The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1888-05-09

maps never Detore lSeporteu-AosC 11rlN-
Ing wheels--wrecked LocomotIve--A
Swltchman's Mistake.
Curious accidents happen on railroads
! Because they are not attended with loss Of
life the public never hears of them, and yet
| they are SO strange that most people will be
inclined to believe they never happened OF
could happen.
Some time last summer one of these hap
pened on the Rock Island road within 100
miles Of Chicago. A passenger train was
| running at full speed. across rather level
| piece of country The train was probably
making sixty miles an bour when, without
any premonition whatever, all four Of the
driving wheels suddenly left the engine and
went spinning off across the fences into the
adjoining fields. Why they did it nobody
knows to the present day; but they did it,
and the strangest part of it all is that nobody
was hurt, and but little damage was done TO
| the road or the train OF course the train
was brought to rather sudden standstill
Being left without its main support, the en-
| CINE dropped down until the firebox scraped
along ON the ties and rails for short dis
/ lance, but it was so well held up by the pilot
wheels, and the strong couplings Of the
4 tender that it did no serious damage, and not
a wheel except those that went spinning Off
across the fields, like so many school boys
| hoops, left the tracks. or course the train
was delayed until word could be sent to the
nearest station and another engine secured,
but that was the only inconvenience that
anybody suffered from this very strange
happening.
A WRECKED LOCOMOTIVE.
| Something over year ago passenger
up toward station in northern Wisconsin
town. The baggageman and one of the other
trainmen were standing in the door of the
baggage car looking out, as such men often
do, at a village as they pass throughit,. just
before they reached the station they were
surprised to see alongside of the track
wrecked locomotive. Ii had been going in
the same direction they were going, and they
saw at once the wreck had been very recent
1t was not, however, until they pulled up at
| the station that they discovered the engine
was the one that had been pulling their own
| train. 1t seems it had exploded, jumped the
| track and fallen in the ditch complete
wreck, without disturbing the remainder Of
the train, and it all happened so silently that,
while they were only the second car from
the engine, they had not heard the explosion
or the crash it made when it left the track.
| A very strange accident occurred ON the
| Chesapeake and Ohio road The train was
running down grade at a rapid rate of speed
in the West Virginia coal district when it
plunged into u mass of soft earth and rocks
that had fallen down the mountain side on
TO the track The conclusion, while not SO
abrupt, was sufficient TO throw the locomo-
| tive from the rails and it rolled over into
| the river. The rebound snapped the pin con-
ta...
the former shot forward, jumped clear over
the debris, landed safely ON the rails, and was
found at the foot of the grade, three miles
from the wrecked engine. The automatic
brakes held the remainder of the train not
a wheel of which left the track Another
engine was telegraphed for, and the train
went into Louisville on time. None of the
nasseugers WIS any the Wiser FOR their Itlirag
ulous escape. The engineer and fireman went
down with the engine, and both swan ashore.
Barring a little shaking up and n cold bath,
they were none the worse for their nights
adventure, and proceeded westward with the
| train.
President Strong, of the Atchison, Topeka
and Santa Fe railroad, had close call once
on the Atlantic and Pacific railroad. He
was en- route to San Francisco and was trav-
cling in a private car. A small single span
/
leaving the rails suspended They were
pinioned at either end by the ordinary bolts
and splice bars. and the heat had warped
them until they resembled the phonetic
alphabet in shape The train was running
in the neighborhood of mile minute when
IL struck the warped rails, and heaven only
knows what held it up, but they passed over
all right, with only slight damage 10 the
| car Probably the terrific rate of speed at
which the train was flying saved the lives OF
all on board.
TWO NARROW ESCAPES.
Two very narrow escapes from smash up
have recently happened TO the limited trains
running east from Chicago, and both oc-
Cured not very long ago. The first happened
within the first 100 miles out from this city
| TO the train going east. Ii was to meet q
freight at long sding,out on prairie, mid
way between stations. The freight ran into
the siding in ample time to be out of the way
of the flying "limited," and one Of the brake
men got off and went forward to the switch
to be ready to open 1t as soon as the train
had gone by. He was very tired and sleepy
from some cause, and sat down on the
switch beam, and almost Immediately feel
asleep. He was almost as quickly awak-
ened by the laundering of the approaching
train Why he did it he does not know
to this day, but in his confusion he
reached for the switch and turned IL.
Both engineers had their eyes fixed ON the
SWITCH as their custom Is, and both in an In
slant saw the danger that threatened Them
The one on the flying s'limitedp quickly re-
versed his engine and set his brakes, while
the one on the freight turned on full head
of steam TO force his train backward The
brakeman also saw the danger as quickly as
they did, but not quickly enough to correct
his terrible mistake and he had only time to
jump TO one side, to fall rather than
scramble out Of the way, when the passenger
passed the switch and turned into the siding
full on the freight When the switchman
recovered he found that the two engines had
gone together, but with force enough 10 only
slightly damage their pilots, One Of the en-
gineers had jumped from his train after
doing all he could TO save It, and was slightly
injured, but was able to take his position in
the cab and proceed ON his journey. The
passengers probably do not know to this day
why the train was stopped SO suddenly.
The other narrow escape also occurred on
one OF the eastern roads, and not much fur
Their away from Chicago. 1t happened one
foggy night when the fog was so thick that
engineers could scarcely see that their en-
gines carried headlights. The fast train
from the east was ordered to make its best
time to certain station, where 1t would
meet another train from the west, which was
to be on the side track. The western train
was given orders to go to another side track,
some six miles further east and pull In in
time to be out Of the way of the westbound
train. 1t made good time, reached the sid
ing and pulled in on it, and much to the sur
prise Of the trainInen, especially the rear
brakeman, who was standing ON the rear
platform, the other train dashed by just In
time to Craze the corner of the last CAR
Chicago Times.
Smith And Jones.