Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1861-11-20

was standing on the platform outside of tic
coach
Look cut for the heavy grades he replied
and went inside OF tie car
The next six miles rose gradually from a
ievei, The first to ten and half feet grade
tile last, which lay between us and the next
station, My foreman kept her full and ow
she began to get not. The furnace door was
red, aud the steam rose continually, so that
she kept her speed, and passed the station like
streak OF lightning, in five minutes
Now came uine miles like tic past over
which she kept pace with her time, and passed
the station in seven minutes.
Here, for ten miles, we had twenty foot
grade to encounter; but the worst Of it all
was, at this place we should have to stop for
wood. l was just going TO speak to Roberts
about il, when looked around and saw him
filling the tender from the coach, with wood
which had been PLACED there before starting,
while he was gone after me.
believe lie would have made his ten miles
at the same speed as before; but through the
carelesSness OF the fireman the fountain valve
on the left hand side Of the engine got open,
and the water rose in the boiler, so far as to
run the steam down to one hundred pounds
before l discovered where the difficulty lay
Al first Roberts didn't appear to notice the
decrease OF speed, and kept at work at the
wood as if Tor dear life But presently he
looked up, and seeing that the speed had de-
creased he shouted
Harry, we are stopping
And then, coming over to where ! was, he
said
Why, here we have been ten minutes on
tine last ten miles, and l believe we will come
to dead stand if something is not done The
speed is constantly slackening, What is the
matter?"
explained The cause. lie was apparently
satisfied with the explanation, and after having
tied down the safety valve, he climbed back
over the tender, eXhortlng me to put her
through for Gods sake, or we are all beggars
together
just then we passed the next station, hav.
ing taken nine minutes for eight miles. We
were now more than half over the road, and
we had lost nearly ten minutes time, and had
left only twenty-seven minutes to do thirty.
four miles in.
had shut the water off both my pumps; a
little back when | discovered what was the
matter, and she was now making steam finely
down slight grade. From less than one hun.
dred, with which she started over that ten
mile stretch, she had two hundred before we
finished ii; and the guage indicated no
more than that, and the valve was tied down.
| could not tell how much over two Hundred
pounds she carried; but size certainly carried
none less the rest OF the journey. And well
she might carry such an enormous head of
steam; Tor after passing over that ten miles
IN eight minutes, there lay ten miles OF 1--WE
feet up grade, and fourteen miles of twenty
to-the-mle depression between US and c.,
and i. was now eleven o'clock aud forty.seven
minutes.
Now the engine was hot in earnest The
furnace door, smoke arch. and chimney, all
were red, while she seemed to fly onward as
if the Evil One himself operated her machine.
~.
Six minutes carried US over that ten miles.
and we daried by the last station that had lain
between US and c.. Now we had fourteen
miles to go and my time showed eleven clock
aud ftty-three minutes.
II live said to myself. 4 will make ill.,
a @nItb Y aI steS1l on Persons who saw The train
on that wild run say it was soon after they
heard the first sound of her approach, when
the strange object, which looked as if it was a
naue oi fire. darted by, and llIen the sound of
its travelling died away in the distance, that
they could hardly convince themselves that
they iau seen nything. 1t seemed more Ike
a creature OF a wild dream, than sooer real
lily.
And now let NE tell you that no engineer
mas ever YET peal tile time lnas WIS lldNS Oh
those last fourteen miles Those great wheels,
eleven feet in diameter, span around 50 swiftly
that you could not begin to count the revolu
lions. The engine barely seemed to touch
the track as She flew along, aud although the
track was as true as it could be, she swayed
feartully and sometime made such prodigious
jolts that it required some skill tor one to keep
his feet No engine would hold together il
crowded to a greater speed.
Well just as | came to stand at the depot
in c., the big clock doomed out twelve, and
the steamboat was getting her steam on.
Robert got on board in time, and nothing to
spare.
And he saved the money, did he q l asked,
when l saw that my friend had finished his
story.
Yes, he found it hid away in some old boxes
as Aldrich had directed
If You are passenger for c. said walt
er, the bus is ready
So thanked my friend for his story, and
babe him good bye.