Year: 1879

night was very dark. The engine thun-
dered along faster than any engine ever
ran in this country before or since, through
woods and deep rock cuts. and on the
edge of high precipices. The horses were
stamping and neighing with terror in the
box car, and only a few feet in the rear
was the flying mass of flame rushing down
the mountain like tremendous meteor


The blaze from the thousands of gallons
of burning oil was more than 90 feet in
height, and lighted up the woods and
rocks and crooked road for miles The
whole heavens were Illuminated, and from
Brocton the sight of the great conhagra
ton, apparently flying through the air,
now hidden for second by cut or a
piece of woods, and then loaping out
again and up toward the sky, is described
as having been awful in its grandeur.


The idea of Engineer Dawson was to
call for the opening of the switch for him
at Brocton Junction, so that he could run
on to the Lake Shore track, where the
grade was ascending, and where he could
soon get out of the way Of the burning
cars through their having lost the propel-
ling power Of the decline of the Summit
grade 1t happened, however, that the
Cincinnati express on the Lake Shore
Road would be due at the junction when
Dawson engine reached there To add
to the terror of the situation, a west
bound Lake Shore freight train was at
that moment running to pass the junction
before the arrival of the express. There
was only one thing to do, and that was
TO whistle for the switch. and take the
chances of the freight getting out of the
way, and the express being tagged or
late The engineer knew that he must
have been seen from Brocton Junction, by
the light Of the burning oil, in his life or
death race down the mountain, and that
the railroad men there understood the
peril of the situation and would be prompt
to act. He whistled for open switch
He and his fireman then bade each other
good-by and awaited the result The
freight train gained the siding out Of their
way. The switch was opened, and they
tore on up the Lake Shore track, pas,
the depot and through the village, and
were soon out of the way of the burning
cars The latter gradually came 10 "a stop


The engine and box car were stopped
within a hundred yards Of the Lake
Shore express, which was both late and
signalcd When Dawson and his fireman
found they were out Of danger they faint
ed on their engine The horses in the
box car were ruined. and their keepers
were taken from the car unconscious The
oil-tanks burned for three hours after they
were stopped. The most fortunate cir
cumstancc Of the whole affair was the un-
coupling of the passenger cars from the
oil cars at the Summit. They wcre filled
with passengers, and if they had re-
manned with the burning tanks would
have been wrapped in flame, in very
short time, and there would have been no
escape for the passengers from "a mos.
horrible fate. Itwa, just 9 clock when
Dawson pulled out from Mays..lc sum
NIT. When he was taken from nI, enc
giuc. sixteen miles from the starting
point. it was not yet twelve minutes past
the hour.


James Keenan,, Dawson, fireman, was
killed about three years ago. He was on
MS engine, when he saw child playing
on the track some distance ahead. He
ran out to the pilot, and, reaching over,
caught the child and tossed it to one side
of the track. He lost his balance how
ever, and fell in front Of the locomotive,
and was crushed 10 death