The Hazel Green herald. [volume] (Hazel Green, Wolfe County, Ky.) 1885-19??, 1895-01-24

o.
Numerous cave-ins have taken
place from time to time along the
railroad tracks in the coal regions
of Pennsylvania. but the worst that
has ever been noted took place
shortly after midnight on the
morning of the 18th inst, at Au-
denreid, on the line of the Lehigh
Valley railroad. A part of an en-
CINE and train of freight cars were
precipitated hundreds of feet into
yawning gulf The accident,
while terrible in itself, was exceed
ingly fortunate in results. That it
was not train load of passengers
instead of merchandise seems to
have been due to the intervention
of providence alone. 1t was less
than an hour previous to the crash
that an accommodation train filled
with passengers had passed over
the same spot. In fact, it is be-
lieved that this train disturbed the
remaining support, and it fell into
the mine, leaving the train glide
safely across. The frozen condi-
ton of the ground held the snow
covered earth between the stills and
apparently solid. Watchmen have
been stationed at the place for
week or more, but they failed to
discover that only shell kept the
tracks up.
This was the kind of a death-trap
which awaited Engineer Claude
Houck as he came speeding along
with his midnight freight train.
In the cab of the engine with him
was Conductor Shipe, while Fire
man Cressley was busy stocking.
Luckily for Cressley his huge iron
poker became fast in the CRATE bars.
While tugging to get it loose the
crash came. 1t saved Cressley's
life, and a miraculous escape it
was. As the big engine struck the
affected parts of the track the men
aboard Immediately noticed sag
ging of the earth. my God, cried
Houck, "we're lost!' On both
sides of the track the dark hole
yawned. The men could not jump.
1t would have been suicidal. Their
. only chance lay in clearing the cave
hole. Houck threw his lever wide
open, and his iron monster gave
perceptible culver. There began a
life and death struggle never before
witnessed in railroad life. The en-
CINE proper had just reached the
brink of the opening, and another
foot would save its masters. Be-
hind was attached a heavy train.
Its ponderous weight sank the rails
gradually downtown.
The iron horse struggled madly.
Grooming and straining noises filled
the air. The heavy iron bars
twisted and bent. For brief space,
which was as hours of agony to the
men, they hung suspended over the
yawning abyss. At length the
crash came. The heavy couplings
which held the tank to the engine
broke, and the tank and cars
plunged into the cavernous depths
of the abandoned coal mine. The
iron horse won and saved its riders.
Released from the train it darted
forward few feet, just far enough
to reach solid ground. The men,
realizing the close call they had,
sank back in the cab exhausted.
1t was some time before they be-
came aroused by the cries OF Fire
man Cressley. He was left behind,
though he still hung over tho edge
of the dismal mine depths. When
the tank slipped from beneath his
feet he was still struggling 10 free
the poker from the tire-boX. II
would not yield.
The tank dropped in the mine
hole, but Cressley hung on To the
poker and thus saved his Lie. The
tank, car of sugar, n ear of tim
Der, several cars OF coal and other
merchandise dropped completely
UuI OF alnht M. IF