119 Years Ago
The August 3, 1905 Colorado Transcript described a gruesome train wreck, in which William H. Allen and David Ferguson, both railroad employees, were killed
The Black Hawk freight train was returning to Golden with 14 cars of ore and several empties, plus the engine and caboose. The article commented that such a heavy train would have been hard to manage even under good conditions, but conditions were not good that day, It had been raining, which had caused "slight washouts" on the track.
...Ferguson, who had been keeping close watch, mounted the engine at Smith Hill to point out the dangerous places between there and the Forks. As they suddenly rounded a sharp reverse curve a newly settled section of track was seen but a short distance ahead. Combined efforts of air and hand brakes failed to stop the heavy train, and the engine plunged twenty feet down the embankment to the bed of North Clear creek, followed by seven cars which piled on top.
Allen and Ferguson were buried under the mass, badly mangled, and in both cases death must have been instantaneous. When uncovered several hours later the dead engineer [Mr. Allen] still grasped the broken end of the air brake valve, showing that the Angel of Death found him faithfully performing his duty, as he had always done.
Colorado Transcript - August 3, 1905
"Billy" Allen had lived in Golden since he was six month old. The Transcript article described him as "one of the most popular railroad men on this division." Three of his brothers had also worked for the railroad, and none had ever been injured.
Funeral services were held at the Christian Church. Mr. Allen was a member of the Odd Fellows, the Volunteer Fire Department, and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen. All three organizations took part in the ceremony. He was buried in the Golden cemetery. William H. Allen left a wife and six children.
Six years after Billy's death, his widow, Elizabeth, remarried. Curiously, her second husband was also "William H" (last name Richards).
William H. Richards died in 1926, of asthma. His obituary described him as "a splendid old gentleman" who had "many friends here."
Elizabeth Allen Richards lived on until 1934, splitting her time between her home in Golden and long visits to her six children. Like her first husband, she died in a violent accident. She was a passenger in an automobile South Golden Road. The driver noticed a car approaching them, swerving erratically, and the two cars collided. Mrs. Richards and another woman died on the spot. Mrs. Richards was thrown from the car and run over.
The driver of the other car had been visiting the Rock Rest. He was found guilty of driving under the influence and causing the deaths of the two women. He was sentenced to 1-3 years in the state penitentiary.
I wanted a picture of William H. Allen's grave to accompany the article about the accident that killed him. What I found in the Golden Cemetery surprised me. Elizabeth Allen Richards is buried between her two husbands, and the three of them share a single marker.
