The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1883-11-14
AN AWFUL RIDE.
CHASED ny 4 FEARFUL AVALANohb
or FLAME,
ENGINEER Browns Dash Down ,he m"" ",,
lain Size IN Front OF B'"@'"A ""
TrniH,
tT'rom the Now York SUM


81 don't expect to live much longer, }
and after am dead / want you TO pu, c
in the papers the story OF ihat inno ! : =
had from Prospect to Brocton in 1853; !
TLc .rookcr was Duff Brown, an old '
Locomotive engineer, who was lying al
lis home in Portland dying with con-
.nmrtion. This was some time ago
On the 7th Of September he aien' ne
was nearly sixty years Old. Ills S'oiJ VI
fine awful ride is this:
ain 1869 ! was running mlXed troll
On fine BufIaIo, Cory and Eric Railway
Tbc track between Prospect on Mayvlllo
summit and Brocton Junction Is sc
crooked that, while the distance IS Only
ten miles. the curves make 1t NY ran
fourteen. The grade for the whole as
lance il over seventy feet to the mile.
"About nine o'clock on the night on
Aur. II, 1869, we reached the summit
with n train Of two passenger cars slA
oil cars. and box car. The latter con,
famed two valuable trotting horses, ana
thcir keepers with them, on their way,
| hclicyc. 10 the Cleveland meeting. There
were fifty or sixty passengers in the two
ara got the signal from the conductor
10 start, and pulled ont. We bad got
urder considerable Roadway, when, look
ing back, saw that an OIL car IN inc
middle OF the train was on fire.. ! re-
yerscd my engine and whlstlcd Tor
Lrokcs. The conductor and brakemch
mmpcd of. They uncoupled the pas
,epGer cars and set the brakes on them,
bringing them to stop. Surprising
that Inc brakes on the burning oil cars
would also be put on, called toa brake
man on the box car TO draw the conphne
min between that car and the head OIL
| tank. backing 80 that lie could DO II, H.
tending 10 run far enough away to save
the box ear and locomotive AS | ran
ON down the hill, after the pin had been
drawn. what was my horror to see that
the burning cars were following me at n
need that was rapidly increasing. The
mon had not succeeded in putting on
fine brakes. saw that the onl y tlihg
lo be done was to run for it to Broc'on,
b. and fine chances were that we would
9 never reach there Mt the speed when we
| could be obliged to make around those
i sharp reverse curves, where We had never
( run over twenty miles an hour.
r "When ! saw the flaming cNrs-for
5 fine whole six were on fire by this time
n -plunqing after me, and only few feet
s., nwny. pulled the throttle open. Tho
ut oil ears caught me, though, before got
Nc away. They came with full force agoins
~ the rear Of the box car, smashing III ont
no end and knocking the horses ana thei
'd keepers flat on tie floor. The heat wa
nc almost uubearallc, and, do my best,
If conldn't place more than thirty feet he
ne tween the pursuing column OF lire an
ed ourselves. BY the light from Inc fun
d, nncc. as my fireman opened the door I
N. pile in The coal, ! caught sight OF III
AL face Of one Of the horsemcn III the bo
l ! ear. lac having climbed up to the CRATE
ed opening in the end. 1t was as pale I
so death, aud he begged me for Gods sal
mt TO give her more steam. ! was glvll
'cd her then all the steam she could carr
ud and the grade Itself was enough to carl
ull ma down nj the rate of fifty miles {
m, hour. We went so fast that the cngI
ow conduit pump. Every time we stru
the one of those curves the old girl wou
the almost run on one set OF wheels, nj
hen vhy in the world she didn't topplo oy
got is something never could undcrstan
INTO She seemed to know that II was III
his of life and death, and worked AS il
al II were alive.
ode "rhe night was dark, and the no
a oil ran through woods, deep rock cuts, II
Iny along high embankmcnts. There
10Y, were, laundering along at liGhtnI
'lth speed, and, only II few PAGES behind
told that fiery demon in full pursuit. Thu
the were fifty thousand gallons OF OIL
red those tanks, at least, and 1t was aIl
any flame, making flying avalanche OF
y it. five hundred feet long. The ilar
onr lcnpcd into the air nearly II hnnd
own feet. Their roar was like that Of so
puso great cataract. Now and then I;
we would explode with n noise like G
Ucd nom when column of flame and pitt
It MS smoke would mount high above the b,
that If the flames, and showers of burn
,,pg oil would be scattered about III
they woods. The whole country was llgh
20 | up for miles around.
"Wrll, it wasn't long, going ut
rate we made, before the lights OF Br
n lar came in sight down i'll the vail
Ii1 The relief felt when these came in Y
., ,,"t was short lived, for remembered t
''pu trim No. g, on the Lake Shore, wo
,;. he due at the Junction Just about
'''''' time we would reach it. No. : was
mon Cincinnati express. Onr only hope,
hey ouug during the race, had been that
r.. switchman at the Junction would til
pack far enough to open the switch The
anne connecting the cross cut track with
II in Lake Shore track. and let us run in
uard the latter, where the grade would
AGAINST MS, if ANYTHING, and where
me could soon get ont of the way of the
from c,,rs Tbn switch or course woul |
neeH closed now for the express, and our
.'ino hope was gone, unless the express
men late, or somebody had sense to Has
a II. While we were thinking of this we
II Ihe the express tearing along toward
Junction. Could we reach the Juncl
get the switch and the switch be
camo back for the express before the !,
neral got there? If not, there would h,
le I'M inevitable crash, in which not only
Nor. but probably scores of others woul,
1t my crushed to death. All this conjcctu
..,;u. did not occupy two seconds. but III
,' Tan two seconds i lived years.
llnd =. Good Godr ! said to my firci
what are we to do nowT
,u.oi "Thc fireman promptly replied
'i''' he was n bravo little fcllow--,h
IRE should whistle for the switch and
roops the chances. / did So That wi
that was one prolonged yell of agony
was n shrek that seemed to tell us
cd in our brave old engine knew our da
n her and had her fears Neither thc ilrt
ln,on nor myself spoke another word.
rviccs "Thanks he to liod lho eng
cause on the express train, seeing us te,
down that mountain with an eighth
mile of solid fire in close pursuit