The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1883-10-12
A THRILLING EXPERIENCE.
4 RACE FOR LIFE AT THE RATE OF
EIGHTY MILES AN HOUR.
An Engineers Terrible Dash Down
a Mountain Side i'm Front of n BIaz-
ing Oil Train.

glneer, VINO uleu recently at ms nome
near Dunkirk, N. Y, once had thrill
ing experience. we give the story in
nis own words, as told to New York
Sun correspondent:
In 1869 was running mixed train
on the Buffalo, Cory and Erie railway.
The track between Prospect, or Mayville
Summit, and Brockton junction is so
crooked that, while the distance is actu-
illy only ten miles, the curves make it
by rall fourteen. The grade Tor the
whole distance is over seventy feet to the
mile,
About O'Clock on the night OF All-
gust II, 1869, We reached the Summit
with a train of two passenger cars,
Blk OIL cars and box car. The latter
contained two valuable trotting horses
and Their Keepers with them, on their
way, believe, to the Cleveland meeting.
There were fifty or sixty passengers In
the TWO cars. got the signal from the
conductor to start and l pulled out.
we had got under considerable head
way, when, looking back, saw
mat an OIL car IN the middle OF the tram
was on 1lre. reversed my engine and
wmstled Tor brakes. The conductor and
brakemen jumped Oil. They uncoupled
Inc passenger cars ana set the brakes on
them, bringing them TO stop. sup
posing that the brakes on the burning OIL
ears would also be put on, called to a
brakeman on the poX car TO draw the
coupling pm between that car ana the
mead OIL tank, backing so That he could
no IL, intending 10 run lar enough away
TO save the box car ana locomotive. AS
ran on down the MIL, after the pm mad
Deen drawn, what was my horror to see
That the burning cars were following me
at speed that was rapidly increasing.
Inc men hao not succeeded IN putting
on the brakes. saw that the only tmng
10 be done was to run Tor 1t to Brockton,
ana the chances were that we would
never reach there at the speed when we
would be obllged TO make around those
snarp reverse curves, wherc we had never
run over twenty miles an hour.
" when l saw the flaming cars-for the
whole SIX were ON IRE by this time
plunglng alter me, and only few feet
away pulled the throttle open. The
oil cars caught me, though, before l got
away. Ihcy came with full force
against the rear OF the boX car, smashing
IN one END ana knocking the horses and
thelr keepers nat on the hoor. Inc neat
was almost unbearaDle and DO my best
couldn't place more than thirty feet be
tween the pursuing column OF fire and
ourselves. BY the light from the furnace,
as my fireman opened the door to pie III
ne coal, caught sight OF the face OF one
o1 the horsemen IN the box car, he nav
ing climbed up to the grated opening in
he end. 1t was as pale as death, and he
begged me Tor Gods sake to give her
more steam; was giving her then all
he steam she could carry, and the grade
tsel1 was enough TO carry us down at the
rate OF nifty miles an hour We went so
asst that the engine couldn't pump.
Every time we struck one OF those curves
ne ola girl would almost run on one set OF
Eheels, ana why IN the world she dldn
opple over Is something never could
Understand. She seemed to Know that
was a race OF lie and death, and
NorRco as II she were allvc.
Inc hlght was dark ana the ROAD
an through the woods, deep rock cuts,
nj along hlgh emDanklncn's. There
Ve were numbering along at lightning
pecd: and, only lew PAGES behind Us,
nat merry demon IN full pursuit. There
we're oo, ooo gallons OF OIL IN those tanks
least, and 1t was all III flame, making
llyinS aNalanche OF 1lrc 900 1eet long.
ne flames leaped into the air nearly 100
Get. 1helr roar was like that OF some
reat cataract. Now and then tank
Fould explode with anoisc like a cannon,
Fhcn column OF flame and pjtchy
moke would mount high above the body
the names, and showers OF burning OIL
Eould be scattered about IN the woods.
ne whole country was lighted up for
piles around.
"Well, 1t wasn't long, going at the
lte we made, before the lights of Brock
Pm came IN sight down in the valley.
he relief felt when these came in view
as short lived, for | remembered that
ram No. 8, on the Lake Shore, would
due at the junction just about the
me we would reach it. No.
was the Cincinnati express. Our
ply hope. all along during the
pee, had been that the switclman
the junction would think far enough