The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-09-24
FEENEY'S R A ENGINE
IT RUNS AWAY WITH A TRAIN AND
sMAsHEs THREE COACHES.

n Peculiar Accident on tho staten Island Rapid
Transit RaiIwAy-An Engine and rive Carr
nuu wild from Clifton and Cause n
Wreck at South Beach-Tho Engineer Hurt.
A locomotive with hvo passenger coaches
attached. to 1t ran away near Clifton sta
ton, on the Staten Island Rapid Transit Rail
road, before daylight yesterday morning. coursed
down tho tracks TO the end OF the line at South
Beach and there made kindling wood OF two
coaches and involved another coach in a pic.
turosquo wreck. How it all came about was
not made clear to the railroad authorities yester.
day. What Is known is that at about $3.50 A. NJ.
Engineer Thomas Feeney Of Stapleton went to
the shops at Clifton to get out his engine, No. =,
and begin his days work. The engine had al.
ready boon fred by tho hostlcrs and had a par.
tial head Of steam UP. Feenoy started her out
% make up his train.
Tho tracks out OF tho yard were blocked with
coaches and Feoney pushed two Of these ahead
of him ana had three attached behind the en-
Gino when he pulled out to clear q track 80 that
tho hostlers could get another engine out for
service. Feeney's engine was running back
ward when he went out on tho southbound
track Of the main line. He ran along to some-
where on the trestlo work which crosses the
meadows between Clifton station and Rosebank
and thero he stopped. 1t Is understood by the
f feestPs he e sdt of fPa the w enEIn ee and w @n' lo on Inc
about her to SEQ that she was all right for work.
Feeney has not been able to explain just what
happened after that, for ho Is confined to his
house with injuries and nervous prostration
resulting from the events of the next few mo-
ments, and there was no one with him OIL either
the engine or the train ut tho time.
Tho only thing that Feeney was certain
started toward south Beach Of her own accord
and. that something hit him on the head and
rendered him unable to take any action fora
had passed him.. going too fast for him to over.
take 1t, although he started in pursuit. Then
he ran All the way back to the shops, wnero
Fortunately, at that hour the tracks were
clear. The runaway. train moved slowly until
IL got to the crown of the grade where the deep
down grade past South Beacn station until it
line, in the marshes two or three hundred
yards in the rear Of the hotels along the shore.
about ten e feet tn ABOVE ,l1' the bs e soft IN marsh eln1an stand.
ing in front of the bumper on the south.bound
track wore coaches ~ and A., Coach 90 was
pushing. When this struck coach ~ it jumped
Its platform over that of AZ and ploughed
trucks Of So were flung aside rs the squeeze
came, and then the telescoped cars. driven by
sisa w idl b,6 Of the 3n engine eosG and 10 the T fGse 6ssrl be;
away the bumper, and coach ~ went shooting
out oyer the end of the embankment until It
gine and the coaches behind 1t were unhurt.
Engineer Feeney had some cuts on his face
ana u numDer OF bruises ABOUT us arms and
body. He was completely unnerved, but his con-
diion was not considered dangerous yesterday.
The only explanation which the superin.
tendent OF the road could offer for the cratic
conduct Of the engine was that Feeney, when
he left 1t, must have left his throttle lever un.
locked and a leak IN the valve thus produced
had finally forced the throttle open a notch or
two and let in steam enough to start the train
old and has been an engineer for about five
years. having worked his way up on the road
fron the place, of fireman. and is consid-
cred o good and careful man.