Victim in caboose accident was devoted helper, grandfather

When Minnesota Army National Guard member Mike Lins was overseeing the construction of military facilities in Iraq, his father-in-law, William Paget, shuttled his three sons around, mowed the grass in his yard and shoveled snow.

On Saturday afternoon Paget, 68, again stepped in to help when he tried to stop a caboose from tipping off railroad tracks. But the retired Minneapolis fire captain was overpowered and crushed by the falling caboose. He died on the scene.

"It's a terrible accident," Lins said. "I don't think it's really hit us."

The accident happened about 2:30 p.m. at a family friend's home in Northfield, Minn. One weekend every October, the friend invited guests to ride a steam locomotive and caboose on a small-gauge railroad in his back yard, said Lins, who has helped with the event since he was a child.

"It's a very safe operation," said Lins, 41.

Saturday was supposed to be special. Lins had missed the past two years because of his military service. His sons, Joe and Thomas, were going to help out. Paget came along, too, showing his usual interest in his grandkids.

They got there about 9 a.m., helped with track maintenance and oiled the machines. They gave several rides before the caboose, moving slower than a person's walk, began to tip as it rounded a corner. Three adults and five children were on board. Joe stood next to Paget on the back platform, where Paget was working as a brakeman.

Paget jumped off, Lins said, and tried to steady the caboose to no avail. The caboose fell on him, but it was hauled off in less than 30 seconds by a dozen men. A nurse who happened to be at the event administered CPR. About 300 visitors stood nearby.

No one else was injured, Lins said.

"We don't know why it tipped," Lins said. "It's a terrible, terrible tragedy."

Lins said the caboose, which weighs about 1,000 pounds, has never been a cause for concern in the decades he's attended the event. The man who owns the trains did not return calls seeking comment; Lins said the owner did not wish to comment.

Paget, known as Bill, grew up in New York City. After working a two-year stint with the U.S. Coast Guard, he moved to the Twin Cities in the late 1960s, said his son-in-law. He raised four daughters and later doted on his six grandchildren.

Paget joined the Minneapolis Fire Department soon after moving here from the East Coast and also served with the Bloomington volunteer fire department, Lins said. He retired from Minneapolis in 2000. His career included arriving with the first engine at the 1982 Thanksgiving Day fire that destroyed the Northwestern National Bank Building, Lins said.

"He could absolutely be counted on to help," he said.

It was his dependability that led him and his wife, Cecilia, to move from Bloomington to Savage three years ago. They wanted to be near their daughter, Laura Lins, and her three sons while their son-in-law served in Iraq.

"That was comforting, because the duty over there [in Iraq] is tough," Mike Lins said. "It was great to know I had somebody back here helping with the family."

A service will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Richfield United Methodist Church, 5835 Lyndale Av. S., Minneapolis. Visitation starts at 10 a.m.

Chao Xiong • 612-673-4391

Chao Xiong • cxiong@startribune.com