The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1890-07-25
MALONE'S LAST RUN.

A little Knot of smoky. begrimed en-
g~ineers, flremen and switch tenders were
sitting together on a DOL box at the east
end of the train shed at Altoona. The ST.
lence of the night was broken only by the
monotonous puff puff Of a shifting engine
dragging a h~eavily-loaded west bound
freight to the upper yards. Through the
maze If tracks cleaned scores of red,
green and white lights, marking the
switches. The group of train hands were
idling the time away until the hour should
come when the engine should he brought
out to haul the two sections of fast freight
No. 4 over the middle division to Harris
burg. There was yet "A long time to wait,
for the bell on the machine shops had just
toiled II, and the train was not due until
after midnight. The crowd on the Logan
house porch, that great resort of Mountain
City inhabitants, was thinning out, and
as the air grew more chilly and lively con-
v~ersation halted, the men oil the tool box
became silent and thoughtful.
Suddenly one of them exclaimed: "Here
comes old John Malone. Let's get him to
tell US that story about the last run he
made. Hi. there" he continued, in a
louder voice. "John! John Malonew
The passerby stopped and peered in
through the raining.
"Oh, is il you, Billy" he calculated.
~ couldn't make out who was calling me,
My eyes and ear are not as good AS they
were ten years back"
Billy soon had the gate open for Malone
to enter, and as the two drew near the
others the old man asked: "What are
you sitting here for, and what do you
want with me
1.-THE same old thing, Johnny; we're
waiting to take out first section of A, and
to pass the time we want you to tell us
again of that trip you made back in the
eighties which made you leave the loot
board"
The old man took n seat. filled and
lighted his pipe and pulled away vigor-
ously for awhile before replying.
"Well, boys" he said at last, ~ don't
particularly like to talk about tina run,
to spin to you, as you are going to take
out the same train I had that night, but il
you want to hear il I'll go ahead.
'It's been a good many years ago, but I
can see the whole thing as clearly as
when il happened, and IL was no dream,
though everybody thought so. j needn't
tell you fellows the fast line was the first
be passenger train after the mail
express, which left here about Z o'clock.
We generally got the train from the Pitts
DuTR u1Nlsloh about Hhi an DouT 10 All
hour late, but as We only tagged at Ty-
rone and Huntington, we always came
into Harrisburg OH time TO the second.
This was easy on a down grade and 100
mile run without a stop. The way we
used To yank the coaches along the river
was "A caution, and many's the time we
rattled over the Juniata at a mile a min
ute. not even slowing down for the Spruce
creek tunnel AT hat hour of the night
We always got the white light from the
towers. Now and then the green would be
given, and we had to reduce speed, but
rarely the red. Well, this thing of run
ming a train like 4 with a clear track, no
stops and nothing To see but the ballast
and trees alongside of the rails, makes a
fellow grow indifferent, and | On say
a little nervous. Ii is wearing on a man
to speed along Trough those mountains
hour after hour in the middle of the night,
never seeing a light except i'm the overs,
and feeling the cold air blow i'm on him
from those hills rising hundreds of feet
overhead. An engineer can not tell what
instant he is going to crash into a land
slide. tell you a nights run is enough
to make "a man feel mighty solemn when
passing through Jacks Narrows or half a
dozen other barren, rocky spots, such as
can be found between here and the Sus-
quehanna, all of which you boys know
well.
"The night / was speaking of we left
here 30 minutes late, and a hot box
on the smoker held us Is minutes
more at Tyrone FORCES. When we got
started again l pulled her wide open and
let her rip. We had nine cars on. three
OF them sleepers, and that was n heavy
load for one of the old style engines, but
we bumped along at a lively rate. Beyond
Huntington we fairly hummcd along the
canal, depending altogether on the towers
for II was SO dark we couldn't see eve
the yuniata right below us. We had no
further frnIlhln ms 10 slaInpS Tho aaSf-
oun freight and coal trains were all
side-tracked, and we did not even get a
green light until we reached Lewiston
Junction. Somehow or other | was not
feeling myself that night. and ! don't be-
lieve the fireman and 4 had half a dozen
words in the first 100 miles. As we ran
through the narrows ] leaned out of the
cab and kept an eye on the track
for rocks. IL was impossible TO see
any distance, however, and as | turned
around to look for the tall lamps
on the rear sleeper | thought of the
scores of people behind me riding in fam
cied security, while the only safeguard
from wreck was in Providence. Straight
up on the right rose the mountains for
nearly loo feet, and ON the other hand
was the Juniata, dark and unreal in the
wavering glare of the headlight.
"On and OH we went, past little villages
and farm houses, shooting over the road
crossings and crashing 10y empty stations,
all of which l knew by instinct. for there
were no lights to tell us.
As we drew near the Susquehanna the
air became clearer, and when We came
within light of the great fam
ing stacks of the iron works shone ahead
of us like immense torches. We were
again on schedule time when we passed
through the town, and as we run along
the bank of the Susquehanna | slowed
up a little. Away across the water
could see the tall switch signals on
-. N...ba., Eautral tracks nv and NV