Morris tribune., 1881-01-06
A RAILROAD ROAST.
Two Men Locked in a Blazing Car Running
Thirty Miles an Hour.
r

Two Men Locked in Blazing Car Running
Thirty Miles an Hour.
Louisville Courier Journal.
The rather novel spectacle of confagra-
ton on wheels, travelling at the rate of about
thirty miles an hour, aroused the citizens of
Lagrange from their slumbers just before -
o'clock Friday night. The Short line light
ming express and passenger train, due here
from Cincinnati at 12:45 o'clock on that
night, was delayed at Sulpher station, nine
miles beyond Lagrange, by burning ''oil
box, " and while it was being remedied the
baggage master left his car (Which is usedas
baggage and express car with small room in
the middle in which the Louisville mail is
carried), and went out to where the train
men were putting new packing in the box.
When he heard the whistle blow for La
grange he started into the baggage Car to get
some baggage ready to put off at that place,
and as he opened the door he was en-
veloped in a dense volume of smoke,
and saw the center of the car on fine. The
front end of the car was occupied by l.. S.
Maddox the L. G. andI. express messenger,
and Charles Price, the. messenger of
the Adams and the express freight be-
longing to the two companies. Maddox
says he had smelled something burning
for some time, but thought it was the hot
box, and did not pay any attention to it un-
til he saw the fire burst through an opening
in the partition wall behind the stove, be-
tween the little mail room and the express
room. The car filled with smoke almost
instantly, and as the freight was piled up
| against the door in the front end of the car,
Maddox and Price found they would smoth-
er unless they could get the side door open.
While Price pulled the bellrope to 81 gnal
the engineer to stop, Maddox tried to re-
move the pin which kept the side door
closed, and open it. Price was so excited
that he kept pulling the rope which confus-
| ed the engineer, and Maddox found the pin
so tight that he could not remove it, and
with the train still running and the fire
making rapid headway, the two beleagured
messengers felt that their doom was near
at hand.
But Maddox kept tugging away at the
pin, and finally removed and opened the
door, but not until he was almost suffocated
and the fire had approached SO close to him
that his hair was singed. When the door
was thrown open the two men, who were
nearly tagged out, seized both of the door
facings on either side and hung out of the
side of the car to breathe some fresh air and
to wait until the train checked up to escape
| llOn Iue ure luelr uauuS were severely
burned as they held on to the inside of the
car, as they waited patiently-each moment
seeming an age-for the train to stop
They think the train must have run mile
and half after the signal was given, but
finally, just as they reached Lagrange they
felt their cremation furnace check up, and
both leaped to the ground. 1t was fearful
ordeal through which they had passed, and as
they let 60 their hold on the hot door facing
they thought little of the risk of being
dashed against the ground. Fortunately
they escaped without injury from thai
source, and the train stopped just as il
reached Lagrange. By this time tn: all
which had rushed in the open door had in
creased the impetus of the fire, and whe1
the train stopped the interior of the ear was
filled with flames, that darted out of thu
door through which they had made thei
escape, and as the paint on the outside wa!
heated up to a good burning point, it wal
but moment until the entire structure wa
wrapped in flames. There were ten trunk
in the baggage end of the car, and the bag
gage master succeeded in removing six O
them into the coach before the fire got to-
hot, but everything else in the car was de
stroyed.