Historic Pinole: Train Conductor "Cut to Pieces"

This week's Historic Pinole is a brief but brutal description of a train conductor's death in a railroad accident. The headline and sub-heads alone are horrifying. It's unclear why the conductor's crew didn't notice that he was was missing until the train reached Port Costa, after a stop to in Rodeo.

In any case, the tale is a reminder of the occupational hazards workers faced in the 19th Century.

The article is from the Oct 24, 1894 edition of the Sacramento Daily Union newspaper.

BODY TERRIBLY MANGLED.

Frightful Accident to a Freight Conductor Near Pinole.

FELL BENEATH THE CARS AND WAS CUT TO PIECES.

(Speical to the RECORD-UNION)

PINOLE, Oct. 23.—Conductor George Elliott, of freight train No. 31, fell from his train, just east of Pinole, about 10:30 last night, and was cut to pieces. He was so badly cut up that the remains were gathered in a barley sack. It is presumed he was walking over the train from the caboose to the head end to assist in unloading freight at Rodeo, when he slipped and fell. His train crew did not miss him until they reached Port Costa. Mr. Elliott was about 30 years of age and very popular among the railroad people. He has been married only about six months.

This article comes from the California Digital Newspaper Collection, Center for Bibliographic Studies and Research, University of California, Riverside https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cdnc. The collection has digitzed more than 400,000 images from newspapers in the 19th and 20th centuries. Images dated between 1846 and 1922 are in the public domain and not subject to copyright.