Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-10-25

X~y railroad engineer. And. not unlike
Akl the eminent jurists, when once his
V.N habitusl reserve Is cast aside he 10 .
veritsble mine of anecdote and wit.
A STAR reporter one afternoon during the
past week ran across one OF these knights OF
the Throttle" in the neighborhood OF the
ground house" on Virginia avenue, and, as
luck would have il, the Salvation car" as the
pay car is designated in the rsilrosders' par
lance, had Just arrived and he was in . good
humor and laxative.
Come, John. You won't so out on your run
for two hours yet Tell me about some of the
tight places you've been in since becoming an
engineer"
swell. young man. we don't like to talk
about those things, but, as you appear to be
anxious for a story, don't mind telling You
one"
Tell me about that long red scar there IN
der your chin. That must have been quite a
wound"
THAT was rather hard one. but when I re-
celved 1T it was n smaller affair in comparison
with my other breaks and bruises As you
know, I've pulled a throttle on the Baltimore
and Potomac road ever since the first TAIL was
land ksiiroadlng today is child's play to what
1t was then. Now our greatest risk Is a broken
rail- or axle; then IL Was "A dozen different
things to keep us alert, chief among them be-
ing washOuts, insecure trestles aud mistakes in
telegraph orders incidental to a single track
road. Overwork also played prominent part
ana 1t was owing to tire latter fact that this
scar adorns my meat chopper.
1t was during the busy days of the Inaugural
ton OF Garfield and all the sleep the boys had
secured for week were only cat-naps. 1 WAS
coming north, out of Washington, Oh the even
ing of Inauguration day ana eX-Hresldeut Hayes
occupied private car on the rear OF nv train,
The cars were crowded to their fullest capacity
and with this responsibility upon me 1 believe
could have dono without sleep TOR a month.
All the cars were in Washington or bound
north, the engines coming south generally
being empty-that is, without cars. The en-
gneers of these empty engines would momen-
tarlly relax their vigilance owing to the lesser
responsibility and it was during one of these
moments that / got into the tightest
place and received the closest call OF
my life. / received orders to pass two
empty engines coming south at Severn, a
small telegraph station about thirty miles north
OF Washington, and that they would take the
siding for me. Nv engine was doing nicely
and We were licking 1t along at pretty lively
gait, when. just as turned the Severn curve.
nip! bang.! came the two engines into me and
when woke up two weeks had passed, an en-
gineer and baggage master had been buried,
three locomotives and half dozen cars
smashed into splinters and / lay OH my back in
the hospital with a leg, an arm and three ribs
broken and my under jaw almost torn off. The
engineer OF one of the south-bound engines
had relaxed his vigilance for hardly more than
minute, ran by his siding and his lite paid the
forfeit.
why didn't / jump? Holy smoke, young
fellow, that never entered my mind / re-
versed my engine, put on the air and by that
time we were piled up and was unconscious.
The good Lord only knows why my railroading
days didn't end there, but they didn't and
fatter myself can make time with any of tine
boys"
aHow about that little accident out at Nc
Gruders curve; weren't you mixed up III that
affair? 1t occurred good while ago, but
never heard the particulars"
well, | should say L was mixed up in that
affair. In all my years of railroadIng that was
the luckiest accident with the queerest trim
mings l have ever known. The little details
that am going to tell you in connection with
the affair came to me some time after their &C.
currence.
This time / was coming south on the New
York express and was due in Washington at
ll:3O at night. l had about twelve cars well
hlled with passengers behind me. At that
time there was telegraph station about a
quarter of mile north of the curve called
Wilson, The express generally had a clear
track and orders were never given 1t only when
OF great Importance. Owing TO this fact IL
made very fast time and at that point usually
ran about forty or forty-five miles an hour
box saw that the red signal was down. and
after a fierce pull at the whistle reversed the
lever and put on the air. We came to a stop in
a hurry, and, thinking orders were awaiting
me, made a break for the Office to secure
them without losing any more time than nee
essary.
Flushing open the door / saw the operator
lying back in his chair, as l thought, fast
asleep. There was a strong odor of coal gas in
the room, but in the heat of passion at what
Of apla tofa i
attention to this, but grabbing him by the
collar of his coat L yanked him out of the chair
onto the floor. As he was a little slow coming
around L caught up bucket of water and
threw the contents over him. bringing him to
his senses instanter.
Where's my orders? What's the red down
for? | shouted into his ears.
There's no orders. 1 must have gone to
sleep or tainted Everything's all right he
replied In dazed sort OF way.
with an oath-I used TO swear them
rushed back to my engine, whistled for flag
man and pulled out, yowIng vengeance on that
operator in the shape of report TO the super
intendent upon my arrival in Washington.
That report never went IN.
Il had gotten my train under way and was
going only about five miles an hour when. Just
as We swung around McGruder's Curve the
track sank under me and with loud crash aud
a splinterng of buffers we came to a dead stop
with the front part OF my engine sunk about
three feet below the Track IN mud ana gravel.
There is a dangerous qucksand there. ana it
had washed about fifteen feet of the earth
away from under the track. Owing to our rate
of speed good shaking up was about all we got.
but suppose for one minute that that red signal
had not been down on us at Wilson'S They have
picked us up all in pieces, as 1 would have gone
into that hole at the rate of about forty miles
an hour.
Both the day and night operators at Viii
sons were practical jokers bright idea
struck the day man, and climbing noIselessly
on to the roof of the Office he placed a board
over the chimney, shutting off the draft of the
stove. After performing this brilliant feat he
went home for q nights rest, resolved to learn
the next morning the result of his machina-
TONS The stove door was partly open. the gas
from the coal wasforced out, it soon filled the
room and had not been stopped by the red
signal the chances are the boy would have been
smothered to death. So you see the multiple
cation of circumstances engendered by that
practical joke, although it nearly killed one
person. saved my life and many more behind
me-"