The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1897-07-28
On O Quaking Railway.

There are few locomotive engineers
alive to-day who have had a more
thrilling adventure in a cab than thu
man who pulled a train load of passen'
gers out Of Charleston on the night Of
the memorable earthquake, nearly II
years ago. The throttle was wide
open and the train was dashing down
a long, steep grade at the rate of 81
miles an hour. The engineer had tc
reach q small station a short distance
ahead and sidetrack to allow an excur'
sion train for Charleston to pass. The
local was behind time and the engi.
>neer knew that 500 lives depended on
his getting safely into the siding be-
fore the headlight on the other train
hove in sight. Suddenly the earth
shock, but the rumbling noise accom-.
panying the shock was drowned in the
roar of the speeding train. Without
the least notice the track under the
train began to culver and move, while
the locomotive tremhled like a deer at
bay. The engineer thought that the
engine had jumped the track and was
running along over the crossties. The
train rolled on for half a mile before
being ditched. Engineer Charles Fl.
Burn was the only person injured,
and he would have escaped unHurt
had he jumped. He remained at hia
post, howeveH7 as if glued to the seat.
His mind was 80 intent upon reaching
the sidetrack that he could give but
little thought to the earthquake. Mr..
Burn recently gave the New York
Suns correspondent at Charleston the
story.
1T was 9:25 on the night Of August
81, 1885," he said, "when I mounted
the train in the railroad yards here
and got orders to pull out to Summer
vile, 80 miles distant. The weather
was hot, with not a breath Of air stir.
ring. Ny train started on time, but
soon afterWard we were delayed a few
minutes. My orders read to sidetrack
at Ten Mile for n down passenger ex.
,cursion train to pass. When I got to
q point a mile and a half from the
station I found that I had only two
minutes tetmake the run and have the
switch cle.jr for the other train The
chances were, too, thas it would be on
time, and I realized that I had a race
against death. The track ahead Of
me, however, was clear. Every nerve
in me was strained, for I knew what
would be the consequences if I ran in
half q minute late. I was in this con-
,dition and flying over the final stretch,
with the throttle wide open, when the
first tremor Of the earth was felt. My
first impression was that the engine
had jumped the rail and was shooting
over the crossties. / looked back
once and saw that the coaches were
following all right, but the next in
stantd knew it was, an earthquake.
The track under me was jerked to one
side and then to the other. | looked
ahead, and the bright glistening on
the top Of the shiny rails could be
seen. A second glance showed that
the rails. were moved out Of their
original position and we're in the exact
shape Of a horseshoe. The engine
would twitch and squirm, but it held
to the rail, and the movement of the
whole train was very much like that
of o snake crawling over the sand.
"When I saw how the rails had con-
tracted I tried to stop the train. Il
applied the brakes, and Immediately
the engine jumped the track. It was
like a whirlwind to me. The cab on
the engine was broken off, and the
top Of the cab was thrown 30 feet,
bottom upward. Arnold, the colored
fireman, went with it and had a close
shave, but escaped unhurt.
1T is almost impossible for me to
describe my feelings while on that
rocking engine, speeding over rough
track at the rate of so miles an hour.
The speed was not slackened by the
winding Of the track, but the engine
was flying to the right one second and
so the left the next, and getting over
the ground 80 swiftly that it took all
my strength to keep myself in by
holding on to the lever. The engine
seemed.to groan.
"When we were ditched I was
thrown into the soft mud and pinned
down by part of the engine. Another
shock came about this time, and it
buried the engine lower in the loose
sand. This made it harder for me,
but fortunately l was not burned nor
scalded. The third shock came, and
down went the engine again in the
sand. Icould not move a limb, and
the heat from the furnace near me
fairly made by skin fall away. A lot
Of frightened negroes came rushing by
the train, running they knew not
where, and begged them to get me
out.
"'Tain't no use, white man. said
one old fellow your time done up
now, and we is all gwine down toged-
der. Good bye
"The earth continued to tremble
during the night, or at least until 8
o'clock in the morning, when I was
taken out Of the wreck. J. have been
on the road fol-, 80 years, but I never
expect to go through another such ex.
perience as on that night of the earth.
quake. Nothing but the mercy. Of
God saved me and the train"
The wreck of Engineer Burn train
occurred on the South Carolina and
Georgia Railroad, 10 miles from Char.
lesion. At almost the same minute
two other wrecks took place, and the
only deaths were those of the fremen
on both trains. At Horse Greek the
heavy commotion of the water in 8
pond close by the railroad caused the
pond to overflow and wash away the
railroad. The train stopped soor
after getting in. Engineer Reynolds
swan out and landed high in the
branches of a tree. The fireman in
trying to reach 4 limb was killed.
The passenger train that left here
early in the afternoon for Augusta,
Ca, met with an accident between
Graniteville and Langley. A large
pond by the railroad track broke away
and submerged the road under the
train. The engine left the track in &
jifey, and in the smash-up the fireman
was killed. The train remained or
the track, and the passengers escaped
without a scratch. All along the roao
the rails were distorted into horseshoe
nhano hut tho onnina dr;uon hu Rnrr