Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1879-04-11
A FAST LIFE.
THIRTY-SEVEN YEARS on A LOCOMO-
TIVE.
A Talk With the Engineer Who Brought the
First Train Of Cars to
Wheeling.
ZAxEsvILLE. Quo. April 6. 1879.

and Ohio Road. Philip Z. Thomas was
/ President at that time. / think, and a
/ good one he was, too. The Fulton was
an upright boiler engne-a grass-hOp-
per, as we called them-weghing three
| tons and half, and with horsepower
of fifteen tons, exclusive of cars. At
| that time we ran from Baltimore to
Martinsburg, a distance of 100 miles and
| a run of ten hours. Along the line of
| the road we could see still standing the
piles on which the rails were first laid.
Railroading in those days was very safe
that is, compared to nowadays. We
never had any extensive accidents,
every thing was conducted so carefully.
Now in the whole time | ran on the
main branch of the b. and o., beginning,
as | said, in 1912, and continuing until
January, 1854, when | accepted place
on the newly-cOmpleted Central Ohio
Railroad, | had only one accident that
occurred TO my train. 1t was one even
ing, i'm the fall OF 1915. | was running
Cooper, a clmel-back, and was loaded
down with twenty well-filled freight
cars. We were approaching MOnrOvla,
a water station, and the track was sup
posed 10 be clear. We were somewhat
behind time, and pushing to make it up.
Ii was very tOggy, and Just as we went
around sharp curve, l caught sight oil
the headlight of an engine Just ahead
of me. | gave the lever wrench and
whistled down brakes, but II was too
late-we went crash into the other train
in a moment. Ny fireman leaped when
he first saw the other engine, and broke
his leg IL seemed for a minute to me,
as | chung on, that we went right over
the other train, and then | knew moth
ing more. =.
"The other train was made up OF
empty ears, and had undertaken TO run
from MOnroyia to the next switch, a
mile OF two further, before we came up.
our heavy train pushed clear through
10 the second car, but fortunately there
was no loss OF life, the engineer OF the
other engine being the only sufferer.
"In 1853, when the Baltimore and
Ohio Road was completed to Wheeling,
| ran the first train-regular, l mean
from Washington To Wheeling. In 1854,
when the Central Ohio was finished, |
took position a. passenger engineer on
il. Hon. III. j. Jewett was President,
and frequently went up the road ON my
| engine. | ran the Baltimore Tor fifteen
wears, until il became almost a living
| thing to me. came to look upon n as
a being known only TO myself, and It
was one Of the bereavements of my lille
when il was taken away from me.
Jacobs is very explicit in his statements,
has kept a diary ever since he took To
/ the railroad. and We understand Is pre-
pairing a book for publication. After he
/ accepted situation on the Central
/ Ohio, his carefulneSs soon made HIM
/ recognized as the best engineer on the
road. In 1855 he made the then re-
markable time, ON his run from Zanes-
vile To Columbus, distance Of sixty
miles, including six stops, OF landing IN
/ Columbus i'm Just one hour and twenty
minutes from the time he left the depot
| here.
IL WAS extremely lucky all this time.
| said he. "why, one night, when | was
close to sonora with a heavy passenger
/ train. We struck a loose rail-, winch
/ threw Us over an embankment ten feet
high. The engine went over ON one
/ side. breaking free from the tender, anu
| the bopylpp-car sent the tender 10 the
/ other side of the track. Then 1t 1.-THE
/ baggage carl deliberately turned around
/ anil straddled the track, throwing the
eight passenger coaches tOpSy-turNy.
/ YOu will hardly believe II when | tell
| Won that on that train, out ot those 900
/ souls, not one had even a leg broken
I Another time | struck tree, but De-
vond a big jolting up nothing serious
\ occurred" In November, 1899, ms ieI-
I low-employes presented a silver cup as
| a testimonial OF their admiration at his
performing the almost unheard OF ieat
of running daily for sixteen months
without missing connection, or being
five minutes late at either end oil the
road.
In answer 10 our question as to wheth-
or ne had ever run over any person ne
said:
"Well, have only in my thirty-seyen
v,ars' railroading ran over three persons.
| One dav as | was leaving Pataskala l
saw an old man on the track mouonihg
| somebody away with stick. l whistler
| fnr him, but he never minded unui |
WAS almost upon him, when, instead OF
;umping of the ODen side OF the'ruad'
10 ATTEMPTED % run around the corner
NJ the water tank. Just as he reached
the corner We struck and threw hlm
cIear of the rails. He recovered, but
never remembered any OF the attendant
circumstances.
Another time drunken man sat IN
the Lockport Bridge and we went righ'
over him. But a sight | will never ior'
pct was when ran over an old farmer
named Hale, about Salesviile. IL Wa
about dusk, andas our train was iht
last mail, We did not stop at SalesNlne
While was passing the station, l no
ticed Hale standing by the side OF the
msil hook. He WAS q tall, robust, splen
didly formed man, probably seventy-nVe
or eighty wears old. When noticed
him he had his hat of, his eyes turned
upward rs il in prayer, his hands CLOSED
together on his breast and his long, 81,
ver, white hair floating on the wlna
win never forget the sight. 1 don
know how il was, but the Thought naSh
Ell mon me that he was going TO throw
himself in front of the train. tNasn
mora than one hundred feet from the
station 10 the mail post, and oeslaes
could not have done any thing ahyh1. !:
In a shorter time than Il takes 70 ten
va we're near him. When about ter
beet awav he made q single bound I'M.
the middle OF the track, and Just ~ INA