JACKSON TRAIN HITS TRUCK AT U.S. 61

JACKSON -- Passengers on a St. Louis Iron Mountain and Southern Railway excursion train got a little more excitement than they had bargained for Wednesday when the train struck a pickup truck that pulled into its path at the U.S. 61 crossing.

The driver of the truck suffered minor injuries in the accident, the first involving the excursion railway.

Seventy-two passengers, all visitors from a Godfrey, Ill., bus tour, were on the train. No one on the train was injured.

Jackson police said they were investigating the accident, which occurred at 1:45 p.m. Police wouldn't release the name of the pickup-truck driver, who went by private vehicle to St. Francis Medical Center.

Cape Girardeau County Sheriff John Jordan said the driver was an off-duty deputy driving his private vehicle. Jordan wouldn't name the driver either.

Railway officials said the driver of the pickup pulled into the path of the train, ignoring the warning lights that signaled the train's approach.

Janna Davis, railway manager, said the train's warning bell and whistle were sounding as the train headed toward Gordonville from the crossing at U.S. 61.

Jackson police said they hadn't yet interviewed the driver and could not give information on the circumstances of the accident.

The train was traveling 10 mph, the maximum speed it is allowed, when the accident occurred, said engineer Duane Reynolds.

Railway officials say drivers often ignore the warning lights and drive through the crossing as the train approaches.

"I've seen eight to 15 cars run those red lights when we come into town," said Jerry Friedrich, a volunteer conductor for the railway. Friedrich wasn't on the train when the accident occurred.

Railway officials said drivers know the train is moving slowly, but they pointed out it takes time to stop a running locomotive.

"It's a short train, and I wish they would wait for it," said Reynolds. "They seem to get impatient."

Reynolds said the fireman working with him on the locomotive alerted him that the pickup truck wasn't stopping at the crossing.

"I went into emergency (stop), and we hit the car," Reynolds said.

He estimated the train traveled 50 to 60 feet before stopping, well within guidelines for the speed it was traveling.

"We still had part of the crossing open when we stopped," Reynolds said.

The crossing was blocked for about 15 minutes after the accident, he said.

This was the second locomotive-vehicle accident for Reynolds, 66, a volunteer with 26 years of experience as a locomotive engineer. He retired from the Chicago-Northwest railway before signing on with the St. Louis Iron Mountain and Southern Railway.

"It's a trauma anytime you have something like this. It's hard on all of us," he said. "I'm sure it was doubly hard on the guy that was in that truck."

The locomotive was pulling three coach cars and a weigh car, "not a big train, by any stretch of the imagination," Reynolds said.

The locomotive is still operational, and "just lost some paint," Reynolds said.

St. Louis Iron Mountain Railway runs regular excursions to Gordonville six days a week plus charters from its depot at Jackson.