The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1894-03-16
CHASED BY DYNAMITE.

The engineer leaned back contented.
ly in his cab and lit his pipe The ex-
press was thirty minutes late, and that
meant a 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 help they are
In holdin' heavy train on down
grade. L saw Il time once when I'd
have given a pile of money If there
had been such a thing then, and twas
right on this division, too"
Lets hear about 1t, Pete" said the
fireman, putting the poker away and
chipping off some hard tobacco for his
corncob.
Its good while ago now" the en-
gineer answered meditatively. II was
runnin' pusher between Conemaugh
and Cresson, 'helpin freight and coal
trains up the hill II was Just after
the strike in ~ when the boys raised
Cain, and the cause of that strike, If
you'll remember, was partly on ac-
count of the company cuttin' down the
crews and doublin' the runs. Now
.adays, with box and coal cars fitted
with air. Il brakeman more or less
don't make much difference, but then
every man counted, and when they
dropped Il chap off on these mountain
runs it made the rest feel shaky, for
there wasn't enough men left to tend
the brakes.
"One night it was our turn to assist
what was known as the Pan Handle
freight up the mountain. We started
out from Conomaugh about IL 30 push
in the train, which was made up of
about ten cars of hogs, two box cars
and fifteen or twenty four-wheel coal
cars-Jimmies, we called 'em. The
box cars We're at the rear; that is, right
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 1t pullin' by fits, 'twasn't long be-
fore the cars We're bumpin' and ierliin
pretty rough. Then | saw the conduc-
tor comm back hard as he could
When he got within hearin' he yelled
For Gods saks stop that bumpin' We
have two cars of dynamite in the
train
blu L sN'p IL Z LOU DtlltE DGlleNe L
did, and mighty quick, too. | blowed
for brakes and the engineer in front
answered, and as the grade there is
about eighty feet to the mile we soon
stopped. | sent my fireman forward
to tell the other engineer to try and
get his steam gauge up, and that |
wasn't goin' to bump myself into eter-
nifty If | knew it. After he was gone
| discovered my water was low and
concluded to run back to n stand pipe
about half mile down the track to
I'LL the tank. So, cuttin the couplin'
myself, l dropped down. l found
afterwards the crew didn't know /
had gone and had failed to put the
brakes on the last cars, thlnkin' my
engine would hold 'em.
II hadn't more than got alongside
the pipe than l caught glimpse of the
tail lamps of the train comm lickety
split towards me. j knew at once
what had happened. The train had
broke In two and part of it was run
nln' wild down the hill. That often
happens, you know, and there amt
much danger in stoppin' the wild cars;
all that's necessary bein' for the engl-
neer of the pusher to run backward
slowly, SO as to make the bump when
1t comes easier than If the engine was
stopped.
But you can bet 1 wasn't hankerin'
to stop two cars of dynamite that way,
and when | saw 'em comm l didn't
stop Mt the pipe, but kept on goin'. My
old pusher jumped, and then lit out
down the hill. Jimmy crickets, how
she was hummin' In less than a min
ute, while the runaways was chasin'
us hell bent. Scared? Well, mebbo
] wasn't, though it wasn't long before
we begun to gain on the ears and
leave them further behind Lord how
the little drivin' wheels of that old
pnsher did hum.
"All this time l was thinkin' and