Year: 1879

Pursued Down Hill by Burning Cars


An Engineers Wonderful Feat-six


teen Miles in Less than Twelv


Minutes.


A letter from Dunkirk, N. Y, to ,
New York paper, tells this thrilling
story: By a locomotive explosion on I
Western railroad a few days ago, tn
engineer, John Dawson, was killed
Dawson was one of the Oldest engineer
in the country, and was for severa
years on the Buffalo, Cory and Pitts
burgh railroad, where he had one of th'
most terrible experiences that has eve
been recorded in the history ce railroad
ing. His death recalls that night O
peril to every one in this part of tn
State, although it has never ceased to b'
related in minutest detail at all gather
ings of railroad men where the danger!
of the footboard have been the topic.


From Mayville Summit to Broctor
Junction of the Lake Shore road tht
distance is ten miles, but owing to thu
numerous sweeping curves in the rail
road the distance by rail is fourteen
miles. The grade for that distance il
nearly eighty feet to the mile. Tht
Cory road extends into the Pennsyl
vania oil regions, and ten years ago car
ried large quantities of petroleum: Or
the night of August II, 1869, Davison't
engine was at the Summit with trair
Of one box car, six loaded oil cars, and
two passenger cars. The box car was
next to the locomotive, and the passenger
cars were at the end of the train. The
engineer had started the train, and il
had attained good headway, when he
discovered flames issuing from one o1
the oil cars. He whistled down brakes,
and the coaches were cut loose from the
oil cars. which were quickly uncoupled
from the box car. The engineer then
pulled on down the hill, to get out Of
the reach of the burning cars, in order
to save the locomotive and the other
car, in which were two valuable trotting
horses and their keepers on their way
to Cleveland. Hesupposed the brakemen
would put the brakes on the oil cars,
but in the excitement this was not done,
and they followed the locomotive, gain
ing headway every moment. Before
the engineer had taken in the situation,
the oil cars, every one of them now
ablaze, came dashing upon him around
q curve. They crashed into the box car,
knocking in one end of it, but, sim
gularly enough, neither that nor any of
tine moving cars were thrown from the
track by the collision. The engineer
and fireman could have escaped all dan
ger by abandoning the locomotive,
but, as Dawson said when asked
afterward why he did not pur-
sue that course, they bad 10000
worth of the company's property in their
charge, and they were determined to
save it if possible. According to the en-
gineer's story of the accident, he saw
that there was to be race for life be-
tween him, with his engine, and the
flaming cars, under no control. He said
that when the oil cars struck the one in
which the horses were the poor animals
actually screamed with fright. The heat
was unbe arabic. Dawson pulled the
throttle-valve wide open, and he de-
clared that he flew down the eighty-foot
grade so fast that the engine could not
pump. The keepers in the car next the
oil cars climbed up to the opening in
the end of the car, and, with faces as pale
as death, begged the engineer to "giye
her more steam" They could see the
blazing oil cars through the broken end
of their car, and it seemed to them
that they gained at every turn of
the wheels. The engineer said that
when he struck the sharp curves at
the lightning speed at which he
was going he expected that his engine
would leave the track and be hurled
down the mountain side. The night
was very dark. The engine thundered
along faster than any engine ever ran
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 few feet in the
rear was the flying mass of flame rush
ing down the mountain like q tremen-
dous meteor. The blaze from the thou
sands of gallons of burning oil was more
than sixty feet in height and lighted up
the woods and rocks and crooked road
for miles. The whole heavens were il
Illuminated, and from Brocton the sight
of the great confagration apparently
flying through the air, now hidden for q
second bya cut or piece of woods, and
then leaping out again and up toward
the sky like huge fountain of fire, is
described as being 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 10 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 prop, ling power of the decline of the
Summit grade. 1t happened, however,
that tie Cincinnati express on the Lake
Shore road would be due at the junction
when Davison's 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 tor the switch. and take
the chances of tho freight getting out OF
the way, and the express being tagged
or late. The engineer knew that he
must have heen seen from Brocton juno
ton. by the light of the burning oil, in
his life or death race down the mountain,
and that the railroad men there under
stood the peril of his situation and would
be prompt to act. He whistled for open
switch. He and his fireman than bade
each other good bye and awaited the re-
suit. The freight train gained the siding
out of their way. The switch was
opened, and they tore on up the Lake
Shore track, past the depot and through
he village, and were soon out of the way
of the burning cars. The latter gradually
came to a stop. The engine and box car
were stopped within hundred yards OF
the Lake Shore express, which was both
late and signaled. When Dawson and
his fireman found they were out of dan.
ger they tainted on their engine. The
horses in the box car were ruined, and
their keepers were taken from the Cal
unconscious. The oil tanks burned for
three hours after they were stopped.
The most fortunate circumstance of the
whole affair was the uncoupling of the
passenger cars from the oil cars at the
Summit. They were filled with passen.
gers, and if they had remained with the
burning tanks would have been wrapped
in flames in very short time, and there
would have been no escape for the pas.
sengers from a most horrible fate. 1t
was just nine o'clock when Dawson
pulled out from Mayville Summit
When he was taken from his engine,
sixteen miles from the starting point, ii
was not yet twelve minutes past the
hour.


James Keenan,, Davison's fireman, was
killed about three years ago. He was on
his engine when he saw child playing
on the track some distance ahead. He
ran out to the pilot, and, reaching over,