The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1869-10-28
Gales, gkettRts, 5ntt0otes, &f.
From the New York Weekly.I
ALLEN KNOX, the Young Engineer.
BY NATHAN d. URNEn.

In the spring of the year 1861, Allen
Knox was the youngest engineer employed
on the baltimore AMI Ohio railroad. He
was only little over seventeen, but by
his fidelity aud skill had won considerable
confidence; and was frequently intruSted
win important trains.
The road being new, and much of the
rolling stock having been already smashed
up by bands of guerri!las-the rebellion
then being in its incipiency-they had fire.
quently to make up for lack of material
by transferring the stock from one portion
of the r1ad to another with great rapidity,
in order to have as little delay as possible
in tie heavy transportation business which
the repeated calls for troops and munitions
of war had flung upon this important ar
terry of communication between the sorely
beset national capital and the great West.
AS the breaks Il. tie track and in the
vast system of mountain tressef-work con-
tinuCd to increase, thus frequently limiting
the company to the use of single track,
temporarily, of course, these rapid trans
! fcrs of material were often attended with
| imminent danger. The switches were in
creased III number, the road-signals were
| multiplied, requiring much more head
| work to make out their meaning with ce-
| lerity, the calculations of time had to be
exact TO single second, and, III every
conceivable aspect, the periis of the road
bore no comparison to what had existed
during the years of quietness and peace.
At about dusk of the evening of May
18th, young Allen Knox, who had been
recuperating for some twenty4four hours
at the mountain station of h, re
| ceiyed a brief message from Mr.. McEwen,
the superintendent OF the road, summon
ing him to meet him with all haste at the
station office. Allen proceeded to the Of
fee Immediately, and found the superin-
tendent waiting for him with his usual
brusque Impotence.
'Good evening, Allen," he said, "glad
to see you on hand so promptly, for there
is work to do. Hope you're not altogeth-
er tired out, for it'll be a long bump and
hard one.''
elm pretty well tagged out, Mr.. Nc
Ewen," rejoined Allen ); shut of course
I'm on hand for duty as long as I'm able
to walk"
"lVell said. You have already gained
an excellent reputation for so young an
engineer and if you perform this job as
bang up as usual, think can guarantee
that you'll be made station master, with
better salary and less work. But there
isn't moment to spare, so listen to me. -
He hastily consulted some telegraph
dispatches, which he drew from his poe
ket, then his chronometer, and resumed !:
ga rebel force is marching on Harper 8
Ferry, and will undoubtedly invest, or
surround the place before daybreak. One
locomotive is already there, and must
send another by you, to complete the re-
moval of our rolling stock. You know
there is only single track on our lower
grade, since the last destruction of the
great trestle-work, just below the Black
Mountain cutoff. The locomotive will
leave the Ferry for the West by the same
track which you will pursue going East.
at midnight precisely. 1t is now almost
eight o'clock. Fire up the 'Vixen, (the
name of the locomotive at this point,
| believe,) In order 10 miss a collision with
the train coming this way. That is, you
must reach the Ferry in four hours. The
question is, Allen, can you do it g.
Distance two hundred and fifty-sik
miles, scant sixty-four miles an hour.
Allen looked rather blank at this pro~
position, which certainly surpassed any
thing in his railfoading experience; bat