Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-26
Written for The Star.

Half a dozen railroad men were talking
about odd accidents, hair-breadth escapes
and other queer happenings on the rail. All
sgreed that many of the Incidents that had
come into their experience as railroad vet
Grams were strange past belief on the part
OF any one not in the business.
First queer railroad accident I ever
heard Of" said the oldest member of the
party, happened when / was a boy. II
was on what was then the New London
and Northern railroad. A family living
in little house almost opposite the be-
ginning Of the college boat race course was
eating breakfast quietly as you please
one morning The head of the house had
just remarked that the o'clock up train
was late that morning.
There she is now. though he added.
as the train came around a curve into his
view. The next minute there was fright
full crashing and smashing; he and all the
other members of his family. though I'M
hurt, were terribly frightened and all had
jumped from their seats. 1t took them sew
eral minutes to realize that they had been
victims of a most remarkable railroad acct
dent.
THE engine hauling the up train had
jumped the track just in front of the house,
had crashed through the fence and into the
house knocking down part of the front
wall; the cowcatcher had been smashed
but the DOGGY truck had made It's way clear
into the house and the old-fashioned, farng
smoke-stack, then in use, almost filed the
hole that had been made in the front wall.
The newspapers of those days gave a lot
of prominence to that accident and I re-
member that one Of the illustrated weeklies
had picture of 1t entitled "A Locomotive
at Breakfast
The demolition of buildings by derailed
trains is not a frequent occurrence, but
there have been several other accidents of
the sort besides the one mentioned by the
veteran railroad man In 1898 a westbound
Big Four train. at Lafayette, Indiana left
sharp curve and came in collision with
the train shed and station. The two struc-
lures were instantly transformed into brick
piles, with here and there a Splntered tim
Der sticking out. Fortunately, the accident
happening in the small hours of the morn
ing. there were few people about the sta
ton at the time and none of them was Sc
riously hurt. Seven people were killed on
the train, including the engine driver SO
that 1t was not possible to learn the cause
of the accident with any degree of GER
tainty.
Some years prior to that a similar acct
dent occurred at Rochester on the New
York Central, but with much less damage
and no loss of Ii e. If l remember correctly.
this accident took place at about 10 o clock
in the morning, when the train shed was
crowded with passengers leaving the incom-
ing and about to climb on board the out
like sheep before the big black monster
machine. and had the train been moving
at full speed the loss Of life must have
been frightful. 1t was moving slowly how
ever, and 1t was due to the same reason
that the only damage done to the station
building was the knocking OF hole In the
side Of the waiting room wall.
Luck of Two Men Who Jumped.
"The only man hurt In one of the most
curious accidents Of the present year" said
one Of the half dozen story tellers, was
the conductor, who jumped. He Is not the
only man who jumped and was killed when
he would have been unhurt had he remain
ed at his post. On the Shore Line, near
New Haven, a few years ago a train was
pulling slowly into the city over q long
trestle. when something happened to the
rear car and 1t toppled over and fell off the
trestle. The coupling held, pulled the next
car off, 1t in turn derailed the next, and SO
on, till all the cars in the train except the
baggage car were In the marsh. Then the
coupling broke. the baggage car and the
engine remaining on the rails.
1.-THE cars that fell into the marsh were
only half overturned, and no one On board
was hurt. But the conductor, who was in
the baggage car. and saw the rear cars go
over In time to jump, promptly did so, and.
landing on his head, broke his neck. He
was quite dead when picked up.
THAT was piece Of bad luck, the match
OF which befell fellow at Croton Falls. N.
Y, few years ago. though his luck was
good, not bad. He was driving home one
ed for when he reached the Croton river.
instead of sticking to the highway and
crossing the stream over the wagon bridge.
he took the railroad.
1.-THE horse had taken only few steps on
the bridge when his legs went through the