The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1890-09-11
THREE NARROW ESCAPES.
A Travelling Railroad Man Tells Thrilling
Story.

THREE NARROW ESCAPES.
A Travelling Railroad Man Tells Thrilling
Story.
Nc,p York SIN.
II have been travelling employee OF
different railroad companies for over
twenty years." said George Coffee. now
"lost car agent" of western railroad, and
in all that time have made but three at.
tempts to ride any part of one of my trips
or spend any time on locomotive. My
first attempt was made some years ago,
my second one last February, and my
third only week ago. If live to be a
travelling railroad man for ahundred years
I'll never make q fourth attempt. I'll
tell why;
"In the summer of 1875 was making
trip over the Erie Railway. On my
way east had to stop at Lackawaxen.
I got through my business there and met
at the depot an old friend of mine, Doc.
Fuller, an Erie freight engineer. he
was waiting for orders to pull out, on his
way to Port Jervis. His train stood at
the station and he expected to be able to
20 ahead as soon as his locomotive had
finished taking water. He asked me to
ride as far as Port Jervis in the engine
cab with him, as the express train | vas
waiting for would not be at Lackawaxen
for two hours. AS we were talking Full
Ter got his orders, and l walked with him
to his engine. He got into the cab and /
followed him.
"Just as he was pulling the throttle
open the telegraph operator at the station
came running to the engine, shouting TO
me that he had telegram for me. The
engine was then moving. I seized the
telegram, read it and found orders in it
for me to 60 to Scranton the next day. I
bade my old friend good by, and jumped
off of the locomotive"
"While I VAS sitting at the hotel at
Lackawaxen couple of hours later, the
news came that Doc Fuller's engine had
exploded few miles west of Port JerVis,
and that Fuller, his fireman and the flag.
man of the train, who was riding on the
engine, we're all killed. The news was
too true. The three men were literally
torn to fragments and we're scattered for
hundreds of feet around. Scarcely 3
splinter of the locomotive was left. That
was the first instance on record of loco.
motive boiler exploding while the engine
was running. I was terribly shocked at
the fate of my friend, and my thankful
ness for the telegram that saved me from
the same death may be imagined.
"I had no inclination or cause to be a
passenger on a locomotive from that time
until one day in February last. 1was on
a business trip over the Baltimore and
Ohio road, and found myself laid up at
the little station of Benwood. I vas all
through, but there was no way to get
anywhere else for half day, except by
way of freight train, which ran by the
station at about four miles an hour.
When it came along recognized AL.
Cunningham as the engineer. he hailed
me, and witbouta a moments thought or
hesitation I jumped on the step and
climbed in the cab. I had no sooner
done so than George Divine, the conduc.
tor of the train, came out Of the telegraph
Office with orders, and stood waiting for
the caboose at the end of the train to
come along. He discovered me and
shouted:
"Hello! You're just the man I want to
see (? Get off and wait for the caboose p
ri jumped from the engine and got on
the caboose as it came along. I had
scarcely reached the platform before the
whole train and everything in town was
shaken by the most tremendous explosion
ever heard. The train stopped with a
lam. hurried from the car with the
rest and ran forward. 1 never saw such
q sight All that was left of the locomo.
tive was the driving wheels and truck
The track vas torn up for rods, and cars
that stood on switches in the yard were
battered to pieces by the flying parts o1
the locomotive that were hurled on all
sides. We of course thought that Gun
ningham and his fireman had been tori
to shreds, when what vas our surprise tt
see Cunningham coming out of a field 2O(
feet from the scene Of the explosion a
one side of the track. Several ran tt
meet him and found, that, although he
had been hurled headlong throug b the
air and landed in the field seventy yard:
away, he had scarcely scratch upon him
His fireman was found two car lengths
back. he was lying on the hind end o
the boiler with the cab upside down ove
him. He was not badly hurt. That ex.
plosion was the second one on record of
locomotive while in motion, and it Wa
the most miraculous one as to harmlessnes
to life in the history of railroading
What my fate would have been if ba'
not been so opportunely called out of thi
} cab am not prepared to say, but wa
entirely satisfied that had been in th
. caboose at the time of the explosion
instead of in the locomotive cab.
ga week or ten days ago / was in Sus
quehanna, on the Erie railway, and wen
to Lanesboro, mile below, at the foot
the Starrucca viaduct, to have good vie'
of that stupendous piece of masonry fror
below. While there I walked to the sta
ton of the Albany and Susquehann
railroad, and there, with his loconlotiv
. on switch, I found an engineer acquain
7 tance named James Morgan. He told M
be was waiting for the fast express to pas
4 and asked me to get in the cab with hir
onJ 600 tba hVar whizZ nv 7 not in tn