Pomeroy weekly telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio) 1860-1866, 1860-04-24
From the Cleveland Review.
LIFE UPON THE RAILROAD.

I The best part of my life having beer
spent upon railroads, and the last ter
years as locomotive engineer, l an
prepared to speak from facts, and the
first one is this
1t has always seemed strange to me
that the travelling public took so little
notice whether they have good, careful
and sober engineer to guide them Oh
their journey. That fact is never thought
of. But let me say to them, that the
man who holds the shrottle-valve in his
hands; be who, regulates and guides tbs
lawful power that drags them with almost
the speed of thought, have more to dc
with their safety than they usually gel
credit for.
In the first place, we will all admit
that trains are liable to accident, and es-
pecially passenger trains, that at times
run with almost lightning speed. There
are great many different kinds of dan
ger to be apprehended when upon fast
run. In the first place, that of broken
rails, and upon might run, it is impossi-
BILE for an engineer to see them until too
late. Then, again, there are switches set
wrong by villains, or by the stupidity of
those who have charge of them, and
which is not an uncommon occurrence.
Then, there are cattle upon the track,
rocks falling down from deep cuts, en-
bankments giving out, and thousand
and one things that the travelling pulic
never give passing thought.
I was led into the above reflections
by an incident not long since, in which
1 was the engineer on the night express,
from -, to -; our leaving
time was 10 P. NJ, but we did not get
away before II P. NJ, on account of
waiting for connecting trains
Our regular running time was thirty
FIVE miles per hour, and it was expected
that I was to make up the lost hour by
faster running speed far too gseat for
the condition of our road at that time.
However, if the wheels kept under the
engine I was bound to make it.
The night was intensely dark, and for
the first fifty miles we did we'll, and had
made up twenty-five minutes; and in ten
minutes later would not have given one
farthing for the lives Of all on board that
train we were upon heavy descending
grade with high embankments, and I
was giving her all the steam she could
work, the scale indicating one hundred
and twenty pounds to the square inch ;
you may be sure that, with six-post
wheel, we were going at a tremendous
speed. All at once we discovered but a
short distance ahead, by the flicker of
the head lights, the bright show of
horses feet twinkling as the light glanced
upon them. l knew that few rods
from the spot, we passed through large
covered bridge, and whether those horses
would leave the track before reaching
the bridge, could not determine; l
knew it was impossible to come to stop
before we reached the bridge at the
speed we were running.
was also well aware that the horses
could not get over the bridge, as there
was nothing but tics for them to walk
upon. When I first discovered them, l
whistled ''down brakes" WeNere gain
ing upon them, when, after reaching the
bridge, in the place of turning off, they
both, side by side, jumped through the
track between the ties, and their whole
bodies lay above the track
Now, had rather run over any four
footed animal in the world than horse.
They are almost sure to throw train off
the track, and in this case I had two to
contend with, both fast in the middle of
the track, and in wooden bridge with
a span of eighty feet from the creek be-
low.
1 saw at once our case was desperate,
and as desperate cases need desperate
remedy, I instantly whistled "off brakes"
pulled the throttle-valve wide open, re-
solved to strike to them at fifty miles
per hour, for that knew was our last
and only chance. Frank, my fireman,
saw how things stood. Poor fellow, he
had been ON the road for a long time,
but this was the first time he ever knew
fear. His face was deathly pale. He
crouched down in the tender among the
wood. I knew that he saw death ahead.
AS for myself, thought over all my
past life in flash, yet was not excited.
1t is true | saw shocking death ap-
preaching with lightning speed, and
home, and those I loved flashed upon
my memory. said to myself-tBe a
man, and live or die at your duty
I shut my eyes, and with a laundering
roar we were upon them. l felt the old
engine quiver, and then dull grinding
sound as flesh, blood and bones were
ground together, and for few seconds I
knew nothing. soon came to my SEN
ses. My face was covered with blood
and entrails, and in fact the whole engine
was perfectly clogged with gore and horse
flesh. We were yet laundering on l
whistled down the brakes, and we
stopped about one mile from the spot.
The engine looked like some huge Fiend
believing for more blood, and scraping
the ground with its ponderous claws
The Conductor came forward to learn
what the trouble was. l soon explained
how matters stood.
Frank was yet down in the tender, and
I did not know but he was frightened to
death. We soon brought him out of
that, and put him in the baggage car; he
was too weak to fire any more that night
The baggage-master came and took his
place, and we were soon under way once
more. Not one passenger on that train
ever knew how near eternity they had
been that night, and it is best, probably
they should not. 1t has been acknowl-
edged by all competent railroad men,
that the tremendous speed We were run
ming at, was all that saved us from de-
struction, as it was impossible to stop,
and having the train fully stretched out
with all the couplings extended, it did
not give the cars chance to bound from
the track. l never wish to be placed in
similar position. D. W.