The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1874-11-20
PERILS OF TIE Rail
sIE TIE SHADOW oF DEATH.
Twenty s.Iias og Hour AID an 0bstruc
ton u he rack
An UB~uccc~sftts Attempt I Threw tie
Night Express on giB@ H. l.. tS D..
lros1 ghe IraCb.

RAILWAY accidents. resulting in the loss
Of life. nave become % frequent of late
years. that they have ceased to be n
matter oJ surprise and wonder. The
Il iiy press give tn &C u rsnces a few
ii..-- 81 space in their columns, and the
reader only glance over tie brief nara
tive and forgetS 1t wi5l.in the day. The
railroad, rlInminz in and out Of this city
have always been 20 carefully managed
that nothing of serious nature has ever
occurred to ruiils !lla smoOJiIne-s of
their quiet. but active career. There
has always been such an apparent good
feeling between tie public and the Off
GERS Of the road. that such an outrage as
was perpetra:ed. last Monday night, on
the line of the Lake Erie and Louisville
Railway. was something unthought Of
On the night spoken Of, the night ex-
press. going south, on the L. Z. & L. Ry.,
which is Gue here at g:27, was running
along at it, usual speed Of twenty miles
an hour. The passengfrf were seated
quietl, ia the coach awaiting the time
when they should reach their destina-
ton. The conductor and brakemen
were at their posts; the fireman set up
on lis box, anxiousiy watching the
steam gauge; tie engineer sat with one
hand Oh the reverse lever, the other
grasping the rod thatnoves the throttle,
with firm hold, the while keeping his
eyes fixed Oh the extreme point of light
thrown out by the cleaning sentinel
that stood OH the front of his engine.
When about half way between Fos-
toria and Arcadia, the vigilant engineer
caught sight Of some object on the track.
Quick as thought lie shut off the steam,
but before lie could throw the reverse
lever, there was a terrible shiver, e crash,
a quick. siaking motion, and the al. Q.
Rawson" made mad plunge into the
darkness ahead. Then followed a sharp
whistle for brakes tie Tattling OF
chains, the screeching of the 'ratchets,"
the sound of the steam rushing through
the pipes and valves, lnd the train came
to a stop. An examination was quickly
made, TO find ont the amount of the
damages, when it was discovered that
the headlight had been demolished, and
Il spring-hanger Of one of the driving
wheels was broken. \ few moments
sufficed TO explain the cause of the acci-
dent. Some iieEdish scOundrel had
placed three fence rails oD end in sucha
manner as to make them stand ike the
poles OF an Indian wigwam. In the
cro.c... at the top, a large stone wes
placed. This devilish cont-ivance was
so fixed that when the ''pilot" struck it
the stone fell against the headlight and,
of course, smashed it. One OF the rails
fell over on the iron and the engine run
over it, narrowly escaping being thrown
off
The train was delayed some time on
account of the affair and reached here
late. As yet no clue to the perpetrators
of the crime has been obtained. We
had an interview with Mr. Preston, the
engineer, on Tuesday evening, in refer
ence to the matter. lie could not tell
why such an attempt should be made TO
injure the train, and place the lives of |
the passengers in danger. He informed
us that ON two occasions cattle had been |
killed near there, bat whether this had |
anything TO do with the placing OF the |
obstruction on the track or not, cannot |
be ascertaiued. The act was criminal |
one, and all concerned in it should be |
hunted ont and punished to the full
axtent of the law. Had the timbers used
in making the obstruction been little
heavier there IS no telling what the re-
suit would have been. Instead of a dam
age 90 the engine alone, there would
nave been more or less loss OF life. The
1fiicers of the road should spare no pains
% identity the criminals, and bring them
@ speedy justice.