Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1885-04-15
A MAD RACE FOR LIFE.
A LOCOM0TIvE ESCAPING FROM BURN
ING OIL ar EIGHTY MILES an HOUR.
The story That An Old Engineer Told On His
Deathbed Of How He Got Away From
Death and Destruotion.--A Thrilling
and Interesting Narrative.

/
Duff Brt wn, one Of the oldest locomotive
engineers in the United States, died at Port
land, N. Y, on April T. ON his death-bed he
told the following story of his ride from
Prospect TO Brocton, with the request that IL
be published
"In 1869 / was running train on the
Buffalo, Cory ~ Erie railroad. The track
from Prospect, or Mayville, Summit to Broc-
ton junction Is so crooked that while the
distance is actually only ten miles, the curves
make it by rail fourteen. The grade for the
whole distance il seventy feet To the mile
About o o'clock on the night oil August IL,
1859, we reached the summit with a train of
two passenger cars, six oil cars and a box car.
The latter contained two valuable trottiDg |
horses and their keepers, on their way, |
believe, to Chicago. There were fifty or sixty |
passengers in the two cars. got the signal |
to start from the conductor and pulled out |
We had got under considerable headway, |
when looking back, saw that an oil car in
the middle of the train was on fire. ] re-
versed the engine and whistled for brakes. |
The conductor and brakemen jumped of,
occupied the passenger cars, set the brakes
on them and then brought them to y stop
Supposing that the brakes ON the burn
ing oil cars would also be put on, called to
a brakeman on the box car TO draw the coup
| ling pin between that car and the head oil
tank, backing so that he could do it, intend
ing to run far enough to save the box car and
| the locomotive. AZ | ran down the hill,
| after the pin had been withdrawn, what was
| my horror to see that the burning cars were
| following me atspeed that was rapidly in
| creasing The men had not succeeded in
| putting ON the brakes l saw that the only
| thing that was 10 be done was to run for it 10
| Brocson, and the chances were that we would
| never reach there at the speed which we
| would be obliged to make around those
| sharp, reverse curves, where We had never
| run over 20 miles an hour. When | saw the
flaming cars-for the whole six were on fire
by this time-plunging after me, and only
few feet away, ! pulled the throttle open.
| The oil cars caught me though, before ] got
away. They came with full force against the
rear of the box car, smashing in one end and
knocking the horses and their keepers flat
| on the floor.
| THE FIRE THIRTY FEET AWAY.
"The heat was almost unendurable, and 10
do my best l couldn't put more than thirty
feet between the pursuing fire aud ourselves.
BY the light from the furnace, as the fireman
| opened the door To pile in the coal, ! caught
sight of the face of one of the horsemen, he
having crawled up 10 the grated opening in
the end. 1t was as pale as death and he
begged me Tor Gods sake to give the engine
| more steam. | was giving her then all the
steam she could carry, and the grade itself
was sufficient to carry us down at the rate of
fifty miles an hour. We went so fast that the
engine refused to pump Every time we
struck one of those curves the old girl would
run on almost one set of wheels, and
| why in the world she didn't topple
, over Is something ] never could under
stand. She seemed to know that il
, WAS race of life or DEATH and worked as il
she were alive. The night was dark, and the
road ran through the woods, deep rock cuts,
and along high embankments. There we
were laundering along at lightning speed
= and only few PAGES behind US, that fiery
demon in full pursuit. There were 20, ,0OOt
gallons of oil in those tanks, at least, and il
e | was all flame, making flying avalanche jo'
| feet long. The flames leapcd into the all
nearly 100 feet Their roar was like that o
5 | some great cataract Now and then tank
| would explode with noise like a cannon
when column Of flame and pitchy smoke
would rise high above the body of flame anC
e | showers of burning oil would be scattered
about i'm the woods The whole country wa
lighted up for miles around. Well il wasn'
f long, going at the rate we made. before thu
lights of BroctOn came in sight down tn,
valley.
PROLONGED YELL OF AGONY.
- "Tbe relief ! felt was short lived, for
', remembered that train No. on the LAX
Shore road would be at the junction abou
u the time we would reach it. No : was tn
: Cincinnati express. Our only hope all alony
=. the race had been that the switchman at tn
o junction would think to open the switcl
h there, connecting the CTOss-cut track with tn
. Lake Shore track, and let us in Ol
the latter, where the grade would be agans
= US, If nything, and whore we would sOOI
4 get out OF the way of the oil ears. The switcl
A would be closed now for the express an,
, our last hope was gone, unless the expires
u was late, or some one had sense enough =
a flag it While we were thinking of this W
n saw the train tearing along toward the juno
! ton. Could we reach the junction, get tn
switch and the switch be set back for the ex
d press before the latter got there? If not ther
IS would be an inevitable crash, in which no
J. only we but scores of others would b.
crushed to death. All this conjecturing di,
- not occupy but two seconds, but these tw
o seconds / lived years. Good God ] sal,
|. | to my fireman, 'what are we to do Z?
, The fireman promptly replied - and h'
was a brave little fellow-that should wi histl
% for the switch and take the chances. did "
|. | That whistle was one prolonged yell Of agony
n | 1t was shrek that seemed TO tell us that ou
= brave old engine knew our danger and ha
Is its fears. Neither the fireman nor mysel
n spoke another word. Thanks be to God
@ | The engineer on the express train, seeing u
Ia | tearing down that mountain within an eight
" of a mile of a fire in close pursuit ofus, kne,
D in moment that only one thing could saw
s. us. He whistled for brakes and got MS trail
at a standstll not ten feet from the switch
The switchman answered our signal, and W
:, | shot ON the Shore track and whlZZed Oh b
- the depot and through the place like a rock e
VI The burning cars followed us in, of course
but their race was rum They had no propel
ing power now, and after chasing us for
% mile they gave up the pursuit. and i'll thre
At hours there was nothing left of them bu
smoking ruins.
% "My fireman and were so weak when W
IS brought our locomotive to a stop that W
n | couldn't get out of our cab The two horse
, men were unconscious in the box-car. Tn
D. horses were ruined And how long do yo
:. think we were in making that sixteen miles
IS We ran two miles up the Lake Shore track
a | Just twelve minutes from the summit To tn
- place we stopped! A plumb eighty miles a
hour not counting the time lost IN gettin
B. under headway and stopping bcyon
J. Brocton."