Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1890-08-28
SAVED BY AN OILED TRACK.
A Railroad Mans Account Of a
Thrilling Episode.

"Talk about fast time" said rail
road man on the Missouri Pacific train
the other day to his companion, "but |
have never heard of trip that would
beat one made myself some years ago,
nor of any half so exciting. formerly
lived at Garrett, Ind, the terminus Of
the central division of the Chicago di-
vision of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail
road. had little to do, and made the
railroad yards my loafing headquarters.
At that time the Billy o. had an arrange
ment with the Wabash to transfer all
New York freight at Auburn Junction,
nine miles distant, to the east of US.
This was done by the old switch engine,
the 642, which made two trips to the
Junction daily. Well, one day l climbed
aboard box-car when the engine left
with few cars of merchandise to trans
fer. There were six of us in the party
four yardmen, another fellow and my
self We had jolly time going down;
made the transfer and were to come back
light, that is, with nothing but the en-
gine. We had all crowded on the ten
ter, the signal was given and Gent Pot
der, the engineer threw himself forward,
pulled at the throttle valve, and the en-
gine jumped forward as If shot from
catapult. We did not think much of
this at the time, as Gent was q fine en-
gineer, and handled the engine to suit his
fancy. We were tearing over the rail
road crossing and frogs in manner that
was frightful. The tender rocked as if
on hinges. Something must be wrong,
we thought, as Gent was placing our lives
in jeopardy. Climbing over the coal we
found the cab full of steam, and Gent
and the fireman hanging at the side of
the engine.
Jump, boys, said they; Jump, for
Gods sake The throttle valve is pulled
clear out and the engine is running
Wild
"To jump would have been death.
AS one Of the boys said afterwards, the
telegraph poles looked like fine-tooth
comb. The mile posts flew by with un-
seemly rapidity. The yard foreman
claimed that a mile was covered in
thirty eight seconds, and not one would
doubt his word. st. Joe was in sight.
Would the track be clear9 Only three
miles to Garrett, with its network of
tracks, switches and spurs. The steam
gauge registered ninety pounds. There
were no hopes of the engine dying out in
five or six minutes. With presence Of
mind the foreman dashed off few
words:
"'Engine wild. Telegraph Garrett to
clear track
"This he dropped as we passed st.
Joe, and the OPERATOR clear to compre-
hend the situation, sent it to the de-
spatchers on the east end, without a
call, as we learned afterward. There
was Garrett in sight, with its tall chin
neys belching forth smoke; there were
the yards filed with freight cars and
engines. As we got closer we could see
men running hither and thither. The
other yard engine was rushing madly to
the west end of the yard. The main
track was clear. We passed the depot
like pursued victim. Pale faces
watched US in our mad flight. We passed
the railroad shops, and hundreds came
running to see the cause of the commo-
tion. The engine was in quiver, the
bell was ringing wildly with each sway
of the engine, the escaping steam
whistled as if demented, and fire blazed
from the hot-boxes. Then we saw some-
thing which made us think we were
doomed. The switch in the coal chute
was open, and the long ascent could only
end in our destruction. We looked
again, saw men working on the track,
and then we knew we were saved. What
were they doing2 Why, bless my soul,
friend, those fellows were oiling the
track of the chute. We struck the
ascent and slid up about 100 feet, and
then the old 642 stood still and the
wheels flew around; sparks came from
beneath them like from an emery wheel.
Gradually the engine slid down, the
wheels still in the forward motion, and
thus the engine died out. We all suf-
fered severe shock to our nervous sys-
tenn, but had it not been for the presence
of mind of the master mechanic, who
ordered the oil poured on the chute
track, might not have been here to-
day."
'How fast did you go2"
"Well, the first six miles were made in
less than five minutes; the last three
were made in much slower time, as the
steam was exhausting itself rapidly."-