The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1893-02-08
One Engineers Experiences.

Lafayette Truman, engineer of the
Erie train that ran into the Eastern Hi.
nois train Friday night, has killed TWEEN.
ty two men," said C. 3. Mccullough,
brother engineer of the Chicago and
Erie road, at the Clifton last night.
"But," he continued, sin no case was he
to blame, and in every case he has been
exonerated by the jury. Most of these
killings were at railroad crossings and in
other similar accidents where the en-
giueer could not be held responsible. He
is only your, Ian, and I want to re.
late two experiences of his which show
him to be possessed of marvellous pres.
ence of mind.
SIN October, 1890, he was engineer of
a train, that was dashing through burn
ing forests, near Lima, o., at the rate of
sixty miles an hour. That night the sky
was concealed by black storm clouds,
and before the burning district was
reached the darkness from the windows
of the cars seemed impenetrable. Then,
as the train proceeded, the horizon be.
came hazily red. As the train sped on
nearer, the blood red clouds appeared to
be tumbling ah".t :n'g ultuously, as if it
was q sea of IL i,;:f ID by angry winds.
At length tho tran seemingly plunged
into the heart of this forest Gre.
"Tbere was straight stretch of track
continuing for seven miles. As the train
dashed along the fire sprang up in sheets
from cracking, falling trees Oh either
side and above was conopy of shiftingj
eddying, red smoke. Down the track,
beyond the reach Of the headlight, there
was only red blur. A bridge, spanning
deep river, was ahead somewhere.
Suddenly, Immediately in front, Turman
saw shower of big sparks fly upward.
In an instant he was reversing his en-
CINE and the train was brought to q
standstill just on the edge of the river.
It had flashed over him when he saw the
sparks that the bridge was burning aud
that spark had fallen, sending up as it
went down a show of light. He saved
the train and the lives of 300 passengers.
There is not one engineer in thousand
who would have arrived at the conclu-
sion so quickly that the additional transi,
tory light was from the bridge burning.
They would have supposed it was an in
consequential part of the phenomena and
plunged on to destruction:
"The other incident, while not sur
rounded by the popular hero-ike aspect
lent by the forest fire and the run
through it, was no less heroic, and
showed far greater presence of mind
This was in Ohio, too, near Hepburn
His train this time was running at about
the same rate, sixty miles an hour, when
the rods on each side of the engine
broke, instantly killing the fireman and
wrecking the cab Thruman, to save him
, self, jumped in the tender. And there
= he was isolated, as it we're, for the train
3 was going sixty miles an hous, and the
t broken rods were flying nadly and beat:
j. ing deafening!y, aud it was impossible
r for him to reach an airbrake with the
train going at that speed. He is only s
, young man, but be did something ther
that dlany old engineers have since told
me that they never would have thought
of. He got out his pocket knife and GU
G the hose, thereby applying the automatic
r brake and succeeded in stopping the
! train. I would rather ride behind that
man." concluded Mr.. Mccullough, "thar
, any engineer in the United States. ."-Ch'
{ ci00 Inter Ocean,