Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1881-02-16

who was standing on the platform Of
the coach.
Look out for the heavy grades be
replied, and went inside the car.
The next SIX miles rose gradually
from level to ten and half feet
grade, the last which lay between Us
and the next station. Ny 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 a streak Of light in FIVE minules.-
Now came nine miles liks. the last, over
which she kept pace with her time and
passed the station in seven and a half
minutes. Here for ten miles we had a
twenty foot grade to encounter, but the
worst oil it all was at this place we
would be obliged to stop for wood. l
was jxst going to speak 10 Roberts
about it, when | looked around and saw
him filling the tender from the coach
with wood which had been placed there
before staring, when he had goae after
me.
l believe we would have made this
ten miles with the same speed as be-
fore, bat through the carelessnees Of the
fireman the fountain valve on the lett
hand side Of the engine got opened, and
rose in the boiler so fast as to run the
steam down to 100 pounds before l 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 for dear life. But present
ly he looked up, and seeing that the
speed had decreased. he shouted, 'Har.
ry, we are stoppingp aud then COM
ing over to where l was, he said why
here we have been ten minutes on the
last ten mile, and / believe we will
come to dead stand if something is
not done. The speed is continually
Stacking. What Is the matter p I ex-
plained the cause. Gle was apparently
satisfied with my explanation, and, hav'
ing tied down the safety valve, he
climbed over the tender, exhorting me
to put her through, for Gods sake, or
we are all beggars together y
Just then we passed the next station,
having taken nine minutes to eight
miles. We were now more than hall
over the road, but we had lost nearly
minutes time and had only left twenty
seven minutes to thirty seven miles in.
| had shut the water off from both my
pumps little distance back, when l dis
covered what was the matter, and she
was now makfbg steam finely down q
light grade. From less than one hun
dred, with which we started over that
ten mile stretch, she bad two hundred
pounds before we finished il. and as The
gauge Indicated no higher than that, land
the valve was tied down, l could not
tell how much over two hundred pounds
she carried, but she certainly carried
none less the remainder Of the journey.
And well she might carry such an enor'
nous head of steam, fer after passing
over that ten miles in eight minutes,
there lay ten miles of 6ye-feet up grade
and fourteen miles of twenty feet to the
mile depression between US aud c.
and it was now thirteen minutes to Il
O'Clock.
Now the engine was hot in earnest.
The furnace door, smoke arch, and
chimney were all red, while she seemed
to fly onward as if the very evil one
himself operated her by machinery
Six minutes carried US over that ten
miles, aud we dashed by the last sta
lion that had lain between us and c..
Now we had fourteen miles to go, and
my time showed fifty-thre minutes pas
III o'clock. sIfI live SAID to myself
& will make it, Aud we plunged down
that twenty-foot with all steam on
Persons who saw the train on that wild
run said it was so soon sitter they hsaro
the first sound Of her approach wher
the strange object, which looked as II /
was a fame of fire, darted by, and ther
the sound of its travelling died away il
the distance, that they,could hardly con
vince themselves they had really seer
anything. 1t seemed more like th'
creature of wild dream than a sobel
reality.
And now let me tell you that u'
engine ever beat the tima we made or
those fourteen miles. Those grea
wheels, seven feet in diameter, spur
around 90 swift that you couldn't be-
gin to count the revolutions. The en-
glne barely seemed to touch the tracks
as she flew aleng, and although th'
track was true as it was possible Tor /
TO be. she swayed fearlully, and some
times m de such prodigious jolts tina! i
required considerable skill tor one to
keep bis feet. No engine could hol'
together if crowded 70 greater speed.
We'll. just as came to standsIill II
the depot at c. the big clock boom
ed out IL, aud the steamboat was get
ting her steam on. Roberts got OF
board in time and nothing TO spare. Blu
he saved the money. He found it hiC
away in some old boxes, as Aldrich ha'
directed him.
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