The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1889-03-31
FORTY YEARS IN THE CAB.
"OLD MAN WHITE" ENGINEER ON
THE PROVIDENCE ROAD.


the line of the Providence railroad. where no
{, almost as familiar part of the scenery n
the stations by the roadside between the city
aud Delhsn. past which he has ridden on
his locomotive nearly every dag during the
last thrty-six years
But wait until vi you something OF the
past life Of the man. ". f. White, tainihariy
/ known as "Old Man White"
Ii was away bacl twenty years ago that he
met with one OF the first at his hairbrcadih
escapes Then he was running the old en-
CINE Pegasus on the hourly train out TO
Dedham and on the return trip.
One day he was bowling along down from
Dedham townrd the city at n speed Of about
twenty miles an hour Tho signals were all
right for him TO 90 ahead upon a clear track.
Reaching Forest His bis engine had just
pulled out on To the main line from the branch,
aud was forging ahead at m increased speed.
when away Just around n curve in the rear
Of him, "0ld Mnn White saw line Of nd
vancirg smoke lie knew I'm moment that
the Providence express must be- there hearing
directly down upon him. Should he continue
to 90 ahcndl The signals wero set all right
for him to do So Bnt he had a heavily loaded
train and a small locomotive Should he try
TO race the splendidly equipped express into
the city, Perhaps he might win, but the
chances were fifty 10 one against him. Not
for hmsslf alone must he think Behind hun
ride hundreds Of human beings that have
learned 10 trust implicitly ia bis good july
mont and skill
What shall be do;
There Is hut moment IN which b. decide
upon a course Of action.
My God, il is the express~ be excaims
a. a big black bulk Of locomotive come
into sight around The curve that has hitherto
hidden it, Running at n speed Of fifty mile
az hour. It IS bound directly for him. How
can he get out Of the wayf He may savo his
own lifo 10y jumping. but the unthinking pas
sengers, what Of theml 1t Is the work of only
a second for odd Man Whit to decide Whit
be viii TO-
II reversed the old Peg as he remarks
when he tells the story nowadays, land
thought if could only get her to running
backward az a fifteen mile an hour speed
should bc O. K ! tell you tho cold sweat
stood in spots all over me as / saw the express
bearing down upon US She couldn't stop; ii
was on the down grade II she struck us it
was my last day alive suppose that
thought more IN n single minute then than
most men do in two or three months Ny
fireman stared at mo with his mouth wide
open, and he was rs white as a sheet. II is an
actual fact be was completely paralyzed with
fear He could not move hand or foot But
you sec that we got out Of it all right AT last,
for here | am, alive and well and smoking
my cigar as contentedly and as happy ~
anybody It was rs close call as q man
wants 10 have, however. and escape That
Providence express train New 10y me Just as
we had gotten fairly on to the siding TIL,
pilots of the two engines struck and lniHe
was torn away in the rush
But that Is not the only narrow ESCAPE
that | ever had TO completely take the starch
out OF me
Jim Prince and a man named Cole and
myself were ordered out one Sunday morn
ing. after tremendously hard snow storm.
10 clear up the tracks with the plow out t.
Dedham My engine was the old Roxbury
When we started ont she steamed poorly,
and told the boys that they would have to
surely SOW up for me TO get steam before We
arrived al tho end OF the trip. In order that
they might not have to drag me if my power
should give out was placed in the lead near
the snow plow Wo went out Of Boston all
right. and when wcgot ONT 90 Roslindale gave
the signal to slow up speed, for my steam
had gone down to forty pounds. While We
were getting up "a running pressure again
looked up around the Dcdham curve aud
could sec that The snow wa, driftcd up there
fcarfuuy. But we pulled out on to the road
again IN about half an hour, and deter
mined 10 wade through the piles somehow.
"Yon may doubt st, but VIC accomplished
that day seeming impossibility in railroad
ing.
We made two engines pass each other on
a single track.
When we had got up around the Dedham
curve we struck the snow 20 dcep that it went
away NJ over the engine cabs windows. We
were pulling. each one OF u, for all that We
we're worth Suddenly my old Roxbury
struck a clear stretch of track Her throttle
being wide open she leapcd ahead al fearful
speed and left the rails She plowod Ike mad
over the sleepers. cutting some Of them eight
inches thick in two. You have 10 be party
to such an experience in order 10 fully under
stand how IL seems to be jumping along like
this The engine rode completely over the
track. ! couldn't get my hand out 10 shut the
throttle AMI there was full head OF steam
on. There we were blowing along over what
and towards whore | had not the slightest
idea Every minute We wore getting deeper
and deeper into snow DRIFT AT last the en-
CINE struck something and stopped short, and
the Jar was sufficient 10 close the throttle
Nv fireman. Big jim we called him. was
frightened Just a little bit. AS soon as the
engine stopped be jumped head first into big
snow drift III never forget how he looked
when he got up on bis feet and cleared some
OF the snow out Of his mouth.
BE jaters, he shouted, III never ride
on an engine again, again, to my dying day
And sure enough, ne kept his vow, for he
walked home to Boston 10 the snow, gave VI
bis place as a fireman. aud went into some
other kind of business.
That was narrow escape, indeed, hut the
most peculiar part Of the story have yet tc
tel you.
when the Roxbury stopped | put my
hand upon the whistle bar and gave "A blow
sounding rs near like cock-a doodle-doo a.
possible Then began to wonder how the
other two engines Jared during the disaster
turned around to look for them, OF course,
but couldn't see anything % them there,
and was puzzled to know what had become .
of them Suddenly | heard whistle too, .
away. "a thought, about half mile up the
track toward Dedham. | supposed then that
il came from an engine that wss coming
down from the village, where it had been
housed up over night, to help us clear up the
road. gave an answering whistle. Soon
there was a reply, and after short wait two
locomotives came steaming down tho track
You can imagine my surprise and consterua.
ton when Jim Prince stuck his bead out OF
the window Of the old Washington. and
asked me what had been up 70.
The last time that | saw him, you know,
he was ON tho track in his engine behind
me. And the funniest thing about the whole
Sifair was that neither one OF US had missed
the other until the whole accident was thing
Of lie past. Boston Globe.
Did Bacon Write sheridan, Too?
Overheard In Il Cambridge car: Don't
you love Shakespeare "Oh. yosl just
dotc on him | saw School for Scandal the
other night You know that's enc OF Shake