A Sensational Climb.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 5015, 24 May 1889, Page 3

A Sensational Climb.

The passengers in the express train from ■Melbourne arrived at Albany one night last week in a state of great excitement. It appeared that when the train was a few miles from Wodonga the occupants of several compartments . vre o a'armed by an extraordinary sound as of repeated knocking on the floor of the carriages. The blows eventually became so violent that the passengers expected every moment to see the flooring burst up, and so much alarm was felt by tho occupants of one compartment that they endeavored to communicate with the guard of the train ; but there being no electric apparatus in the compartment, they sought other nuais to attract the attention *of that official. They opened the door, and tried to attract tho driver’s attention, and could not make him hear. Sparks wore then observed flying out from under tho carriage, and then flames forth, and appeared to extend tho full length of the carriage. Tho passengers in tho other carriages then noticed the fire, and within a few rainmlcs all tho carriage doors wore opened and the occupants screaming for help The train was going at thorate of about forty miles an hour and the shouting failed to reach either the guard or tho driver, and at length Captain James Johnson, of tho W. i\ Witzmann, an American vessel, now at Sydney, climbed out of tho window of the carriage, end after encountering some difficulties in making his way to the engine he succeeded in informing the driver that tho train was on fire. To his surprise his report was replied to by saying that ho would be locked up on arrival of tho train at the next station. He was not arrested, however : and tho driver on tho contrary, admitted that tho captain had done right in making for the engine. The train was stopped and the fire extinguished.