Omaha daily bee., 1889-08-11
RAlLROADERS' "REMINISCENCES
Oil Poured Oh a Trouble Track With
Satisfactory Results.
AN ENGINES LEAP TO TARTARus.
A Flying Engine With Ono Side
Going to Fort Sidney and the
Other Side in the Direction
of Cheyenne.
Racing Recollections.

There are few men in the employ OF the
various railroads in the country who have
not, at some tim in their career, had an OPP
portunity of witnessing some remarkable oc-
currence in connection with the affairs OF the
road. Nothing beyond the following collec.
lions of anecdotes Is needed to prove the
truth of the statement:
"About the oldest circumstance ] ever
heard Of" remarked John Lichtenberger
chief clerk in the Office of Assistant General
Manager Dickinson, of the Union Pacific,
"came to my notice in 1882, when / was back
in Pennsylvania on a vacation. AS a matter
of course, everyone has read Of
runaway locomotives, and how En-
gineer George So-and-so, after seeing the
untamed iron horse dash out OF the station
on q single track and the fast express only
ten miles off, Jump on his own machine and
overtake the runaway jus. in time to save
hundreds of lives, etc.
"Well, this isn't anything of that kind, al
though it is u tale of q runaway locomotive.
Just above Lewiston is a very heavy grade,
and generally freight trains have a 'pusher'
TO help them up the mill. A freight pulled in
at Lewiston one night, but, owing to its
The engineer ON the 'pusher,' after learning
that he HAD no work to do in the pushing
line, backed his machine up on the main
line in front of the station for orders. He
forgot to tighten the thumb screw in the
throttle valve or something of that sort, and.
while inside getting his orders, the fire.
man went up the platform to get u
drink of ice water. when the old machine
started off with everything wide open right
after the freight.
"As soon as the fact was DISCOVERED, the
operator telegraphed TO a little station about
five miles up the hill 70 know whether the
freight had passed or not. He got a reply
that ii was just coming in sight. TELL them
. - n A,,N - IN ~ ~ m tsyn mir shat L. fol
lowing them he wired, which message was
received just in time to hand the conductor,
who happened to have his head out Of the
way car.
s'Well, what do you suppose they did, stop
the train and run for lifea Not a bit of 1t.
The rear brakeman signalled the engineer to
put on more steam and then he and the con-
ductor got down on the steps of the rear
platform of the way car and poured black OIL
on the rails from those long-nosed cans that
all freight trains carry. It was about
five minutes afterward that The runaway
came tearing up and the manner In which
she was splitting the air was a caution. But
when she struck that creased track there
quarter of q mile she was standing almost
still, with her drivers going around like
lightning. The operator ran up and shut her
off and then backed down and autographed
that everything was o. X.
~ tell you that OIL did the business"
-.
Yardmaster Hayes, of the b. G. NJ. is an
old man in the business and has had many
opportunities OF witnessing strange things
10 connection with railroad affairs, but re-
lates the following as one OF the ~strangest
that has come under his observation. 1t hap
pened a few years ago when a u. q M.
engine left the track on the Plattsmouth
bridge and jumped into the Missouri. From
that day nothing was ever seen or heard of
the locomotive. The river was dragged with
q view of resurrecting her, but no trace
could be found, 1t is fair 10 presume that
none over will.
Dan Shandy works in the Uaion Pacific
yards aud has for many years. In addition