River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1892-03-03
a HAZARDOUS TRIP.
A Raiiro nd Mans PerIIous Fourteenth


Run.
Sunny, isn't IL, what daredevil acts
railroad men will often do?" asked q
little travelling man or a few friends as
he dropped into one of the Grand Pacific
rotunda chairs
Yes. something like trying to run
two trains on the same track. or trying
to see whether the rails or a mans leg
is the hardest" suggested fellow
drummer
''No, mean in the ordinary course of
business. The other day / started for
Washington, and | had premonition
that the trip was not to be of the best,
for on the way to the depot l purchased
a pooket-comb of a street veuder. who
gave me quarter too much change.
We got as far as Auburn junction, and
it was awful dark, when the station
agent informed us that there was a
wreck between us and Defiance.
o. Later he said there We're
two wrecks. and that three men
had been killed. TlB debris was
piled so high upon the tracks that it
would take the wreckers hours to clean
them. ] saw our conductor and engi-
neer in close conversation.
suddenly the conductor said: Bill.
there is nothing left us but to run
around on the Wabash tracks TO Def
ance'
But the Wabash has no operator
here to give us orders answered the
engineer
"'Oh, Ill cut you off and we'll turn
the engine around at the round-house
table and make our way over the four
teen miles of strange track. As long as
your headlight shows up you can creep
over the road. can't your
The knight of the throttle was a
careful man. but he knew that the
United States mail was being delayed
and couple of hundred passengers
were angrily demanding that the
trainmen do something Ito hurry
them on I'll go you.' he said.
and the engine went down 10 the
turn-table to turn around. Upon COM
ing back it was discovered that it would
be impossible to couple her to the hind
end of our train. as the sleeper draft
irons were of different pattern and
higher than the coupler of the engine.
Another pause for deliheration. Final
ly the conductor advised the engineer
to go back turn around and couple on
in the original position. Well Just
cross over the spur and back up the
fourteen miles And we did. That
stretch Of fourteen miles, on a night az
dark as pitch, over an unknown road,
without headlight and with two hun
dred passengers unaware of the risk
the trainmen were running to accom-
modate them, and well. tell you ID
was exciting. No orders, no nothing,
as you might say.
II stood on the hind end, which was
then the fore end, with the conductor
and two brakemen. as we slowly dug
our way through the darkness. The
flagmen carried red lanterns and torpe-
does, to run ahead and flag should
train be heard approaching. but it was
dollars TO butternuts that had head
light appeared around one of those I'M
known curves no one of our train could
have reached the approaching train in
time to prevent her from crashing into
our train. I've done little railroading
in my time. and l have taken train
over some pretty risky places but that
fourteen miles of backing up, without
orders, without headlight to aid our
progress, and on strange track, is
about the most squeamish ride / ever
travelled. That shows you how many
risks railroad man will take to please
the travellers - Chicago News