The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1905-10-12
Train Jumps Track and Runs
Into Residence Where the
Family 10 1t Breakfast.
U MEN JUMPEc
lishtwins Strikes Train - u 10 cres.
sing . Bridge. Destroying Bridge
and Trsstis. but Doing No
Injury 10 Grow.


M On the part Of anyone not In the bus
snsssL
--Tins queer railroad accident I ever
hard o." said the Oldest member OF tho
party. Happened when I was q boy. IL
wns on what was then the New London
In . little mousse almost opposite the be-
ginning or tho college boat race course
was eating breakfast a. quietly an you
paeass one morning. The head OF the
house had Just remarked that the 9
o'clock train wal late that morning.
There she In now. though he added.
~ the train came around n curve into
his vtew. The next minute there was a
frtEhtfui crashing and smashing: he and
hi the other MEMBER OF his family.
though unhurt. were terribly frightened
ard all had jumped from their seats. IL
took them several minutes 10 realize that
they had been victims OF n most remark
able railroad accident.
.-rhe engine hauling the up train had
jumped the track Just In front OF tho
house. had crashed through the fence and
into Inc house. knocking down part Of
She front wall: the cowcatcher had been
smashed. but the bogcy truck had made
sts way clear into tire house n the old
fnshioned. fiaring smokestAck. then In use.
almost fiicd the hole hat had been made
IN ths front wall. Tho newspapers OF
shoss days gave a lot OF prominence 20
hat accident. and I remember that one Of
the Illustrated wcckiics had n picture OF
q entitled "A Locomotive At Breakfast
Luck Of Men Who Jumped.
The only man hurt In one OF the most
curious accidents OF the present year."
said one Of n half dozen story teilcrs. was
the engineer who jumped. He 10 not the
only mar who jumped n was killed
where he would have been unhurt had he
remained nc his post. On the Shore limo.
near New Haven. a few years ago. n train
was pulling slowly into the city over a
long ~trestie. when something happened 10
the rear car. and Il toppled over and fell
on the trcstie. The coupling held. pulled
fhr next car OF. Il In turn deraiied the
next md 10 on. tiil all OF the cars In the
train except the baggage car were In the
marsh Then the coupling broke. tho
baggage car and the engine remaining ON
the rails.
THE cars that fen into the marsh were
only haiti overturned. n no one on
board was hurt. Rut the conductor, who
was In the baggage car. and saw the rear
cars 10 over In time 10 jump. promptly
did so. and. landing on his head. broke his
neck He was quite dead when picked up.
I'm not In the business" said the only
mas present not n railroad man. but once
I was a passenger on the old Ohio and
Rig Sandy road hat was about the
toughest road I ever rode on. but my cx-
y~erlenee wasn't half 80 bad rs the cxpeT-
senrc OF the only sleeping passenger on the
train that night. With n friend j was
riding In the smokcr and We were talking
20 the conductor. Suddenly the door OPEN
cd ard a Wild looking chap In pajamas
ra:1c staggering In. He was the sleep
ins ear passenger n he looked as u he
had been through half n dozen wars.
- gw.A4sNwr . NA AnNNNNAEAI hNOfIF
irre rrrai old road IL so rough that l can't
s.eep a little bit. Twice I've been pitched
out az my birth 20 the floor In the last
fifteen minutes. I never had such a time
IN my lite. Maybe there's something the
matter
~-hc conductor took his lantern and
s.xrsca hack. Ny friend ard myself stayed
whrrc &c were for awhile. Then we no.
Herd that the bell cord was being jerkcd
ylolen,ly u that the engineer was
whlsttlnE Coz brakes. Then the train
came 60 a stop and after about i've min
utcA waiting We. too. went back to see
what was the matter. IL was as dark as
tar aad raining pitchforks. n the whole
train crew was outside with lanterns.
'"T.fe sleeper was on the rails had
been Tor how far we never knew. IL had
been pumplng over tho ties all the line
that poor passenger had been pitched
about. and had the train gone 300 feet
merc actsre stopping there wonld have
beea a very serious accident. for the
wheels we're within SIX inches OF tho ends
OF tae ties IL the wheels had left the ties
the sleeper woul w. gone down a high
and steep cmbankmcnt. and as the coap-
hing had been strong enough 10 haul the
SLEEPER over the ties. IL would undoubtedly
have pulled the whole train OF the rails"
ThsnderboIt and Oil Car.
.rsa--na.l a@rlarufa are alU aya terrify-
ing. even 20 railroad veterans put In the
western man. but the scaredest railroad
errw 1 ever heard OF Was running a
Ere Eht on the Flint and Perc Marquette
agar Sr two before the consolIdat thai
ra.e n the Pere Marquette system.
~ had bcca a warm. muggy, damp day.
aui all hands were I'm q highly disagree
abir f-ifnc OF mind by shutdown. !, seemed
90 skcm all that about the worst
lot that could fall TO any human being was
"a hump along, mile after mile running a
Gicr height. IL looked very much like q
thunderstorm, and by S o'clock. when IL
bc-an 70 drizz.e slowly. us u sometimes
S'ss n. the close OF a muEgy. summer day.
the DEEPEST gloom had onvclopcd the whole
crew.
The rain was climbing a long heavy
grade whcn the lightning began TO play.
A bridge a Just been crossed and the
engineer was growing In an ugly way at
the fireman. because the rats were getting
slippery and the steam was running down
a hit.
'tjefOre the fireman could growi back n
great while hoic opened in the very zenith.
and n long. straight. vertical fash of
lightning sho, down toward the earth with
q deafcnlnE. terrifying explosion that far
~ Taised the hair OF both engineer and
fireman.
"fialf a second later there Was another
exnIofton. mufned somewhat. hut more
hair raising than the first. Hardy had
tue white lgh, - the great lightning Hash
fadci out before n bright rcd glow began
20 shine OUT from about the middle OF the
tran and. al the same time. the engineer
could tell by the feel % tho train that
part OF " had broken away.
'Bul" he called out 20 The fireman.
there was an oil car IN the middle OF the
train and the lightning has truck ~. Nv
cry man on the back end OF the irain has
bs-a G.t.ed.
Guess you're right Jim" reDl. ed the
Gr~n ~. IN pull our TO Uhc next station
sns wtsr Ia. sasd the crglnecg, a. soon as
k< I'D pai1cc himself together: and 80 he