The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1905-10-12
Train Jumps Track and Runs
lsto Residence Where the
Family 10 at Breakfast.
Y MEN JUMPEc
GSht~;ns Strikes Train % u 10 cres'
siRo . Bridge. Destroying Bridge
end Trsssis, but Doing No
Injury 10 Grew.

An agreed that many OF the incidents
ehnt hnd come into their experiences ~
ss1DsosA veterans were strange past be"
~ ~ the part Of anyone not In the bus
sneaL
.-v7us queer railroad accident I ever
heas6 ok.'. said the Oldest member OF the
par4y. Happened when I was q boy. IL
uas On what was then the New London
ana Northen railroad. A family living
In . tAttle house almost opposite the be-
ginning % the college boat race course
was eating breakfast Is quietly as you
pssAss enc morning. The head OF the
house had Just remarked that the y
e'elcck train was late that morning.
There she n now. though he added.
~ The train came around a curve into
MA vtsw. The next minute there was a
frtghsfuI crashing md smashing: he and
HI the other members OF his family.
though unhurt. were terribly frightened
and nj had jumped from their seats. IL
. them several minutes TO realise that
They had been victims Of n most rcmark-
abae railroad accident.
THE engine hauling the up train had
Jumped the track just In front OF the
house. had rashcd through the fence and
into In house. knocking down part OF
The from; wall: the cowcatcher had been
smashsd. but the bogey truck had made
1ts way clear INTO the house and tho old
MIkNk - - -
ainest filled the hole that had been made
IA the front wall. The newspapers OF
thoss days gave n lot Of prominence TO
that accident. and I remember that one OF
shs Illustrated weckiics had a picture OF
a entitled n Locomotive At Breakfast
Luck Of Men Who Jumped.
The only nan hurt In one OF the most
curious accidents OF the present year"
said one Of n half dozen story teilers. was
the engineer who jumped. He In not the
oafy man who jumped and was killed
where he would have been unhurt had he
remained at his post. On the Shore line.
near New Haven. n few years ago. n train
was pulling slowly Into the city over a
iong trcxtle, when something happened TO
the rear car, and IL topplcd over n fell
on the trcstie. The coupling held. pulled
the next car of. "a In turn deiailed the
next and 50 or. I'LL all OF the cars In the
train except the aggag car were In the
marsh Then the coupling broke. the
buEragr car and the engine remaining on
The rails.
."rhc cars that fell into the marsh were
oniy haf overturned, and no one on
board was hurt. But the conductor. who
was IN The baggage car. and saw the rear
cars 20 over In time 70 jump, promptly
eki 50. and. landing on his head. broke his
neck He was quite dead when picked up.
u W. NV hA Ntt @AA-%
man present not a railroad man, but once
was a passenger on the old Ohio and
Ric Sandy rond. hat was about the
ou.hcst road I ever rode on. but my ex-
p~erienee wasn't half so bad as the expey-
iencc Of the only sleeping passenger on the
train that night. With n friend i was
riding IN the smoker and we were talking
20 the conductor. Suddenly the door OPEN
"a ard a wild looking chap In paJamas
cane staggering In. He was the sleep
irc car passenger and he looked as II he
lad been through half q dozen wars.
Mr.. Conductor he sputtcred, your
f.reunl old road II 90 rough that l can't
s.eep a little hit. Twice I've been pitched
cut Of nay birth TO the floor In the last
fifteen minutes. i never had such q utne
IN my life. Maybe there's something the
matter
~-hc conductor took his lantern and
sxrsci hack. Ny friend ard myself stayed
xhtrr ve were for awhile. Then we mo-
sieed that the bell cord was being terked
Violently and that the engineer was
Whaling for brakes. Then the train
cane % a stop and after about hve min
utica waiting we. too. went back 10 see
~hai was the matter. II was IA dark as
tar aud raining pitchforks. and the whole
train crew was outside with lanterns.
..1.ie sleeper was on the rails and had
freu Coz how far we never thew. IL had
becn pgmping over the ties all the time
that poor passenger had been pitched
about, and had the train gone 300 feet
moro betsre stopping there would have
heea a very serious accident, for tho
~heeAs we're within SIX inches OF the ends
OF the tiss II the wheels had left the ties
the rseeper would have gone down a high
and steep embankmcnt. and as the "a
hing had been strong enough 10 haul the
SLEEPER over the ties. u would undoubtedly
have peeled the whole train on the rails"
Tksndcrbelt and Oil Car.
"I;a.-.oad accidents are alw ays terrify-
ing. even 20 railroad veterans" put In the
western man. "but the scaredest railroad
ervw 1 ever heard OF was running a
fire. ght ON the Flint and Perc Marquette
agar W t~o before tho consolidation that
mae N the Pcre Marquette system.
10 had bcea q warm. muggy. damp day.
aud all hands were In n highly disagree
abir f.Isnc OF mind by shutdown. IL seemed
90 skcm all that about the worst
Dot thai could fall TO any human being was
Ca bump along. mile after mile running a
sfox height. IL looked very much like a
thunderstorm, and by S o'clock. when a.
tc-an to drixz,e slowly. rs Il sometimes
Nssss n. the close OF a fnuggy. summer day.
tho ecerczt gloom had Cuvclopcd the whole
crew.
The train was climbing a long heavy
grade when the lightning begaa to play.
A trsJxa had just been crossed and the
engineer was growing In nm ugly way at
the fireman. because the rails were getting
siippcry and the steam was running down
q bAt.
Before thS fireman could growl bacA n
great while hole opened In the very zenith.
and n long. straight. vertical fash u
lightning sho, down tow ard the earth with
q deafcn!nE. terrifying explosion thai far
~ raised the hair OF 3oIh engineer and
fireman.
"Half a second later there was another
~xplosion. mufhed somewhat. but more
hair raising than the first. Hardy had
she white Ugh; n the great lightning lash
faded out before n bright red glow began
60 shine out from about the middle OF the
tran. anal. AT the same time. the engineer
could tell by the feel - the train that
part Of u had broken away.
'Bni. he called Out TO tho fireman.
there was an oil car IN the middle OF ths
train ard the lightning has struck a. Ev-
cry man on the back end OF the train hs'
bscu gl.ed.
Cues you're right Jim" replied the
arcr ar. III pull oui ,o The next station
std nfsr In said the engineer. as soon as
- h4d puiscc himself together: and 90 he