The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1891-01-02
FROM RAILS OF STEEL.
An Old Engineer Tells Of Some
Narrow Escapes


more taciturn than the average railroad
engineer. And, not unlike the eminent
jurists, when once his habitual reserve
is cast aside he is a veritable mine of
anecdote and wit
A Washington Star Reporter one
afternoon during the past week ran
across one of these knights of the
Throttle" in the neigh borhood of the
''round house" on Virginia avenue, and,
as luck would have it, the Salvation
car" as the pay car is designated in the
railroader's parlance, had just arrived
and he was in good humor and taIka-
tive.
Come, John, you won't go out on your
run for two hours yet Tell me about
some of the tight places you've been in
since becoming an engineer"
We'll, young man, we don't like to
talk about these things, but, as you
appear to bo anxious for story, l don't
mind tellins you one"
Tell me about that long red scar
there under your chin. That must
have been quite wound"
That was rather hard one, but
when / received it it was smaller af-
fair in comparison with my other breaks
and bruises. AS you know, I have
Potomac road ever since the first rail
was laid. Railroading to-day is child's
play to what it was then. Now our
greatest risk is 4 broken rail or axle;
then it was 4 dozen different things to
keep US alert, chief among them being
washouts, insecure trestlcs and mis-
takes in telegraph orders incidental to
q single track road. Ovcrworls always
played prominent part, and it was
owing to the latter fact that this scar
adorns my meat-chopper.
1T was during the busy days of the
inauguration of Garfield, and all the
sleep the boys had secured for week
was only cat-naps. | was coming north,
out of Washington, on the evening of
Inauguration day, and ex-President
Hayes occupied private car on the rear
of my train. The cars were crowded to
their fullest capacity, and with this re-
spousibility upon me l believe l could
have done without sleep for n month.
All the cars were in Washington or
bound north, the engines coming south
generally being empty-that is, without
cars The engineers of these empty en-
gines would momentarily relax their
vigilance, owing to the lesser response
bility, and it was during one of these
moments that L got into the tightest
place and received the closest call of
my life. L received orders to pass two
empty engines coming south at Severn,
small telegraph station about thirty
miles north of Washington, and that
they would take the siding for me. My
engine was doing nicely and we were
licking it along at pretty lively gait,
when, just as turned the Severn curve,
flip bang came the two engines into me,
and when l woke up two weeks h ad
passed, an engineer and baggage-master
had been buried, three locomotives and
q half-dozen cars smashed into splinters,
and lay on 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 vigi-
lance for hardly more than a minute,
ran by his siding, and his life paid the
forfeit
why didn't jump? Holy smoke,
young fellow, that never entered my
mind. 7 reversed my engine, put on the
air, and by that time we were piled up
and l was unconscious. The good Lord
only knows why my railroading days
didn't end there, but they didn't, and /
fatter myself that / can make time
Win any OF the DOyS-
slow about that little accident out at
McGruder's curve; weren't you mixed
up in that affair? 1t occurred good
while ago, but 1 never heard the par
ticulars."
well, 1 should say 1 was mixed up in
that affair. In all my days of railroad
ing that was the luckiest accident with
the queerest trimmings 1 have ever
Anrn lc har /
ing to tell you in connection with the
affair came to me some time after their
occurrence.
This time 1 was coming south on the
New York express, and was due in
Washington at 11:30 at night l had
about twelve cars filed with passengers
behind me. At that time there was q
telegraph station about quarter of
mile north of the curve called Will
sons The express generally had a
clear track, and orders were never
given it only when of great importance.
Owing to this fact it made very fast
time, and at that point usually ran
about forty or forty-fve miles an hour.
AS | swung in sight of this little lonely
watch-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 hurry.
and, thinking orders were awaiting me,
1 made break for the Office to secure
them without losing any more time than
pushing open the door ] saw the op-
tor living back in his chair, as
thought fast asleep. There was strons
odor of coal gas in the room, but In 1he
heat of passion at what thoughU We"
= case of neglect of duty, paid no at
tontion TO this, but grabbing him by
tbe collar of his coat, yanIed him Out
~, 70 the floor. AS he was a little slow
coming around / caught mp bucket Oh
,yater and threw the contents over him.