The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1894-03-15
CHASED By DYNAMITE.

OllACLD ID I IL y y VI | | Il.
The engineer leaned back contented-
" in his cab and lit his pine. The ex-
press was thirty minutes late, and that
meant very acceptable rest for the
crew of the local freight, which took
the siding at this point to permit the
passenger train to pass.
The air-brakes on freight cars are
great things, Bill" he CALCULATED as he
watched the fireman rake down the
ashes; beats all what a help they are
in holdin' heavy train on a down
grade. | saw a time once when I'd
have given pile of money if there had
been such thing then, and twas right
on this division, too"
Lets hear about it, Pete" said the
fireman, putting the poker away and
chipping off some hard tobacco for his
coTncOb.
Its a good while ago now" the en-
gineer answered meditatively. Il was
ruunin' pusher between Conemauoh
and Crcsson, helpin freight and coal
trains up the hill. 1t was Just after
the strike in II when the bows raised
Cain, and the cause of that strike, if
you rememb ber, was partly on account
of the company cuttin' down the crews
and dOublin the runs. NOWADAYS, with
box and coal cars fitted with air, a
brakeman more or less don't make
much difference, but then every man
counted, and when they dropped a chap
off on these mountain runs it made the
rest feel shaky. for there wasAt enough
men left to tend the brakes.
One night ii was our turn 60 assist
what was known as the Pan Handle
freight up the mountain. We started
out from Conemaugh about 11.20
pushin' the train, which was made up
of about ten ears of hogs, two box cars
and fifteen or twenty tOur-wheel coal
cars ,JimmieS, we called 'em. The
box ears were at the rear; that is, III @ht
in front Of us. We made pretty fair
time up TO South Fork, where the flood
broke afterwards, you know Then
the engine in front began to steam bad.
and what with Us pushin' hard and it
pullin by its, 'tWasn't long before the
cars were bumpin' and jerkiu' pretty
rough. Then | saw the conductor
comm back hard as he could. When
he got within hearin' he yelled. For
Gods sake stop that bumpin'. We
have two ears Of dynamite in the
train
Did I stop it? You better believe |
did, and mighty quick, too. | blowed
ior brakes and the engineer in front
answered, and as the grade there is
ah"ut eighty feet TO the mile we soon
stopped. | sent my fireman forward
to tel the other engineer to try and
get his steam gauge mp and that /
/ wasn't goin' to bump myself into etern-
/ it's if knew it. After he was gone |
4 discovered my water was low and con-
/ cIuded to run back TO stand pipe
about half mile down the track 10 fill
4 the tank So. cuttin' the couplin' my
! self. ! dropped down. ! found after
wards the crew didn't know | had gone
and had failed to put the brakes on the
i last cars, thinkin' my engine would
hold 'em.
Il hadn't mere than got alongside
( the pipe than | caught 4 glimpse OF the
( tail lamps of the train comm lickety
4 split towards me. | knew at once
what had happened. The train had
broke in two and part Of it was runnin'
wild down the hill. That often hap
4 pens. YOU know. and there amt much
4 danger in stOppin' the wild cars; all
that's necessary bein' for the engineer
of the pushcr TO run backward slowly,
50 rs to make the bump when it comes
easier than if the engine was stopped.
But YOU can bet | wasn't hankerin'
to stop two cars of dynamite that way,
and when | saw 'em comm | didn't
stop at the pipe but kept on goin'. Ny
Old pusher jumped, and then lit out
down the hill. Jimmy crickets how
she was a hummin' in less than a min
ute. while the TunawaYs was Chasjn' Il,
hell bent Scared? Well, mebbe
wasn't. though it wasn't long before
we begun to gain on the ears and leave
, them further behind. Lord. how The
little driviu' wheels Of that Old pushel
did hum.
"All this time was thinkin', anC
thinkin' hard rs we'll rs fast. | knew
that bein' on the east-bound track
might run slap bang into train com
in up and what would be left afte
that wreck would be bowed to King
. dom Come when the dynamite arrived
In case of that kind a mans got t
think and act mighty prompt, and
didn't take me long to form plan.
had 4 good half mile lead then an
steadily gajnin', and if had wanted I
could have had time to stop. crawl be
hind rock up on the hill side and Sc
, the biggest display Of fireworks eve
known when the dynamite knocked tn
enriue into smitherceuS.
But coniured up better schem
than that in less time than it takes {
tell About three miles further dow
was an abandoned coal mine, with
siding connecting with the up tracl
# could reach it in.tme 10 throw th
switch the runawayS could be turne
off and do little damage beyond d'
stroying themselves. On the othe
hand. if the night express should /
, near, and | knew she was about due
the consequences would be horrible
is failed. Bad predicament. wasn't il
Il But. as | said, in such cases man
+ got to decide quick, and | made up II