Birmingham age-herald., 1894-12-26


 Him Down the Hill at Lightning Speed.
 Lively Sprint of the Train and Two Emp
 ty Engines Ahead.
 "The worst scare ever had" said tho old engineer as he puffed medtatively upon his pipe, was on ono raw Novem- Der night comin down the mountain of Gallitzin to Altoona.
 'I wasn't no greenhorn, neither, at the time the thing happened, for I'd fired three years right on that division and had run an engine IS months, so as far as ex- perienoe went had plenty, and besides knew the track like a book, which is sayin a good deal, since tho horseshoe curve or Kittanning point is right in the middle of it.
 A man has to be mighty well posted before tho company'll trust him to pull freight up the mountain, much less bring one down. It requires skill to haul n string of empties up that hill with dou- blc header and a pusher behind, but that's child's play compared to bringin down train of loaded cars with only one engine
 'The sensation of bein In front of 50 or GO box cars on 90 foot grade and wet rail where tho brakes won't hold is some thin liko them dreams feller has occa- sonally of being showed over bluff ,000 feet high.
 Its skatin on mighty thin ice, tell you, and if you lose control of the train nine times out of ten you'd better say your Now lay me-. We'll, that night we pulled out of Johnstown with 40 coal cars and 10 cripples for the Altoona shop
 "A cripple is car needin repairs, you know-maybe drawbacks broke, the roof leaks, or, what's commoner than any thing else, the brakes arc busted. It so happened that every one of them ten cars that night had no brakes, so they were all put behind next the cab
 ''Along about 2:15 in the mornin we passed Cresson, and after creepin through the tunnel began to hustle down the hill. As said, it was an ugly night, all damp and foggy, makin tho track slippy and hidin the signals till you were right up 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
 Well, when we got on the grade it wasn't long till the wheels began to hum, and the old freight was bumpin along at mighty lively gait. l let her go, thinkin it would be an easy matter to slow down when VIC reached Allegrippus which, as you know, is just around the bend above tho horseshoe.
 'All at once tower shot out of the fog right ahead, and there was 2 red light dead against me. You bet was scared, for to run past red light means 30 days vacation. blowed for brakes, turned on the sand and motioned for Billy to twist the tender brake Instead of stoppin, it seemed as if we were goin faster, and it didn't take a second for mo to realize we were runnin away.
 Say, talk about being chased by a herd of Texas steers! That's picnic compared to bein showed down the side of noun tain in front of string of wabbly coal cars, with the alternative of jumpin tho track and plungin into tho valley hun dreds of feet below or stickin to the rails and runnin into the train ahead, for all tho time you see was thinkin of that red light we run past, which was positive proof there was freight ill front
 "'Yank the whistle, Billy yelled. Billy grabbed the rope and yanked.- You wouldn't believe what expression there is to locomotive whistle till you hear it on O night.
 .'As luck or providence would have it, the train in front was made up of empty emigrant cars pulled by q second class passenger engine. When tho engineer heard our whistle, he knowed what it meant, and you bet your life he got up and dusted
 His train bein fitted with air, he had n big advantage over us, but he wasn't thinkin of brakes just then. 1 caught glimpse of his tail lamps as they shot around bend, and they were dancin regular jig.
 All this time our crew was hustlin hard as they knew how putin on the brakes, but it had no more effect than tho wind. I tell you, thought it was all 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 back, meantime keepin up his solo on the whis tic. It wasn't exactly solo either, for the engine ahead was playin pretty much the samo tune, and as the fog lifted mo- ment saw what the trouble was-thero were two empty engines ahead of the emi- RrdnU Ufaln, etsCn dDOuu quarter or mile apart and all scootin down tho slope like as if the devil was after 'em. Well, 1t looked so comical I had to laugh in spite of myself, and while was chucklin wo struck the curve.
 How things shook and screcched and gtrainedl Way down in tho hollow ] could sec tho water in tho dam as tho engine rocked. I thought she was gon to jump right out into tho air and down into the reservoir, but in less timo than it takes to tell it tho old machine settled down on tho tracks again with n thud and the 40 coal cars and 10 cripples groanin and twistin behind.
 The horseshoe, instead of bein our death. was our salvation, for on account oi the car wheels bindin on tho curve we slowed down considerable, and Twas quick witted enough to get the train under con trol again so that wo slid into Altoona at a slow, decent gait liko as If nothin had happened. Nc
 TH. 2- n Al