St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-03-23
THE PHANTOM TRAIN.
A Vision in the Clouds That Was a
Forerunner of Disaster.
A WILD NOVEMBER RIDE.
A Story of the Rail Related by an Old
Engineer of a Southern Line
of Road.
Birmingham Age.

unasked, for it calls up an occurrence
that for fifteen long years l have been
doing my best to forget"
The engineer who made this remark
is one of the oldest engineers running
into Birmingham. His train had Just
pulled into the Union depot, and the
reporter had mounted the engine, which
was being leisurely run into the round
house. The engineer was attired in
the rough garments common to the
guild while on duty. Underneath the
tight-fitting cap perched on his head
could be seen a plentiful sprinkling of
gray hairs, betokening the decline of
life.
81 would like to hear the story, "insin-
uated the reporter. as he seated himself
in the cab and drew out his notebook
and pencil, the time-honored though
chestnutty earmarks of his profession.
swell. you shall have it, although it
is something | would willingly forget.
But it seems impossible. Fifteen years
ago was running on the East Tennes-
see road between Knoxville and Chat
tanooga. The scenery between these
two points is grand in places, the noun
tainS being in sight nearly the entire
distance. [ had left Knoxville an hour
late one afternoon in November,
and at London the telegraph operator
handed me an order to make up the lost
time, as there was large Southern eX-
cursion on board that wanted to make
connection at Chattanooga for Atlanta.
[ had always been ranked as one of the
coolest men on the road, as a man who
never got excited, and once ran over a
burning trestle without muscle chang
ing. Yet this afternoon l was strangely
nervous. For the first time in my life /
discovered had nerves.
jack | said to the fireman, I am
all in a tremor. [ am not superStitiOus,
but feel as if something was going to
happen
Jack burst into loud guffaw. 'Why,
Cap'n, you nervous; that is too good,'
and he laughed again.
IL said nothing else, but the uncOm-
Portable feeling continued. 1 did not
know it at the time, but 1 have since
found out that even the iron nerves of
an engineer must break some time.
coal in the furnace. 'Cap'n, YOU are
cold he remarked, after few minutes
intermission. Wen have better fire,
and We'll be in Chattanooga in a jiffy.'
''The grim November twilight hung
over the earth like a pail. We had
passed Athens. and had only fifty-six
miles to go to reach our destination.
For the first time since l mounted an
engine | longed for the trip to be over.
| was looking ahead, where the iron
bands far down the track seem to unite
into single rail. when was startled
by an exclamation from Jack. 'Cap'n,'
he screamed, look there! My God, look
theren pointing with trembling hand to
in n 6cto
the mountains doomed up grim and
bare in their awful grandeur. The
look of horror Oh the poor fellows face
was indeseribable. Bnt the sight wit
messed as l quickly turned my eyes to
the east was enough to freeze the warm
blood which courses through your veins;
for there, above the mountain tops with
terrible distinctness, sailed phantom
engine drawing phantom train. The
puffs of smoke came regularly from
the engine.
81 could see the glaring headlight, the
lights in the coaches, all as plain as if
the train was running on the sidetrack
by us. l stood there watching the
word, how long [ can not say, but sud-
denly it disappeared and was recalled
to myself by several jerks at the bell
rope, made by the conductor. | looked
out and saw that we were at Cleveland.
"'What's the matter with you?' asked
the conductor, coming to the engine.
what do you mean by trying to run by
Cleveland that way? Why, man, you
look as if you had seen ghost he adj
ded after moment, catching glimpse
of my face. / looked at my watch and
saw that it was exactly O'Clock. We
had made up half an hour, and we
pulled into Chattanooga an hour later,
only few minutes behind time. From
the time of the appearance of the appa-
rition to the time we pulled into the
round-house at Chattanooga Jack had
not spoken word, but there was "a
fixed look on his face | did not like.
the affair was not discussed between
US. Jack was strangely taciturn, and.
to tell the truth, did not feel inclined
to talk about the strange sight seen in
the clouds.
"There is not a great deal more to
tell. The run to Knoxville the next
day was made without anything occur
ring worthy of comment, but Oh the re-
turn trip to Chattanooga Friday. two
days after we had seen the apparition,
at 81 in the afternoon, and two miles
east of Cleveland, wild freight thun-
dered into us. l saw it too late to do
then-jumped. | happened to jump on
the right side and escaped with broken
finger. But Jack, poor boy, had chosen
the wrong side. and the immense loco
motive crushed him to a jelly. | be-
iieve that the accident happened at the
very spot where Jack first saw the
phantom engine and at the very minute,
although two days later. Poor Jack,
the discoverer of that wonderful sight,
the warning was evidently intended for
him.
81 did not make another run on that
fated line. | asked to be excused from
duty pending the investigation made by
officials into the accident, and OH the
day the investigation was concluded
and l was eXonerated from blame, |
walked into the SUPERINTENDENT Office
and asked for my time.
'''You needn't feel bad about that ac-
cident,' remarked the superintendent,
kindly.
81 DON'T replied, but my nerves
are shattered, and | want to change my
locatiou.'
Il saw a smile on the sUperintend-
ent'S face as l mentioned my nerves.
but ne gave me my time without a word.
| spent five years in the Rockies in the
vain attempt to drive that picture from
my mind. Finally l came back East,
but the Photographic camera could not
fix an object more firmly than did the
phantom engine in the mountains of
Tennessee fix itself in my memory. l
am only forty-five now. but you can see
how gray L am. My hair was not
turned white in a single night as the
novelists tell, but in few months after
the occurrence the change was effected,
as used to think and worry over it
good deal, and that, too, when l was
only thirty years of age.''
For some minutes the engine had
been standing still in the yard, but the
reporter did not notice when it stopped,
so thrilling Was the veteran engineers
story