The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1884-01-25
SURROUNDED BY FIRE.
A Passenger Train Dashing Through
Burning Oil.
Burned Men and Women Throw Them
seiyeS Into the SnoW.

The track of the Bradford, Bordell and
Kinzua railroad, near Tarport Penn, be-
came Hooded with oil that escaped from
huge tank a crowded passenger train from
Welesville, n. y, to Bra ford, Penn, ran
into the lake of oil, and the oil igmting, the
train was instantly wrapped in flames and the
passengers found themselves imprisoned in
cage Of fire. Three women were burned to
death, twenty-five other passengers were
burned, several OF them fatally, and the train
itself was almost wholly consumed.
The train, consisting of a locomotive. a
baggage car and four Passenger car. left
Wellesville at 9 o'clock \. NJ, in charge OF
Conductor Townsend, and made the usual
steps along the route. At 9:4j o'clock the
train rounded bend mile and half from
Tarport aud about two miles east Of Brad
ford, At the side of he road Is thu Hu-
chanan farm, which is leased hv the Anchor
Oil company On a Iii overlooking the
track is large tank. From this tank oil
had escaped, and forming n ch1nnel for IT.
self down the snow-covered hill had sub
merged the roadbad for distance of more
than three hundred feet. When the eng
neer discovered the lake of oil before him he
reversed his engine and whistled down brakes
DE was too late, however, to stop the train
1t was running ON steep down grade, the
curve had prevented him from pCrceivng
his danger N time and the tram rushed Il own
to its destruction Hardly had it reached he
oil, when the fluid burst into flames which
wrapped the train, and, running along the
track, created a lake of fire through which
the engine plunged. The glass in the win
dows cracked AMI fell out under the intense
heat and the flames filled the coach. The
frantic passengers rushed toward the doors,
but the flames permitted only few to reach
them, and they threw themselves headong
FROM the windows
The train rushed down The steep &c line
until it reached curve half mile distant,
and there it leaped the track, and its charred
ruins We're piled in confusion 10y the side OF
the track. The engineer the fireman and
others of the train hands had iumI ed from
the burning train before it reached the
curve. The greater number of the Assem-
gers, of whom there were about fort, m the
single coach, had also jumped from the train
and were only saved from being crushed to
death 10y falling in snow banks at the side of
the track. Few of them escaped without
more or less serious burns
An eyewitness of the disaster says il was
the grandest and Yet the most awful scene
that human eyes ever witnessed For n dis
lance of nearly half mile the road-Ded was
covered with OIL. At points it va over the
rails. The moment the gas cam, in con-
tact with the fire-bpX it exploded,
igniting the oil. In less than one minute
the engine and cars We're enveloped IN flames.
Great black pillars of smoke assembled
heavenward, and the driving wheels of the
engine scattered the blazing oil in every di-
rection. With rush and roar which MIGHT
have been heard for mile the fame, leaped
July 25O feet ahead OF the locomotive. which
was thus compelled to run through "A veri-
table sea of fire. 1t was a terrible race How
the engineer train hands and the men women
and children escaped is something that only
Providence can explain
A rehet train with surgeons and cots were
despatched to the scene rs soon as inform
ton of the disaster reached Bradford. Ipon
its arrival there a terrible ST. Int presented
itself. The pa senger co.. oh and baggage car
were smoking mass of ruins: the engine
lay ON its back, having turned complete