Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-01-17
OIL HOUSE TALES
A Thrilling Railroad Chase Down the
Steep Mountain Side.
STORIES BY RAILROAD MEN.
Riding Through Tunnels. Around Sharp
Curves at a Mile a Minute With Detached
Section in Pursuit-An Ignored Green Sig
nal-Forty Miles in Thirty-six Minutes.

o'SAy AAo"C ett uStuIc Will
through the center, behind which the oil is
kept in tanks and in front stove and rough
wooden benches ranging around the sides are
| the only furnishings. Time tables and numer-
GUS orders for the government of the en-
ployes are tackled on the walls and form the
only relief to the eye Of background of dingy
pine boards or painted walls grimy with smoke
and grease. 1t is there that the men, the toll
ers OF the railroad. gather to fill lamps and to
await the time for the making up of their
trains. Frequently half dozen crews collect
and then the flow of anecdote and exchange OF
experiences are many and varied. Less il
known about this class of people than of al
most any other avocation of like risks, and il
is only at the time of some horrible catastrophe
that they are brought to notice.
| IN A LOCAL OIL HOUSE.
The weather Of the past week was Of the kind
to make the oil house doubly welcome, and a
STAR reporter drifting around in search of news
dropped into this retreat of one of the local
railroads. Trains were coming in from the
| south, shifting engines were pushing and back
ing cars in on the different sidings; passenger
trains passed with roar and rush and con-
| tlnuous uproar was heard. The room was
crowded with men of all sizes and shapes, Just
In from their runs and getting ready to go out,
bundled up to the eyes with wraps to keep out
the cold. Over near the fire the reporter found
group that apparently would not be needed
away telling tales of their hardships and inter-
| spersing now and then humorous story that
was greeted with outbursts of laughter.
pocketful OF cigars OF two for" brand
graciously distributed around the group
quickly placed the reporter on speaking terms
and place was made for him by the fire. One
! Of the men, a fireman, had, at the moment Of
| the reporters intrusion. started q story, which
! he politely retold so as to allow the new arrival
to gather up the threads. The speaker was of
eve OF promotion. they overstep the bounds Of
| propriety. are dismissed float from road to road
and are always firemen.
RUN FAST, But STAY on THE RAILS.
'Some years back, the speaker said, 81 was
employed on the division Of a road that began
and ended on the east and west side of the ALLIE
ghanies. One afternoon our engine was backed
| up to train of about thirty cars filled with
tea The shipment was taken at San Francisco
on contract to be landed in New York within
certain period. An opposition line had Sc
| cured former shipment and it depended upon
the time made which road was to receive all the
subsequent consignments. Naturally, each d.
vision superintendent. in respone to letters
| from headquarters, desired to do all they could
| to help along quick run. and our orders were
to run to the end of the division regardless of
/ all east-bound trains and at speed commensu-
rate with safety can recall the order easily,
| as my engineer had to have the order explained
| to him, and as interpreted BY the train-runner
meant run as fast you can, butstay on the
| rails. The engineer had great reputation for
| fast running and clear headeness and his want
of learning did not debar him from pulling
open the throttle that evening with curse at
| the originator Of the order.
ONLY TEN CARS OUT OF THIRTY.
| 1.-THE first two hours Of the run passed away
1 NIL
except that we were making passenger train
| time and the old engineers eyes sparkled with
| pride. As we reached the crest Of the noun
| tains brakes were put on, steam shut off and we
1rfted down hill at fairish fast rate, the train
being well in hand, the entire crew manning
| the brakes, and a signal from the fagman on
| the caboose at the rear end told us all was we'll
Down and down we went, around curves,
| through tunnels and at speed that increased
| each mile until it reached about a mle-a- min
/ ute rate. When we reached a point about five
miles from the end of our run and while swing
Ing around big curve a shout from the engi-
| neer carried my attention toward the rear OF
| the tram and l discovered the startling fac,
that we only had about ten cars, the remaining
| portion of the train being out of sight. The
front brakeman was wildly waving his lantern
but couldn't come over the cars to warn US on
account of the speed at which we were going.
ONLY SAFETY IN FLIGHT.
| Coming down a steep mountain with about
twenty loaded cars after you some where in the
Tear, their exact location unknown, is a pre-
dicament to be in to be appreciated. Our only
safety lay in flight. and the engineer put or
| steam and away we went ut fearful rate. Soon
| we struck a straight strip of about half mile
in length, fairly flew ove- it, and as we left il
the dancing lights Of the rear portion dashed
| into view and to our strained imagination were
| apparently gaining on us. Again a jerk at the
| throttle and another squirt and we were run
ming at a rate Of speed that made the cars at
tached to the engine wabble like q
cradle. Then we swung into view OF
the lights at the station at the end
Of the division, and where we were to
change engines, and the engineer started the
| whistle going at rate to wake the dead. We
could see lights dashing across the tracks in
front of us. the engineer slowed down slightly
and with \ crash We dashed onto a side track
and were safe Hardly half minute elapsed
before the hind end came in view. Switches
were again thrown and the whole mass thrown
onto another side track. Then it became in
| teresting for the men on those twenty cars
They knew the cars would soon strike some
thing and they didn't want to be there to SEE
the strike. One after another the poor fellow,
made the leap and broken limbs resulted in al
the cases, but no one was killed. Then the
crash came.
FIFTEEN CARS IN sPLIyTERs.
Gan immense round house, with walls thre,
Ieet lnlCh, CdhSht tnt cdfS anu inc cOncns6lOT
was 80 great that one-half of the building wa,
} torn out and the earth trembled. Ont of tn,
twenty cars not one came out whole and fully fif
! teen were reduced TO spiinters A Humorous Incl
dent connected with the smash-up was tn,
fright and panic of the guests in large hote
directly opposite the scene of the wreck Tn,
hotel building trembled like passing through
an earthquake and with the roar. following til,
| crash, in their ears their awakening must hay,
been startling, for they rushed out of the build
| ing pell nell and with costumes of the shortes
and most meager.
my engineer only cursed his luck, as hi
. good record of the run was lost sight of. anC
went out again on the next run, but hat
enough and came down here where it's gener
ally level running and a sandy bottom in cas-.
you have to jump"
NOT A PRACTICAL JOKE.
An engineer was sitting next to the narrator
Of the above experience, and when he had con
cluded his story, chimed in:
THE telegraph operator in that tower n,
there could tell you agood story at my expense
but I'll get ahead of him and tell il myself
That young man was located at a tower on ,
road adjoining this, at the top of n steep grad,
Of about eight miles in length. We were on tn.
best of terms and continually playing practica
Jokes on each other whenever orders compellet
me to lay over at his station.
lone night was going west on oyster ex
press, train that covers the road on e,
train time, but made up of freight cars and
when reached the top of the hill above the
tower found the green light down Tbi,