Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1877-08-16
CHASED BY A TRAIN ON FIRE.
An Engineers Story of His Most Wonder
full Adventure.

full Adventure.
DUNKIRK, n. Y. June 15.-"I've been
down the bank mOre'n once, an had a
few bad smash-ups in the twenty year
Ive run locomotive, but the closest
call | ever had was the time | was
chased from Mayville to Brocton ] inc
ton by an oil train all afire. | kin
almost feel my hair grow white now
when | think O. that"
He was one of the oldest engineers
on the Lake Shore Road, and was riding
me on his engine from BrOckton to
DunlIirk.
a was on the Buffalo, Cory and Erie
Road then. 1t was in 1S69-A dgust the
18th The bit o. track twixt Mayville
and Brocton is about the crookedest an
steepest stretch there is III the country.
Its ten miles from one place to t'other,
but the twists in the road makes it four
teen. The grades bout eighty foot t.
tn mile. The road s so crooked that
it's a standin joke 'mong the boys that
they dasn't put more'n ten cars in
II train er tn engine II butt tn, caboose
certain. The road runs down into the
Pennsylvania oil country, an heaps O.
petroleum is run over it. That night,
bout 9 o'clock, [ was gettin' ready t.
leave tn summit with a box car, six oil
cars and two passenger cars. Tn latter
was full. TIL box car had two valuable
trottin' horses in it. | got the signal
from tn conductor to 90 ahead and
started her up. We was under torble
Roadway when [ see flames bust Out'n
one o the oil cars. whistled down
brakes. The passenger car was cut
the engine and box car off from the
mend stop them, | pulled on slowly
down the hill. But pretty soon see L
was in fix. The oil cars wasn't stopped,
an they came tearin down the grade
after us, an fore | could give my engine
speed 'nough to git Out'n the way, ker-
boom they came 'ginst the box car,
smashin' in one end, an knockin' tn
horses an their keeper flat on tn floor
It's mighty wonder tn shock didn't
knock tn engine off the track, an it did
give her'n awful husselin But she
settled down t her'n work, : if she
knOw'd we was bound to have race for
life.
Lord, how them flames roared!
Every Internal car was atire now, an
tn heat was terrible. | could hear them
horses fairly scream with terror Both
tn keepers clumb up t tn end O. tn
car mex t tn engine | could see by
tn back-light of the furnace that their
faces was S white as chalk an they hol-
Tered t me: For Christ'S sake, Jack,
give her more steamw They didn't
know t had her pulled wide open, an
was tearin' down that eighty foot grade
at nearly eighty miles an hour. She
went SO fast, SO help me God, that she
quit pumpin'. We shot round them
curves like n streak of lghtnin' an
every time we'd strike one t seemed It
we mus so over. When the oil cars
struck us, we made a gap of about
ten foot between them and us, an we
couldn' increase it to save our souls.
Poor Jimmy keenan, was my fire
man. He was crazed for bout
minute. when the burnin' cars hit us
an KEEP so close in our wake. He tried
to jump of, but grabbed him and held
him till he cum to himself and he stuck
to the old gal like man. Jimmy got
killed in pickin' a young one off the
track ahead of an express train, near
CORY, a year or two alterw'd. He saved
the young one, though.
1t was dark night, an though |
felt t the chances was we'd never git to
Brocton alive, couldn't help but be
struck with tn scene. Here was us
thunderin' along EASTERN any engin
ever went in this country afore or since,
through woods an on tn edge O. high
rocks, expectin' every minute to be
hurled off tn track an be carried home
to our wives crushed an mangled out
o all KNOWN of us. The HOSES was
stampin' about in the box car, neighin'
I'M way that sounds in my ears Wit
when | Git thinkin' O this The keep
ers told me afterward that they crouched
down in fur corner of the car, almos'
sweltered with heat, expectin' grand
crash every second, an in danger O.
bein' trampled to death by tn horses.
Through the broken end O. tn car thew
could see tn blazin oil tanks a roarin'
down after us, ant seemed t them,
they said, S If they was galnin' on us
every second. Oh, Lord! what sight
them oil cars was. Thousan's an thou
sans o gallons O oil, with all tn COM
bustiblest parts of it still In it, burnin'
all at once, an ruShin' down the noun
tain like tremenjiS meteor, on night
S dark S pitch! The blaze was more'n
sixty feet high, an lit up tn crooked
road for miles around The whole
heavens was Illuminated, an from
Brocton they said the sight o this great
blaze tearin' along like demon, now
hid tor second by a cut or piece of
woods, an then leapin' out ag'in an
jumpin' up t'wards the sky like huge
fountain O. fire-why, they said twas
jes' grand an gorgeous. The light was
SO great t the boys see us a swooping
along ahead O the mass O. f1ying flames,
n they know'd the chances was again
the ones what was chased
"O' course, the whole thing commenc-
ed n was over in good deal less time
n I've been a tellin' of it. When [ see
the lights of Brocton junction. 1t struck
me all of a sudden t the Cincinnati ex-
press on tn Shore road must be bout
due there from tn West l looked at
nv watch. T only lacked one second