Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1894-03-31
FROsTBURG, Md, SATURDAY, MARCH 81, 1894.

hr was a hummin' in less than a min
t.. while til" runaways WAS chlsin'
hell h"nt. Scared: Well IN bh"
WlSu'r. though il wasn't long before
begun to gain on the ears an
We them further behind. Lord. how
g.. ltlle drivin' wheels of that old
'~htr did hum.
All this tim. | was thinkin' and
hin N bard ;lS we'll as fast | knew
tli' . IN on tn" "aSt-bound track
m'@At run ! y bang into Il train com
H. .sr and what would bc left after
IN I wreck would bc blowcd to King
i M '"i' when the dynamite arrived.
IN ';sr ri that kind II mans got t.
IT, nix and act mighty prompt. and it
djnt tux" me long to form II plan.
| had Il rod half mil" lead then AMI
S'"ldily gIinin, and if | had wanted
II rnuii hay" had time to stop. crawl
behind ! rock up on the hillside and
Sc, tn b gG"St display of fireworks
ever kr"Wu when the dynamite knock
ed the rngin" int" SmithcrrcnS
''i't | CON iur"d mp Il better Schcm"
IN II that in less time than il takes To
tell. About tirc" miles further down
WAS an abandoned coal mine, with Il
siding connerting with the up track.
II could reach il in time to throw the
switch til" runaways could be turned
on and d" little damage beyond de
Slr"yinE themselves. ON the other
hand. if tlI" night express should he
near, and | knew she was about due.
the consequences would he horrible if
l failed. Bad prcdicament. WASH: it:
But. aS | said. in such cases Il mans
got To decide quick, and | made up my
mind to risk it.
Il pulled the throttle wide open and
fastened the whistle rope 50 rs to keep
up Il steady BLOWN. Great Moses
how We spun down that grade. All
th" tim" the lamps on the runawayS
were twinklin' in plain sight and
knew the ears must be comm. a-whiZ-
lin. We passed a train goin' down
on the other track, and. although it
was maxim pretty fair speed itself.
the engineer told me afterwards that
| sid past him like as if the devil was
chasin me, and when. Il minute or so
later, the ears cam" along like Il comet
h" thought was Il goncr sure.
well, | reached the sidin', and by
uSn' sand and rrvcrsin got my engine
stopped. Then jumped for the
switch. 1t was rusty and bent. but
lbTlllliltlI not NNhtl. l gave II
terrific jerk. got it turned and then
run as hard as my legs would carry
me. was TO" busy gettin out of the
way To watch for the cars. but | heard
'"m comm. and | remember lhnkin'
that if they jumped the switch and
kept on down the main track it would
Mt be my fault
Then there was Il crash and a shock
which seemed to come out of the sky.
| WAS knocked head over heels by the
cnncuSSion of the air, and when
crawlcd up on my feet it was rainin
pig. Fact. The Sky was full of ready
made sausage meat. a car of hogs
had broke loose with tn" dynamite
and of course, went up when ii "N
ploded. Spare ribs and pork chops
fell all over Cambria County that
night and Il farmer livin' near the
railroad got three whole hogs out of
tn" tops of pine trees next day ! was
SO weak could hardly reach my en-
gine. hut | managed to get her side
tracked and out of the way Just as
tn" express came along"
How dill the company reward You
Prte:" asked Billy, as the engineer
Knocked the ashes out of his pipe.
Laid IN" off Il month for leavin the
train without notifyin' the conductor"
New York World.