The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1882-12-07
4 Strange Accident.

Passenger, who arrived in the city
| yesterday morning gave the particulars
of an accident which occurred Tuesday
morning Mt s :45 o'clock on the Northern
| Wisconsin division of the Chicago &
Northwestern Railway, one mile south
Of Oconlo, and which is The most extra
ordinary in railroad history. The north
bound passenger train, with very large
number OF passengers, was running along
at not less than twenty-five miles an hour
when her locomotive exploded with 81.
ganlic force. 81 was seated iD the smok-
ing car, the third from the engine" said
John l.. Jerrard, passenger, "and knew,
by the loud report aud the heavy shock
to the train, what had happened. | was
talking at the time with Mr.. Whitney. Of
Pensaukee springing up | said, the
boiler has exploded " and expected in
the next instant that the train would be
smashed into kindling wood At almost
the same moment n mas, Of rubbish from
the explosion fell upon the top Of the
car Tiich ratified loudly, but did no 9TH
er damage. OF course, in moment the
sensation Of danger WAS passed as the
train ran smoothly along, except n pccu.
liar and unnatural sound from the front
Of the train, which seemed to move
"'''E "'th'bb hiJ lt't. IIiDiC
Of speed | concluded that my imprts
ion that the boiler h..i exploded was er-
ronc0us, as everything then seemed to be
nil right, and a gentleman remarked that
n torpedo had probably been exploded
| under the train with view to mischief.
BY this time the train had ron down and
crossed the bridge across the Oconto
River, when the brakeman suddenly set
the brakes with great cxcrtion and
| brought the train to halt. Up TO this
moment no one on the train knew what
the actual situation was except the male
agent and uaggage men, and they were
unable Tor some reason to put on the
brrakcs to stop the train. The train was
finally brought to stand still. !. was
then found the four forward trucks Of
the engine were loaded handsomely upon
! the tender, which wns intact. 1t was cv-
| ideDt that not an individual on the train,
rs it stood there, was injured, and the
fact is the majority of the passengers did
not know that anything had occurred
until they were told, AS the report was
not heard very far back and many were
asleep. But the engineer and fireman
there was out one voice, 'ihey are dead.'
Some of the passengers and the trainmen
ran back, and were utterly amazed to
find them standing by the wrecked en-.
gine, but little tho worse for the dreadful
shaking up.
After CAREFUL examination of the
| whole ground he following conclusions
were reached by me and many others :
First that the explosion hud been most
terrific; that at the time of It's occur.
renee the engine was lifted from its con
ncction with the tender and violently
4 Il -, 1,
moment the cnwcatcher was thrown
downward 81, n matter Of course. and "a
was shown by three ties being rooted up
and broken in two near the center, and
nj the same point by the side of the track
lay the nose Of the badly dcnloralizrd
cowcutcher. This must have occurred HI
the engine WINS thrown forward in the mir
with the mnst terrific force, as was fully
established by its being hurled $50 feet
forward and along little to the right Of
the track before it struck the ground
where it buried itself half out Of sight
in the mud. OF course this thirty. ton
mass of iron must have turned n COM
pletc sOmcrsault in the air, nj which time
the forward trucks were dropped upon
IT" lender. There they are now lying
The grass aud bushes are blackened and
dead by the escaping steam underneath
the truck where the engine flew through
the air. The huge machine took itself
and all its immense rubbish, the result Of
the explosion, absolutely out Of tho way
and left clean track for the train 10
pass along, and, strange to say, the rails
at tho paint Of the broken tics we're
scarcely disturbed But the fireman and
engineer were carried along in the cab
and landed with it, or very near. One
pair of trucks on the mail car jumped
the track at the point where the explo.
sion occurred and ran in that situation
one mile, passing over the bridge at the
Oconto River in that way; and another
odd freak, passing switch n moment be-
fore the train WAS stopped they ran on
again, and no great damage was done ex.
cept 10 tear off the heads of all the
spikes from one side Of the rail for the
whole distance. breaking nearly all the
bolts which connect the ends of the rails
together all this without one life being
lost or any one seriously injured. Who
can cite anything like this in railroads
to-day lGiraukee Sentinel