Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1891-07-16
WHY THEY WERE LATE.
Engineers Tell Of Peculiar Acct
dents That Befeu Them.
How a Terrific Kansas Cyclone Played a
Mean Trick on Ambitious Railroad
Man Other Wonderful and AL
most Incredible Stories.

Tell you what it is, gentlemen,
these fast runs are pretty hard on ma
chinery," said Jack O'Connor, gather
ering up his packing tools and address
ing group of engineers and firemen
lounging about the pilot of the loco
motive in the next stall.
who's been making any fast runs?'
sneered Panhandle Dan.
''Wen, 1 reckon me and Felix Nc
CURE made some pretty good time
on No. 5 yesterday" replied Jack,
pretty fast, considering we can't fly
yet"
Fast time on way-freight?" was
Pete SwanSon'S comment.
''Now look here, young feller," ex-
claimed Panhandle Dan, bristling up,
''hain't seen the register less'n half an
hour ago, and wasn't No 5 registered
in Just four hours and twenty minutes
late? You'd better come off yer perch.
81 hain't no sort O. doubt but the gen
tleman did make some fast time, y in
terpolated little man with a husky
voice and a beard the color of an I'M
baked brick, who was known as 1.-The
Corpse Member when | was run
MIN the two -ought-eight on the chain
gang one day we had orders to meet
the limited at Rosedale. We started
on, with time to spare, but when we
got within four miles of Rosedale we
buste a cylinder-head, and by the time
we got her disconnected the limited
was due I'M two minutes at Rosedale.
The conductor was scared to death,
and wanted to flag in. You jist climb
on; we'll git there all right says l, an
I pulled 'er open. Mind you, L was
only worlkin' one side, but L got them
thirty-eight loads to rollin' SO fast that
when / whistled for Rosedale, gentle
men. 1 hope I'll never boss an engine
agin if we wasn't in on Side-track all
safe before the sound reached town"
Nobody paid any attention to the
little man, and Jack resumed: Il car
explain that four hours and twenty
minutes all right; that's easy. We left
Milwaukee behind time, and we had {
lot O. ears to place at every station
and. in spite of everything that we
could do, we were forty minutes late
ont of Waukegan. Felix says to me
kind o. sarcastic like. says he: 'Thinl
We can make up little time, Jack?
well. if / can't there's no use anybody
else irwin says l. 1 pulled out o
Wau5egan at a pretty good jog. By
an by | looks back and there was Felix
tbrashin' mis- arms off signaling me t.
let 'em spin. All right young Teller,
thinks |. III iist give you ride W.
was Just then at the top of nice big
hill. so hooked her up and let her go
Pretty soon the telegraph poles were
SHINING by so fast that | couldn'
- oil
to look like one pole, same as whee
when it gets TO goin' right fast looks
like it was standin' still. About that time
noticed that the old So wasn't working
right; she didn't seem to exhaust faS
enough In another minute L saw thu
front end begin to bulge out, and thel
/ knowed what was wrong L shut on
called for brakes, and brought 'em VI
standin'. And, gentlemen, there thu
Sc stood putin and snortin' like all pos
sessed about two minutes. A maj
that could hear but couldn't see he
would a thought she was goin' at leas
a thousand miles an hour when sh
wasn't movin' an inch. You see, sh
had been runnin' so fast that sh
couldn't clear herself, and the exhaus
steam had most of it instead of gettin
ont through her stack got tangled N
in the netting and around the petticoa
nine till it was most ready to blow he
front end off tried two or thre
times to get her to goin', but 1T was NJ
nse. so | finally settled down to hftee1
niles an hour. An that is why we wa
late" Jack looked at the floor yer.
hard and was silent
No one spoke for three minutes wne'
The Corpse. who had been amusing MN
self by splitting at the newly polishe
shoes a dudish fireman had ventured Z
wear into the round-house, re marked
.Gentlemen let's be soclable; every
bodv take a chaw of his own tobacco
panhandle Dan cast wltherln
GLANCE at the speaker, cleared nj
throat. and began;
..When was pulling passenger o"
ON the X. p. it was my proud boast tina
:, the three years l had been on tn
nm 7 had never been late. AWAY
ro+ over the road according to the time
card without regard to washouts
1vrecl<s and sich-in fact, L was oulio
mp a world-beating record until
cvclone one day laid me out so seanoal
ons that / resigned as soon as l go'
the end of the run. Yes, SIR IN tnre
.;,,,,t.s the record I had been thre