The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1894-12-31
ON ARUNAWAY TRAIN
THE ENGINEERS WILD RIDE AROUND
HORSESHOE CURVE.
Forty Coal Cars and Ten crIppIss Pashed
Him Down tho Hill at Lightning Speed.
Lively Sprint Of tho Train and Two Emp-
~ Engines Ahead.

Him Down the Hill at Lightning Speed.
Lively Sprint Of tho Train and Two Emp
~ Engines Ahead.
1.-The worst scare I ever had" said the
old engineer a. he puifed meditatiyely
upon his pipe, was on one raw Noyem-
Der night comm down the mountain Of
Gallitzin to Altoona
II wasn't no greenhorn, neither, at the
time the thing happened, for ia fired
three years right on that division and Ind
run an engine is months SO as far ms ex.
perienoe went had plenty, and besides I
knew the track like book, which Is sayin
good deal, since the horseshoe curve or
hittanning point is right In the middle
of It.
| "A man has to be mighty we'll posted
before the company'1l trust him to null A
freight up the mountain, much less bring
one down. 1t requires skill to haul q
string OF empties up that hill with dou.
bio header and pusher behind, but that's
ehiitfs play compared to bringln down a
train OF loaded cars with only one engine
The sensation Of bein In front Of SO or
60 box cars on 90 foot grade and a wei
rail where the brakes won't hold is some
thin like them dreams feller has ocoa-
sionally OF being showed over a bluff 1. 900
feet high.
ITS skatin on mighty thin ice, I tell
| you, and IL youIlose control of the train
nine times out of ten you'd better saw
your Now lay me- Well, that night we
pulled out OF Johnstown with 30 coal cars
and 10 cripples for the Altoona shop.
A cripple is car needin repairs, Won
know-lnaybe Drawbacks broke, the
roof leaks, or, what's commoner than any
thing else, tho brakes arc busted. II 20
happened that every one of them ten oars
that night had no brakes, SO they were all
put behind next tho cab.
Along about e:1b in the mornin wa
passed Cresson, and after creepin through
the tunnel began to hustle down tho hill
AS said, 1t was an ugly night, all damn
and foggy, maxim the track slippy and
hidin the signals till you were right IN
agin them.
In them days there was no such thing
as airbrakes on freight cars or engines.
and we had to depend on the hand brakes
bein set by the brakemen to check the
speed, aided, of course, by what the engine
could do by holdin back
We'll, when we got on the grade IL
wasn't long till the wheels began to hum.
and the old freight was bumpin along at a
mighty lively gait. l lot her go, thinkin
IL would DO an easy matter to slow down
when we reached Allegrippus, which. as
you know, Is just around the bend above
the horseshoe.
"All Mt once a tower shot out of the foo
right ahead, and there was q rcd light
dead against me. You bet was scared.
Tor to run past red light means 80 DAYS
vacation blowed for brakes, turned on
the sand and motioned for Billy to twist
the tender brake. Instead of stoppin. ID
seemed as II we were goin faster. and II
didn't take second for mo to realize we
were runnin away.
say, talk about being chased by n herd
OF Texas steersl That's picnic compared
TO bein showed down the eide of a noun
tain In front of a string OF wabbly coal
cars, with the alternative OF juinpin the
track and plungin into the valley hun
dreds OF feet below or stickin to the rails
and runnin into the train ahead, for all
the time, you SEQ, l was thinkin Of that
red light We run past, which was positive
proof there was a freight In front
Iank the whistle, Billy, yelled.
Billy grabbed the rope and yanked. You
wouldn't believe what expression there ia
to locomotive whistle till you hear it on
runaway engine in the middle of the
night
AS luck or providence would have it.
tho Train In front was made up of empty
emigrant cars pulled by IA second class
Passenger engine When the engineer
heard our whistle, he knowed what ID
meant, and you bet your life he got up
and busted.
His train bein fitted with air he had
big advantage over u.s. but he wnsn's
thinkin of brakes just then. l caught
glimpse of his tail lamps as they shot
around bend, and they were dancin a
regular Jig
All this time our crew was hustlin
hard as they knew how putin ON tho
brakes, but 1t had no more effect than
the wind. tell you, thought it was ali
up with us when We turned the bend and
begun to rattle down tho upper side of
the horseshoe
Billy yelled, I'm afraid we're a
goner.
Never say die, Pete, he shouted bnck,
meantime keepin up his solo on the whis-
Tie. 1t wasn't exactly solo either for
the engine ahead was playin pretty much
the samo tune, and as the fog lifted a mo-
ment saw what the trouble was-there
were TWO empty engines ahead of the emf.
grant train, each about u quarter of a
lniie apart and all scoOtin down the slope
like as If the devil was after 'em. We'll,
1t looked so comical 1 had to laugh in
spite OF myself, and while was chueklin
We struck the curve.
INV uHihes SHOOK ana Scrcechcd and |
strained Way down in tho hollow could
see the water in the dam as the engine
rocked l thought she was goin to iump
right out into the air and down into the
reservoir, but in less time than 1t takes to
tel IL the old machine settled down on
the tracks again with n thud and tho 40
coal cars and 10 cripples groanin and
twistin behind.
The horseshoe, instead of bein our |
death, was our salvation, for on account
OIL the car wheels bindin on the curve we
slowed down considerable and WINS quick
wltted enough to get the train under con-
troll again so that we slid into Altoona Mt
a slow, decent gait like as If nothin had
happened.
Them fool engineers ahead, though,
dldn' { stop till they got to Tyrone, more'n
10 miles beyond, goin ickety split all the
way and BLOWN their whistles like as II
they were crazy, maxim tho farmers think
IL was old Gabriel himself, Maybe they
didn't get laughed at when they came
sneakin back.
''rhc truckmen found next day that we
had Knocked tho horseshoe six inches out
OF line, and instead of 10 cripples there
were 30 damaged cars, to say nothin OF an
engine nearly rnelSod apart.
oh toll you," the veteran conclud-
cd, reaching for the hostler's plug, sit
didn't last long, but while it was Roin ON
1t was mighty interostin. Chicago Trib-
une.
An Arab Proverb.
When You have done any one a favor,
throw into thu sea the remembrance of H.
aud If the fishes devour it God will re.
member 1t.