The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-02-09
DEATH SEEMED AT HAND.
The Thrilling Experience Of 9 Loco
motive Engineer As Told
by Himself.
Waiting for tho Awful CrasL
@ That Was to Bring
Destruction.
Mad Run Over n Bridge with -Four Haavy
Ensines-Counting the Seconds
Before the Disaster. u

Before the Disaster.
"Havs l ever been frightened on my en-
CINE? Well, / should say l have bosn-so
much that l have felt my cap r.se OH my
head as my hair stood on and Got UP in
the cab here and I'll tell you about the
only time l ever said a prayer in my life,"
remarked an engineer to a New York 1ri-
bune reporter.
II was running on the old G. /. g. A.
railroad, before it WAS consolidated with
the Lehigh Valley. The road in those days
was not go prosperous as it is now and We
did not have all the material that we
should have had to work with. An engine
WAS often kept running until she actually
broke down on the road before she could
be taken to the shop for repairs. But that
is not what | was going to tell about.
They were good old days. and We had lots
of fun mingled with the hardest kind of
work. I suppose that makes it all even.
We had ono terrible enemy in the winter.
That was .hc snow. Along the lakes are
long stretches of level country over which
the wind blows the snow in the l~iveliest
pOaoiOlC l1dlAlC1 IL No0la LIZ w VA SN'a
and make huge drifts on tho track, COM
polling the road to suspend business some
times for three or four days. until the
track could be cleared.
Zone night there came q tremendous fall
of snow. Trains were stalled all along the
line, and q passenger train was caught
somewhere near Coverts. Early in the
morning all the available engines were or
dered out with snowplows and gangs OF
mon to clsar away the nov ! had a big
si1-wheel 'mogul,' one Of the heaviest en-
gines on tho road, and Of course we wore
expected to do some effective work. Wa
put a big supply of coal in the tender and
started out to clear the track. The snow
pillow was built up about ten feet high, and
was made of boiler iron fastened on strong
tilnbers. 1t WAS bolted to the front end OF
n flat car, and tons of old scrap-iron were
piled ON the car to make it heavy, 80 1T
would not rise from the rails when we
st uck a big bank. Well, we got out of
Ithaca all right. 4.-
1.-The old 'mogul' went along blowing
through the SNOW, pushing it aaide and
throwing it around as il it were only fun
for her. We got up over the hill without
serious delay, but there WAS a cut just the
other side of the summit Tint WAS com
plotely filled with | saw it and
pulling the old 'mogul's' throttle wide open.
rlow was driven about hnlf WAY through
the cut. and then we got stuck. We backed
off and tried again, but it was no use; we
couldn't get through. Word was tele-
grnphed back. and i'll m hour or 30 three
locomotives were sent to onr assistance.
we coupled together when they arrived, ana
made another effort. With the increased
power we pushed our way through as clean
as 4 pin.
There is another cut Just west Of Tough
annock similnf to the one we had Just
cleared, only it is q little deeper, if any
thing. The boys held Il consultation, and
decided to go ahead and ram our way
through this cut if we could. I pulled the
whistle, signaling to the other engineers to
come on, and in d moment the four big
'moguls,' with the SNOW pillow ahead, were
going like a streak for the snow cut Il couple
of milos away. On the other side of Tough
annock station is Toughannock gorge, over
wh!ch,was an iron bridge. The gorge is not
wide ut that point, but very deep, with n
little atrenm of water sparkling and lin
mcrino in the bottom like a tiny limo of
glittering silver. You see. the gorge was
between the engines and the cut, and no
one had thought Of the bridge when we de-
clded to charge on the cut. 1t is a danger
GUS thing, rs a rule, to run two engines
coupled together OF Il bridge, let alone four,
and Il great snow pillow, with all the weight
that could DO piled on it. We were within
100 yards before l thought of it, but when
| did my heart went down in my boots.
There was no use trying to stop. That was
simply i'm roSslble. | felt sure that my
time had come.
II sat down on nv box and hung on to
the reverse lover with both hands. I could
hear the engines behind putting and snort
ing. their little driving-Wheels going around
50 fast that you could scarcely see them.
Above all | could hear the big No. 10, the
fury of a devil, Going her best to push the
rest Of us along Il little faster. What suf-
Tered in those few seconds l can not de-
scribe. These gray hairs. | think, were
caused by that to rible strain. We drew
nearer and nearer the span. Hooked across
the boiler at my fireman, thinking It would
be the last timel should see HIM on earth.
There he stood grinning like Il jack-lantern.
his white toeth shining beneath the
black SCOT on his di:ty face, wiping his oily
hands with Il piece of waste, utterly IN
conscious Of the awful death that awaited
him.
Poor fool l thought, you had better
die in peace ! could not warn him of the
Hanger if | would. We were now very near
the bridge. In an instant more we should
all be dead. I closed nv eyes and began to
pray. The snowplow struck the span, and
after 1T we came. l folt 1T tremble RS the
trucks of my engine struck it. There was
a roar from the gorge. as it echoed back
the noise made by the train. All the ell
gines seemed to leap through the air nsthey
ran on the bridge, and before | had time to
realize what had happened, we were safely
on the other side, tearing on toward the Oh
iect of our attack.
1--WE had a fearful time clearing out that
cut. We got stuck n dozen times and could
not get either wny, but when tho engine
men got together whilo we were being shoy-
elled out, md | told them of our escape,
there was more than one pale face in the
group. You asked me if ! had over heen
frightened. Well, that is the time. and l
never want one minute of such agony as |
suffered that day again-not for the
world"
The Force of Habit.
This story of Comedian Dixey is told az
illustrating the force of habit.