The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-09-30


Modena.
Chased by Flames.
,vo,vvrp pRowN,s DASH DOWN THE NOUN.
TAIN m FRONT OF A BLAZING OIL TRAIN.
fDunkirk correspondence OF the new 'orN sun,
al don't expect to live much longer, anu
after l am dead want you 10 put III lne
papers the story OF that rae ! nau 'ron.
Prospect to Brocton In 1862 Inc speahe'
was Duff Brown, an old locomotive en-
gineer. who was lying at his home, IN fore
land. this county, dying with consumption:
This was several weeks ago. On the '.n y,
this month he died. He was nearly s,Asy
years old. His story OF the awiui r'uo 10
this: - train
ain 1869 I was running mixed tra.h
on the Buffalo, Cory and Erie Iaiimny.
The track between Prospect, or Ma!vina
summit. and Brocton junction II so cr0okeu
that while the distance IL actually Only .c"
miles the curves make il by rail iour'eeh.
The grade for the whole distance IL over
seventy feet to the mile.
"About o'clock on the night oil August
IL 1899. we reached the summit Win
train of two passenger-cars. SIX oii,caIs y
and n box.car. The latter contained TWO
valuable trptting horses, and their keepers
uTth them. on their way, believe, 10 'ne
Cleveland meeting. There were MY OF
IT. TT massenoers in the two cars. got the
sional from the conductor to start. ana
nf,IIed o,,f. We had got under c0nsluera-
HE headway, when. looking back, saw
that an oil-car i'm the middle OF the train
was on fire. reversed my engine ana
wbistled for brakes. The conductor ana
brakemen Jumped of. They uncoupied
fbe nassenger-cars and set the brakes
ON them, bringing them to stop.
supposing that the brakes on the burning
ojl-cars would also be put on, called 10
brakeman on the boX-car to draw the
coupling-pin between that car ana tne
head oil-tank, backing so that he could 40
Il. intending to run far enough away 10
save the box-car and locomotive. AS ran
down the hill, after the pin had been
drawn. what was my horror to see that tne
burning cars were following me at speed
that was rapidly increasing. The men haa
not succeeded i'm putting on the brakes.
saw that the only thing to be done was 10
run for il to BrOcton, and the chances were
that we would never reach there NJ tne
speed which we would be obliged 10 make
around those sharp reverse curves Where
we had never run over twenty mics ah
hour. $500
"When saw the flaming cars-for the
whole six were on fire by this time
phnging after me and only few feet
away. | pulled the throttle open. The oil
cars cauebt me, though, before l got away.
They came with full force against the rear
of the box-car, smashing in one end ana
knocking the horses and their keepers nat
ON the floor. The heat was almost unbear-
allie. and. do nv best, | couldn't place
more than thirty feet between the pur-
suing column OF fire ana OURSELVES
By the light from the furnace, rs
the fireman opened the door 10 PIE
i'm the coal l caught sight OF the lace OF
one of the hOrsemen in the DoX-car' ne
having climbed up TO the grated openingi I'D
the end. IL was pale as death, ana he
begged me for Gods sake to give her more
steam. was giving her then all the steam
she could carry, and the grade itseii was
enough to carry us down at the rate oil hlty
miles an hour. We went so last that the
engine couldn't pump. Every time we W.,
struck one OF those curves the Ola giri
would almost run on one sci OF WheeIs,
and why in the world she didn't topp'e
over is something ! could never under'
stand. She seemed. to know that 1t was q
race of life and death, and worked as II she
were alive.
1.-The night was dark, and the road ran
through woods. deep rock cuts, and along
high entertainments. There we were thln-
dering along at lightning speed, and, only
few PAGES behind us, that fiery demon In
full pursuit. There were fifty thousand
gallons of oil i'm those tanks at least, and II
was all in flame, making flying avalanche
OF fire 500 feet long. The flames leapeo
into the air nearly hundred feet. Theii
roar was like that OF some great cataract
Now and then tank would explode with
| n noise like. a cannon. when column OF
flame and pitchy smoke would mount high
above the body of the flames, and showers
of burning oil would be scattered about In
the woods. The whole country was lighted
up for miles around.
| "Well, il wasn't long, going at the rate
we made, before the lights OF Brooklyn
| came i'm sight down in the valley. The re-
| lief felt when these came in view was
short-lived, for | remembered that tram
| No. 8, on the Lake Shore, would he due al
the junction just about the time we would
reach il. No. 8 was the Cincinnati eX'
press. Our only hope all along during the
race had been that the switchman at the
junction would think far enough to open
the switch there connecting the cross
cut track with the Lake Shore track
and let us run in on the latter
where the grade would be against
us, il anything, and where we could
soon get out OF the way Of the Oil-cars. The
switch, of course, would be closed now FOL
the express, and our last hope was gone
unless the express was late OF somebody
had sense enough to flag it. While We
were thinking OF this we saw the express
tearing along toward the junction. Gould
we reach the junction, get the switch, and
the switch be set back for the express be
fore the latter got therey IL not, there
would be an inevitable crash, in which no
only we, but probably scores OF others
would be crushed TO death. All this con
ljecturing did not occupy two seconds, Blu
in chat two seconds lived years.
".Good God!' l SAID to my fireman
what are we to do nOw?'
: "The fireman promptly replled-and h
, was brave little fellow-that l shout,
: whistle for the switch and take the chances
did so. That whistle was one prOlonge,
yell of agony. Ii was shrek that SCENE,
: to tell us that our brave old engine knew
; our danger and had her fears. Neither til
fireman nor myself spoke another word.
"My fireman and were so weak whe
L we brought our locomotive to a stop tha
we could not get out OF the cab. The wv
horsemen were unconscious i'm the box
car. The horses were ruined. And hoy
long do you think we were in making SIX
u teen milesy We ran two miles up to tn
= Lake Shore track. Just twelve minute
u from the Summit to the spot where W