note: The D&RGW itself, of course, continues as n one of the railroads in the West and Midwest And the "Heber Creeper" is still very exd much alive in reincarnation as a cursion train operated from Heber to Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon by a group headquartered in Wasatch County. The "Creeper" is closed now for next May it inconstruction, but when it ) tends to operate y Three Cars Derailed While only three cars were derailed in the 1918 accident, the wreck was "historic" in a way, as this writer noted in a feature article after first researching the story many years ago. How often do two trams collide right in the heart of the business district? An alert Provo commercial photographer was on hand to get pictures of the wreck. He was Samuel B. Robinson, a partner with Samuel Jepperson in the Provo Photo Supply at about 75 N. University Ave. in that era. His daughter, Mrs. A. W. (Bernice) Adamson inherited her father's pictures. The photos reproduced on this page were loaned to the Herald by Mr. and Mrs. Adamson. One of the Provoans who remembers the collision quite vividly is Fred Nelson of 779 N. 750 W. He recalls that as passengers on the Orem interurban, he and his father and brother were bound for Salt Lake City to the state fair the day the accident occurred. Its passenger list swollen that morning because of both the state fair and LDS conference, the four-ca- r Orem pulled out of the Provo Station at First West and Center (where the J.C. Penney store is now located), at 8:45, westbound for Salt Lake City. The Heber Branch of the Rio Grande was southbound on Second West, approaching Center. Business buildings on the north side of Center obstructed each train's view of the other. n. The engine of the Heber REMEMBER Branch passeager-- f relfctt traia of Denver k Rio Grande Western Railroad (left) smacked the fourth passeeger S( it Lake It Utah Railroad interarbaa coach of a foar-ca-r trnia at the niter section of Center Street and Second West A WRECK TO J I lk ... 1, k 7l in Provo Oct 4, 1118. The impact derailed the engine tad its tender of the Rio Grande train and the passenger ear of the Interurban. Fourteen persons were injured, none seriously. Note boys in knee pants in foregromnA, horse-drawn vehicle at right and early-da- y nntomobile nver top of intenirbaa. Home hi background was located where Leraer's store bow stands and belonged to George Taylor, early-dabosinesiman. (Photo taken by Sanuel B. Robinson; bawd to Herald by Mr. and Mrs. A. W. Adam- y son ) W9re well-know- SDilWSQy steam-powere- ear-arou- (DEQCB Physicians treated the injured at the Provo Drug Store General Hospital; in the Sutton-Chas- e Dr. Walter T. of in office the and scene; the near Hasler. Hospitalization was required for only one or and this was brief. two persons Prisoners Take Tumble A sidelight on the wreck: Mr. Nelson remembered that the sheriff was aboard the Orem train, taking two prisoners to the state penitentiary. The prisoners were handcuffed together and went sprawling down the isle when the impact of the wreck occurred. Who was to blame for the accident? Newspaper comments seemed to disagree on this and we found no official report of the investigation in later issues of the papers. to the story, the interurban went on to AS a and the passengers Salt Lake City after the wreck the experience. had a nice time despite Those who attended the stair fair were happy because Utah County walked off with sweepstakes to hear Joseph honors- - and the conference goers got who was there sixth president, church'i F Smith the illness. severe 'after a to speak P-S- D) o The Competition and Dressworks shops throughout Utah are constantly working to bring you, our friends and customers, quality, high fashion merchandise at the lowest possible prices. We want you to be able to count on the Competition and Dressworks to always keep you one step ahead of fashion Flares or Straight trends. 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Three of the interurban's coaches cleared the track but the fourth was hit near the front steps by the steam engine of the Heber train. The Orem coach was derailed and damaged badly; the Heber brain's engine and tender also were derailed. Damage to the steam train was light. The Salt Lake k Utah Railroad coach incurred the brunt of the damage. Listed, by one newspaper or another as injured, were the four already mentioned plus E. D. Jones, Provo; Mr. and Mrs. Charles Cloward, Charles Reynolds and J. A. Loveless of Payson; Heber Timothy of Roosevelt, and Mrs. M. J. Finley, Mrs. Charles Evans, and Mr. and Mrs. Boyer of Springvil- - site n a, In the Dressworks, we have the look for everyone with the best selection anyone could hope to find. We have the New well as Straight Baggie, the latest fashion in the nation, as Legs, Flare, and Wide Legs. We feature Name Brands like Sticky Fingers, Rose Hips, Bearbottoms, Brittania for Juniors, Moodys Goose, Rocky Mountain, Oz and Single Spur. 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