Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1872-11-23
ACCIDENT ON THE NORTHERN
CENTRAL.
1feroism OF mn Engineer OF 81 Mail
Train.

On the 11th, inst, the mail train bound
north ON the N. G. II. r., in charge of con
ductor McNett ran into a freight train
which was standing still between Colum-
bia cross roads and Snediker's.
There was some fifty passengers on the
mail, fortunately all men, and singular TO
relate none were injured, although the
mail was going at speed of twenty-five
miles an hour.
The particulars are nearly as follows, as
cleaned by your correspondent from Alan
son Buckbce, the heroic engineer of the
mail, and Arthur G. Leary, the conductor
of the freight.
Mr.. Buckbee states that in rounding
curve about mile south of Sncdiker's at
a speed of twenty-five miles per hour, he
saw the caboose of freight train about
the length of his train ahead. TO all ap-
pearances instant death awaited him, but
instead of jumping from his engine, like
many would have done under less trying
circumstances, stuck to his post and in
stantly applied the air brakes with full
force and reversed his engine.
Although he had but short space to do
it in, his timely exertion saved the passen-
ger cars from being teescopcd and many
lives from being lost His fireman, r. X.
Rathbun, told your correspondent that he
should have jumped from the engine, but
when he saw his chief stick TO his post he
thought he could do the same. All the
passengers unite iu giving thanks and
praise to the herosm Of these two brave
men. ,
Buckbee's engine is pretty wei smashed
up. The caboose of the freight train was
smashed into kindling wood, which was
afterwards used for that purpose. FOrtu-
nately the car next to the caboose was a
very heavy one, loaded with nails. This
car was lifted from its trucks and lay with
| its rear end on to the boiler of No. 10. hav-
ing run under as far as the dome.
The trucks of the cahoose and freight
car was showed ahead and under, one on
the other. so that they lifted this car with
its immense weight of nails. to horizon
! tai position, the height of the top OF the
boiler from the ground.
The most wonderful part of the story is
that Arthur G. Lcary, conductor, and
John Brown, tiagman of the freight, were
| both in the caboose when the engine struck
aud although the car was stovcd to thous-
| and pieces and they were both thrown
some twenty feet up on the bank (the acci-
dent occurred in a cut neither Of them
were even injured.
| The engine of the freight, poor one,
! (No. 1l9,) could not make steam fast
enough to haul the train. AT Columbia
Cross Roads several cars were left, but no
word of warning for the mail that they
were not making time and had poor en-
gine. At the place of the collision, little
before nine O'Clock, the freight was obliged
to stop. Both the fiagman, John Brown,
and the conductor, consulted their watches
and found that the mail would be along in
| fifteen minutes. The mail. it would seem,
came laundering along ere they were ready
for il, and the next thing they knew, as
Brown expressed it, they didn't know
nothing" thought at first they had a
''nigh. mare" but after feeling around
among the bushes and stumps where they
had been thrown, concluded there was
some mistake and that it was reality after
all. The greatest wonder is shat they
were not both instantly killed. The head
light of the engine exploded and set fire tc
the debris of the caboose, and had it not
been for the most strenuous cXertious o.
the employees and passengers, the wholC
freight would have been burned up.