Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-04-05
RAILROAD ESCAPES.

VI was,n said the man with the wooden leg,
station agent on the B. and r. railroad for
good many years, and several things oc-
Cured there which were the talk Of the line
and which you may find interesting enough
to publish. Ny station was both insignificant
and important. While il was only hamlet
In population, it was a RAILROAD crossing
While every train seemed to be in hurry to
get away as fast as possible, all engines had
to take water or coal, and various trains had
to pull in on the long siding to let various
other trains pass.
THE policy of our road was niggardly
The object was to get everything cheap, and
TO work every man to the limit. My station
building was little better than a shed, and it
was impossible to get any repairs or improve
ments l was required to act as telegraph
operator, ticket seller, freight agent, switch
man, chore boy, and all else, and did not
have an hour could call my own. I had q
cot in the Office, and was on call during the
night Let 'em sound my call while / was in
the deepest sleep and inside Of twenty seconds
] was ready to answer. / should have had q
first class assistant at my station, but the
company would not permit it. must either
do the work alone or get out for some one
who could and would, and so l kept hanging
on month after month and year after year,
always thinking about going, but never
making up my mind to it. The situation
was grave enough to keep my nerves under
n constant strain. Train dispatching was
not the art it is now, and if regular got be-
hind her time it caused confusion ali along
the line.
lone Of the queer incidents occurred after
1 rad ha OH trxro
was in the fall Of the year, with great deal
of nasty weather, and trains were contin-
ually late. The last passenger train on our
road passed me, according to schedule, at
1880 p. m. The next one passed at 7:29
a. m, and it was supposed that the interview
ing time belonged to me. If the night
freight was on time, and if l did not get
call on the instrument, and if there was no
special on the line, and if a dozen other
things did not occur, could sleep from II
TO 6. II may have occurred that my sleep
was unbroken five nights in year. On all
other nights was turned out from one to
three or four times. The night freight
should reach me at IL 05-five minutes after
midnight She never left or took up a car
at my station, leaving that for the day
freight, but made stop of seven or eight
u
special on the line, or if there had been an
accident, the freight might have to side
track and wait, but such thing was rare
Gas rule | wes always asleep when the
freight came in, but somehow or other
knew of her arrival. / knew Of it without
waking up, and next morning could have
told whether she was late or on time
Ywenty-eight minutes after her time a pas
-,
crossing. This crossing was eighty rods
above the station, and, while had nothing
to do with the trains on the other road,
naturally kept track of them, and knew
whether they were late or on time. On this
particular night l went TO bed at l0:45, and
was asleep before II o'clock. At 1890 / sud
denly awoke. The night freight had not
come in. / had been sound asleep, but /
knew she had not. She was fifteen minutes
overdue, and yet my call had not been
sounded. This TO me meant some sort Of ac-
cident between me and the next station
north, which was eleven miles away. l at
once called for the station, but the operator
had gone. rem to the door and looked out.
There was fine rain and a dense fog.
Freight trains are seldom on schedule
time, and had known those on our line to be
an hour late without worrying over the fact.
However, ON this night was all worry. Tho
rain and the fog, the crossing, the fact of my
waking up as had, the failure to raise the
agent at the station above, these things made
me terribly uneasy, and at 1925 lighted my
lantern, put on my rubber coat, and started
up the line on a run. l had not gone forty
rods when l heard a Kissing Of steam, and
two or three minutes later l could see the
glare of headlight through the fog. In
couple of minutes more l found our midnight
reight-twenty-two loaded cars and big
locomotive-and she was standing directly on
the crossing OF the roads. | began to shout
as soon as had made out the locomotive, but
10 one answered me- pushed along TO the
cab, climbed up, and found the engineer and
fireman on the floor of the tender, arms
around each other, and fast asleep or dead.
AT the same moment the passenger train on
the other road whistled for the crossing.
II am telling you, sir, that l lived a year
for every minute in the next five or six
knew very little about an engine though
had seen how they were reversed and how the
throttle was worked II anything was done
must do il, and do IL quickly. Why | did
not pull ahead | do not know. 1t struck me
that must back up, and l flung over the
bar, gave her steam, and she began TO move.
The steam had run down, and we moved at a
snail's pace, and even when pulled her wide
open the engine scarcely had power TO back
the heavy train. We did move, however, al
though it was foot by foot. ] could hear the
roar of the passenger train, and l knew that
every second was fastening terrible caiam-
ity but did not leave the engine. Back
back! back we crawled, and of a sudden a
great light flashed in my eyes, there was q
crash, and saw cars moving in front of me
and disappearing into the darkness. What
had happenedl Well, l had backed the
freight until the locomotive of the passenger
train only carried away the pilot as it crossed
our line That was all the damage done, and
no passenger had suspicion of his narrow
escape from An awful smash up.
when the train had disappeared and l
could realize the situation, l began TO inves-
gate. ran back to the caboose but no one
was 70 be found. / shouted and screamed,
but soon found that l was all clone Then,
climbing back into the cab. sought 10 arouse
the engineer and his fireman Deaii No.
Drunk as two lords! Yes, sir They were
drinking men, though the company did not
know it They had been taken of another
run two weeks before, and coming down the
line on this trip had brought a bottle with
them Attic station above they had reached
the limit, and IL tseir drunken deviltry had
suddenly pulled out and left the all the train
crew behind. The conductor could not read
lily find the station ogent, and when he did
rout him out and gst him 20 the o.ice l was
e. out of mine, and did not answer his call.
The two men had let the steam go down. and
the train had crawled down 70 the crossing
and been stopped where found it The men
were by that time TOO drunk to stand up, and