>From the 5 March 1942 edition of the Altoona Tribune: Past Events New freight engins No.s 273 and 274 run between Altoona and Elroy from December 1897 until November 1898. Passenger engines No.s 123, 124, and 125 were on passenger trains No.s 1 and 2 between Elroy and Minneapolis from 1897 to 1898 and on No. 1 in 1897. Geo. Thompson was engineer on the new freight engin No. 273 and Albert D. Brewer as engineer and Otto Brown was fireman on freight engine No. 274 until November 1898 from December, 1897. George Woodington died in Eau Claire on Monday afternoon, Feb. 10, 1941, interment took place in Eau Claire on Wednesday afternoon, February 12. In 1897 the scheduled times for the following train in Altoona were: Northwestern limited passenger train No. 5, 4 a.m.; local passenger train No. 4, 11:30 a.m.; local passenger train No. 2, 10:00 p.m.; and Northwestern limited passenger train No. 6, 11:30 p.m. Local passenger trains No.s 1 and 2 did not run on Sundays in 1897 and 1898. A wreck occurred at Valley Junction, Wis. at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, Jan. 27, 1904 on the main line track. Engineer Charlie Hannon and fireman Arthur B. Thompson, with freight engine No. 327, and conductor Wm. Anderson, with caboose No. 6138, were on freight train No. 78 from East St. Paul to Chicago. Freight train No. 78 was going to take the side track in Valley Junction to tlet the fast mail passenger train No. 2 from Minneapolis with Engineer Albert Johnson, Fireman James Lynch, Conductor N. W. Riggs and passenger engine No. 257 pass them. Passenger train No. 2 run in on freight train No. 78 and Caboose No. 66067 burned and also the cab on engine No. 257. Engineer Albert Johnson and Fireman James Lynch each broke a foot and were sent to Sacred Heart hospital in Eau Claire. The Altoona hand wrecker and the Northwestern Railroad Co.'s steam wrecker from Baraboo worked until Friday, Jan. 29, 1904, in picking up the wreck. The Altoona wrecker brought passenger engine No. 257 to Altoona, and later it was sent to the St. Paul shops for repairs. The morning that the wreck occurred it was 30 degrees below zero. A side track had to be built in Valley Jct. so trains could move east and west through there. Engineer Wm. F. Duganne left Altoona with a passenger engine on his way to Valley Jct. to take passenger train No. 2 to Elroy, when the engine ran through the Green Bay and Northwestern crossing in Merrillan and ran into a carload of coal on the Omaha main line track, Jan. 27, 1904. The frame headlight and pilot of the engine were broken and the engine was sent to the St. Paul shops. A Northwestern passenger engine backed down to Valley Jct. from Elroy and took passenger train No. 2 to Chicago on Wednesday morning, Jan. 27, 1904. ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Wow, that's alot of moving! Speaking of which -- our college daughter called and asked if I could come up to Superior to get her, bring her home, let her take care of business, and then take her back to Superior before 5:00 this afternoon. Guess I better get going! Run, run, run, run, run! Maybe we should've gotten her a car....naw! It will be good to see her! -- Nance