Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-11-25

kept his senses and chung to one of the ak
les ike drowning man to a plank. He
said that the snow and ice on the track
alone saved his life, had his clothing
caught but for moment he would have
been cut in two"
II have only run against one lucky man
IN my time" spoke up a gray-haired and
Whiskered engineer, but the incident is
worth talking about. The man 1 refer to
told me his story shortly after the incident.
III seemed that the poor fellow got out of
work, and no money coming in, his wife de-
serted him. Then he became seriously i'll
FOR many weeks and when he was able to
walk about life had very little charm for
him. Then he decided to commit suicide in
a novel manner, and as luck would have it,
II his plan worked l was to do the killing
The awful novelty of the method he Sc
lected for ending his life was a sufficient
indication of the frenzy to which brooding
over his troubles had driven him. l was
running on the western division of the Bal
timore and Ohio then, and at the time men
TONED was clearing Cincinnati at a forty
mile-an-hour gait. The would-be suicide
went out on the Freeman avenue bridge in
that city, where it crosses the Baltimore
and Ohio tracks After waiting some time
my train swung into sight and he quickly
mounted the bridge railing. l saw the fell
low, but there are many curious antics
going on about railroad that he but slight
ly interested me and l let my train speed
bridge the poor fellow threw himself head
long to the tracks below. As | saw him
take the plunge my breath forsook me, as
you know, boys, 1t takes a tough man to
FIJI human being without culver of re-
morse.
ne intended to throw himself in front
of the engine but waited just an instant
too long. Instead of meeting the horrible
fate he had planned for himself his body
struck the concave side of the engine boiler,
glanced of and rolled into the mud at the
side OF the track. Some bYStanders whC
mad seen the man make the terrible leap
rushed to the spot, expecting of course to
find him a crushed and bleeding mass
They round instead that though he was
oadiy bruised and his nose and face LAGER
ate1 he had few bones broken and in a few
weeks was fully recovered. He came to see
me after wards at the station in Cincinnati
and after telling me his troubles said his
experience with my engine had completely
cured him of suicidal intentions and that
re was going to brace up and be a man
That was n lucky jump fer him. for be-
sides not killing him as II should have done
1t Knocked some sense into his foolish
heal"
Walked or in I.fs sleep.
THAT escape WAS aim s. as lucky as jim
walters chincd in another member Of
the clUb. AT the time | speak of jim was
irinS on Il through passenger run and on
account of the heavy traffic had been work
ing about twenty hours straight. OF course
throughout the run between this Cit and
Philadelphia, but the engines are Dis, TN.
work hard and he finally worked himself
into q half-cOnscouS condition. He was
coming south ON run that reaches Wash.
.nSton near midnight and about an hour
esirhe: tha'I .ndt puHed Cut u LnIon sta
ton baltimore. GU all know what IL is 10
get through the Dig tunnels Up there With a
heavy train ana Jim worked like a pole
| horse to keep up a full head of steam After
rney cleared the tunnels Jim nursed his
hre nicely so as to set a hItle rest down
to the grades near Severn.
lie had nnished trimming up the Goals
ana was turning TO creep up into he little
resting nook opposite the engineer, when
ne lost consciousness. Jim told me after
wards that he imagined he was home in
lis little sitting room and was about going
upstairs to go to bed AT the time he was
imagining himself opening his bed room
door and was stepping therein he stepped
on the side of the engine. which was run
ming fully forty miles an hour and had
reached about the worst spot on the Penn
sylvania road--the high bridge over the
Gwynnes Falls near the stock yards. AT
that time the gully sides were covered
with small trees and down Jim went,
crashing through these like so much paner
to the bottom, distance of fully a hun
drad feet more. He was picked I'D I'M
conscious and with hardly a stitch of cloth
ing on his back, but not a bone broken
He regained consciousness in the hospital
opened his eyes, heaved a deep sigh, turned
over on his side and slept for ten hours
straight. He missed two runs and then
TOOK MS old place none the worse for his
experience"
We'll. that was lucky escape of Jim's,
sure enough, spoke up an intelligent-look-
ing engineer who had just come in off of
his run from Philadelphia, but Jerry
O'Neill. the travelling engineer, told me of
an experience he had last September while
on MS way east from Chicago that will
make you hold your breath and make you
all more positive in your belief in luck
Jerry said he was coming to Baltimore
on train No. 6, the daily worlds fair flyer
between Chicago and Pittsburg on the
Pittsburg and Western road The train con-
sisted of baggage car, five Pullman Sleep
erS and a dining car, and was crowded with
passengers. Numerous little delays threw
the train behind time, and when the INCL
dent happened that L am about to tell of
the engine throttle was wide open and the
train was running at fully fifty miles an
hour. Charley Parks. Jerry told me was
handling the engine. and from that knew
he wasn't guessing az the speed In,. r,t-
CINE had just crossed the Pine creek bridge
when Charley, Jerry and the fireman were
almost thrown from their seats by a vio
lent jolt. To say that the trio was startled
is putting ii mildly.
CHANGING back toward the train they dis
cerned the cause of the jolt. The tender
and three cars had jumped the track on
the curve and were bounding about between
the engine and the rear cars in a frightful
manner Charley at once threw back the
icNei' put the speed OF the heavy train was
so great that sudden halt was impossible
This state of things continued for about
fifty yards when with a lurch that stopped
the breath of the three badly frightened
men in the engine, the cars plunged on to
the track again, making the trucks tremble
and creak as they struck the rails. The
danger was over, but no one except the
men in the engine knew or ever will know
what terrible catastrophe was ayerted
Jerry said he went back to examine the
rails and roadbed after the train was finally
stopped. He found that the tender and
cars had left the rails just at the end of
the bridge. and striking the ties had bound
ed along for a distance of ten yards, where
two deep trenches in another tie showed
where they had alighted. Some ten Yards
further on there Is a mill railroad crossing
The wheels of the tender had struck the
cross rails and had actually split two of
them into pieces. They then bounded into
the air and the inside wheels landed more
than foot outside Of the main track. where
they ground Shrough the ends of the ties
reducing them to kindling wood At a sec
ond crossing a short distance bevond the
wheels struck the guard plank and made
the wonderful leap that landed them again
on the rails
Had the slightest flaw devnlone1 in anv
one Of the deraied ears 'SnIinter' yrraol,