The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1909-03-16
BLOW OFF
is BROKEN
No, "a, Leaving Hammond
at $40, Meets With
Unheard of Mishap.

One Of the most remarkable acci-
dents that ever happened on a rail-
road, took place east of Crown Point
on the Erie when No. "A, east-bound
leaving Hammond at $40, had a
narrow escape from destruction.
With the big locomotive broken
loose from the train, the air brakes
smashed, the spokes and tire on the
blind driver twisted and The iron
monster under a speed of about
forty-fve miles an hour, the en-
gineer and firemen were compelled
to cling to their posts of duty, un-
able to stop the engine in its wild
run.
1t was only by hair-breadth mar
gin that a catastrophe was averted-
in the accident the blow-off cock was
broken OF, permitting all the steam
to escape. The engine died after
running mile and half down
grade.
The crew were Engineer Leroy
Sweetland and Fireman Motz.
IN giving further details of the af-
fair, a Huntington dispatch says:
Just on this side OF Disko station
the axle on the front driver broke.
staving out the side rods. causing the
tire on the blind driver to be torn off
and putting out Of business the air
The machinery under the boiler suf-
fered greatly and the engineer was
rendered powerless to either reverse the |
locomotive or TO apply the air brakes. |
Beginning at Disko, there is down
grade of seven miles. Port Of it is
rather steep and at the place where
this accident toop place the track
goes down hill rather rapidly With /
the added impetus given by the down /
grade track the engineer was in |
greater quandary than ever.
When the axle broke the front +
trucks Of the car next the engine
were thrown off the track by some of +
the loosened rods. As soon as the T
trucks left the rails the coupling be-
tween the tender and the car broke.
allowing the engine to go forward i
without the weight of the train to re-
tard it,
But as good fortune would have it.
the blow-off cock came in the way of
the side rod and was broken off. al
lowing the steam to escape and cutting
OF the motive power of the locomotive
The steam made a great noise coming
out of the boiler but Engineer Sweet
land knew that was his only salvation
from taking desperate measures to stop
the engine. He said to a friend after
reaching the city: If that blow-off
cock hadn't broken off. I suspect we
would have been going yet
After running nearly two miles the
engine came to a standstin and the en-
gineer came to the next telegraph Of
fee on foot
"Old men on the road say the acei-
dent was one of the most peculiar. vet
had one of the most fortunate endings
that they ever heard of. 1t is but one
time in fifty. they assert. in which this
blow-off cock would have been affected.
permitting the steam to escape. 1t is
also wonder that the engine kept on
the rails, considering that the side
rods We're bowed outward and that the
axle on the front trucks was broken.
Erie officials say that the damage
TO the engine viii aggregate over So
900 and this was incurred in one of the
most singular wrecks in the history
of the Erie. Engineer Sweetland and
his fireman climbed out on the engine
pilot and We're ready to jump the op-
posite way in case the engine left the
tracks and toppled over