The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-05-06
BURNED TO THE TRACK.
A CENTRAL PASSENGER COACH
FIRED BY EXPLODING GAS.

The Passengers on the Atlanta Night
Express Have q Thrilling Expert
ence-Vapor from a Carburetor Fills
a Car and Explodes While the Train
is Running Thirty-five Niles IN Hour.
The Car Filled With Flames-Ths
Porter Burned and the Passengers
Have 3 Narrow Bscape-The Car e
Total Loss.
Passenger coach No. 29S Of train No 3 of
the Central railroad, which left Savannah
Monday night at $40 o'clock, vas totally
destroyed BY fire at the 20-milepost.
The fire was caused by the vapor arising
from escaping gasoline coming into contact
with the flame of a lantern. The car was
illuminated by a gas mado from the Frost
dry carburetor system. The carburetor
was placed on the roof OF the car and filed
with wicking. AR passed through from a
storage reservoir on the bottom and picked
up enough vapor to make rich illumnat-
ing gas.
Through some unknown cause a sufficient
amount of this vapor escaped into the lamp
holder to extinguish the light, and Porter
Joe Smith undertook to remove the lamp in
order to relight it. As soon as he opened
the holder the vapor escaped in large
volumes, aud ran through the coach until
it came into contact with the lantern, which
stood at one end.
THE CAR FILLED WITH FLAMES.
Immediately tqare was loud EXPOS on,
and flames shot upward through the car.
The passengers, OF which there was quito q
number, grabbed up their sachels and beat
hasty retreat through the other door, just
In time TO escape the flames. The porter
stopped long enough to pull the bell rope and
received severe burns on the haads and
arms,
Conductor Cubbe1ze, the moment he
heard the bell ring, rushed from his cab and
saw flames shooting up from the middle of
his train. He realized that quick work had
to be done, and lost no time in getting to the
burning coach and cutting it off from the
balance Of the train. Had it not been for
Conductor Cubbedge's presence Of IN nd the
entire train would have been destroyed.
BURNED TO THE TRUCKS.
Nothing could be done to save the coach.
and it burne5 rapidly. As soon as the de-
struction was complete the trucks were re-
moved from the track and the forward part
of the train was coupled t. the slespers,
which had been in the rear of No. 29S, and
the journey 70 Atlanta was resumed Al
though the delay had been of considerable
duration, nearly all of the lost time was
made up, and the train reached Atlanta
yesterday morning only fifteen minutes be-
hind time
The passengers had a narrow escape from
being burnt 60 death, and they were COZ
siderably excited over the affair They all
managed TO save their effects however, aud
all the loss sustained falls upon tine raiiro I'd
company. No. 29S was one of the Central's
new coaches, and was worth about 81, 500.
There was no Insurance. Porter Smith was
brought back to the city ald given medical
attention. His injuries are of a slight
character, and he will be all right in about
ten days.
NOT AS SAFE AS WAS THOUGHT
The gasoline gas system of Illuminating
has only been recently introduced on the
Central, aud but three coaches had been
fitted up with it. 1t was thought to be one
OF the safest systems OF car-lighting in the
world. Before adopting 1t the authorities
of the road subjected it to the severast kind
of test TO fad out whether their was any
danger of it causing fire in case of wreck
Heavy weights were dropped on the
carburetor, but it resisted successfully, and
showed that there was no danger of fire
from combustion. The Pennsylvania rail
road uses the system exclusively, and the
Norfolk and Western and other large roads
have also adopted it.
The Central now ms but two cars using
the light, aud the auth critics are making a
thorough Investigation into the ciuses of
Monday nights disaster, to prevent any
possible recurrence Of a similar character.
The CentraPs new sleepers do not burn any
gasoline whatever, and there is not the
slightest danger of any such accident occur
ring 10 them.