While reading the Lassen Advocate for 1924 I came across this article about a NCO train wreck. I promised a friend whenever I came across of such, I would transcribe and send it along. Since there are some rail fans who subscribe, who may enjoy, too.

Lassen Advocate, May 16, 1924 – “NCO Train Nearly Wrecked. The train from Alturas yesterday came nearly wrecked a few miles from Karlo when on rounding a curve a section of the track as encountered that had been buckled from the intense heat.

”Approaching the curve at a speed estimated by W.R. Payne, a passenger, at 25 miles per hour. The engineer noticed the track was four or five feet out of line. He immediately applied the emergency brake and climbed down the gangway of the engine. He called the fireman to jump. The fireman jumped and suffered a badly sprained ankle. He was taken to Reno for treatment.

”The engineer who was standing in the gangway with one hand on the air brake and the other on the bad as thrown from the engine, but was not injured. The train went on perhaps the length of the block before coming to a stop.

”There were three or four freight cars containing lumber, a baggage car, passenger car and private car of S.H. McCartney, general manager of the railroad.

”Some of the cars left the track and the train was able to proceed after a delay of an hour. The brakeman acted as fireman to the terminus at Wendel.

”Passengers in the train experienced some queer sensations and one passenger declared that they hit an automobile as he had seen the man thrown from the car. That was the fireman who jumped from the engine.

”The cars careened over to one side and left the rails, but when they came back to the rails they staid on. Had the train been going at a lesser rate of speed when it hit there might have been a serious wreck but the speed at which hit, 18 to 20 miles an hour, was just the right speed to prevent any derailment.”

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