Connecticut western news., 1880-08-30

o~eSA9 zine.
 I sprang up into the footboard, got up the switch-tender to help my fireman, opened the throttle, and just as she com menced moving looked at my watoh--it was just eleven o'clock, so that I had one hour to make my seventy five miles in.
 From V to C. there were few curves on the road; but there were sev- eral heavy grades. I was perfectly &C., quainted with every rod of it; so that I knew exactly what had to encounter and when I saw how the engine moved I felt very little fear for the result. The road, for the first miles was an air line, and so smooth that my engine flew along with scarcely perceptible jar. I was so busy, posting myself up as to the amount of wood and water aboard, etc., that we danced by the first station almost before I was aware of it, having been five minutes out and having five miles accomplished. sA
 "You are losing time P yelled voice from the coach. I looked around, and there stood Roberts with his watch in his hand.
 knew very well that we would have to increase our speed by some means if we carried out our plans of reaching C. by midnight, and looked anxious ly around to see what I could do to &C., complish that purpose. She was blow ing off steam fiercely at 11O pounds; so I turned down the valve to 200, for I knew we should. need it all to make some of the heavy grades which lay between
 It was three miles to the next station. With the exception of few curves the track was as good as the last. As we darted around what commonly seemed to be rather long curve, at the station, but which was, at our high speed, short enough, I looked at my watch, and we had done it in two minutes and a half.
 ssGaining, I shouted back to Roberts, who was yet standing on the platform of the coach. .-. "Look out for the heavy grades" he replied, and went inside the car.
 The next six miles rose gradually from a level the first, to ten and half feet grade the last, which lay between us and the next station. My fireman kept her full and now she began to get hot. The furnace door was red and the steam raised continually, so that she kept her speed and passed the station like streak of light in five minutes.
 Now came nine miles like the last 1; over which she kept pace with her time, and passed the station in seven and 8 half minutes. M
 Here, for ten miles, we had twenty foot grade to encounter; but the worst of it all was at this place we would be obliged to stop for wood. I was just go- ing to speak to Roberts about it when I 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.
 I believe we would have made this ten miles with the same speed as before, but through the carelessness of the fireman the fountain valve on the left-hand side of the engine got opened, and the water rose in the boiler so fast as to run the steam down to 100 pounds before I dis covered where the difficulty was.
 At first Roberts didn't appear to notice the decrease of speed, and kept at work at the wood as if for dear. life. But presently he looked up, and, seeing that the speed had decreased, he shouted "Harry, we are stopping!" and then, coming over to where I was, he said "Why, here we have been ten minutes on the last ten miles, and believe we will come to dead stand if something is not done. The speed is continually stacking. What is the matter p I explained the cause. He was ap parently satisfied with my explanation and, after having tied down the safety valve, he climbed back over the tender exhorting me to "put her through, fol Gods sake, or we are all beggars to- gether
 r Just then we passed the next station having taken nine minutes for eigh miles. We were now more than hal over the road, but we had lost nearly ten minutes time, and had left onl. twenty-seven minutes to do thirty-fou miles in. ..s..-
 Ihad shut the water off from both m, pumps a little distance back, when
 discovered what was the matter, and sh was now making steam finely down
 slight grade. From less than one hun dred with which we started over tha
 ten-mile stretch, she had two hundre
 pounds before we finished it; and, a
 the gauge indicated no higher than that and the valve was tied down, I could no
 tell how much over two hundred pound she carried, but she certainly carrie none less the rest of the journey. An well might she carry such an enormou
 had If stnano for after 1,ossino ovo