Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-04-18
FORTY YEARS IN THE CAB.
"OlD MAN WHITE" ENGINEER ON
THE PROVIDENCE ROAD.

with ''OId Peg"-Two Engines Passing
on the Same Track.
"Old Man White" they call him over along
the line of the Providence railroad, where he
Is almost as familiar part Of the scenery as
the stations by the roadside between the city
and Dedham, past which he has ridden on
his locomotive nearly every day during the
last thirty-six years
But wait until tell you something of the
past life of the man, w. L. White Familiarity
known as ''Old Man White"
1t was away back twenty years ago that he
met with one of the first of his hairbreadth
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 toward the city at a speed of about
twenty miles an hour Tho signals were all
right for him to go ahead upon clear track
Reaching Forest Hills his engine had Just
pulled out on to the main line from the branch,
and was forging ahead at an increased speed,
when away, just around a curve in the rear
OF him, "Old Man White" saw a line of ad-
vancing smoke. He knew i'm a moment that
the Providence express must be there bearing
directly down upon him. Should he continue
to 60 ahead! The signals were set all right
for him to do so. But he had a heavily loaded
train and small locomotive. Should he try
to race the splendidly equipped express into
the city, Perhaps he might win, but the
chances were fifty to one against him. Not
for himself alone must he think Behind him
ride hundreds of human beings that have
learned to trust implicitly in his good judg-
ment and skill.
What shall he doi
There Is but a moment in which to decide
upon a course of action.
MY God, It is the expreSs" he exclaims,
as a big, black bulk of locomotive comes
into sight around the curve that has hitherto
hidden 1t. Running at a speed of fifty miles
an hour, it is bound directly for him. How
can he get out of the wayl He may save his
own life by jumping but the unthinking pas
sengers, what of theml II is the work of only
second for "Old Man White" to decide what
he will do
81 reversed the old Peg,'n as he remarks
when he tells the story nowadays, "and
thought il l could only get her to running
backward at fifteen mile an hour speed /
should be o. X. | tell YOU the cold sweat
stood in spots all over me as saw the express
bearing down upon US. She couldn't stop; it
was on the down grade II she struck us IL
was my last day alive. l suppose that
thought moro in a single minute then than
most men do in two or three months NV
fireman stared at me with his mouth wide
open, and he was as white as a sheet It is an
actual fact he was completely paralyzed with
fear. He could not move hand or foot. But
you see 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 as
anybody. 1t was close a call as a man
IN houa
Providence express train few by me lust as
we had gotten fairly on to the siding. The
pilots Of the two engines struck and mine
was torn away in the rush
But that Is not the only narrow escane
that ever had to completely take the starch
out of me.
Jim Prince and man named Cole and
myself were ordered out one Sunday morn
ing, after tremendously hard snow storm
TO clear up the tracks with the pillow out to
Dedham- My engine was the old Roxbury.
When we started out she steamed poorly
and told the boys that they would have 10
surely slow up for me to get steam before we
arrived at the end of the trip. In order that
they might not have to drag me If my power
should give ont, was placed in the lead near
the snow pillow. We went out of Boston all
right, and when we got out to Roslindale gave
the signal to slow up speed, for my steam
had gone down to forty pounds. While We
were getting up running pressure again 7
looked up around the Dedhau, curve and
couiu see that the snow was drifted up there
fearfully. But we pulled out on to the road
sssaln about half an hour, and deter
mined to wade through the piles somehow.
"You may doubt it, but we accomplished
that day a seeming impossibility in railroad
ing.
I'VE made two engines pass each other on
a single track
when we had got up around the Dedham
curve we struck the snow so deep that 1t went
away up over the engine cabs windows. We
were pulling, each one of US, for all that we
were worth. Suddenly my old 'Roxbury'
struck clear stretch of track. Her throttle
being wide open she leaped ahead at fearful
speed and left the rails. She plowed like mad
over the sleepers, cutting some of them eight
inches thick in two. You have to be- a party
to such an experience in order to fully under
stand how it seems to be jumping along like
this The engine rode completely over the
track couldn't get my hand out to shut the
throttle and there was a full head Of steam
on There we were blowing along over what
and towards where / had not the slightest
idea Every minute we were getting deeper
q SHOW AL laSC the en-
gine struck something and stopped short, and
the jar was sufficient to close the throttle
My fireman, Big Jim we called him, was
frightened just little bit As soon as the
engine stopped he jumped head first into a big
snow drift III never forget how he looked
when he got up on his feet and cleared some
OF the snow out of his mouth
" BE jabers, he shouted, IN never ride
on an engine again, again, tony dying day.
And, sure enough, he kept his vow, for he
walked home TO Boston in the snow, gave I'D
his place as q fireman, and went into some
other kind of business
THAT was n narrow escape indeed, but the
most peculiar part of the story have vet to
tell you.
when the Roxbury stopped 1 put nv
hand upon the whistle bar and gave q blow
sounding as near like cock-a-doodle-doo as
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 of them there,
and was puzzled to know what had become
Of them. Suddenly heard whistle toot
away, as thought, about half mile up the
track toward Dedham. l supposed then that
1t came from an engine that was coming
down from the village, where it had been
AousSu uP ofei hiSnIi 10 neip us Clear up tne
road. l gave an answering whistle Soon
there was reply, and after q short wait two
locomotives came steaming down the track
You can imagine my surprise and consterna-
ton when Jim Prince stuck his head out of
the window of the old Washington, and
asked me what had been up to.
The last time that saw him, you know,
he was on the track in his engine behind
me. And the funniest thing about tbs whole
affair was that neither one of us had missed
the other until the whole accident was a thing
Of the past. Boston Globe