Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-09-02
INTO FLAME.

| we WcTb COIllnB O<soo o1 oA'' Sp.NH L "
ciflc when our train was delayed at Mo-
jave, Cal. It was evident that we would
| have plenty of time, and made q hasty
acquaintance with q citizen who soon in
troduced me to an old engineer, John Bar
tholomew, who had the reputation OF hay
ing the most thrilling record In the histo-
ry of the road / asked the old man to
tell me his story:
| sit isn't much of a story" said the
white haired old veteran, "but II you
want to hear 1t III tell you. 1t was in the
summer of 1870. l was running an ex-
ira passenger engine on one of the noun
tain divisions of the U. p, and, a young
engineer then, had q rather unenviable
record ms IA wild and reckless runner.
AT that time the government was max
| ing lots of changes among the army posts
on the frontier, and almost every week we
had one or more of what we called gov
ernment specials, moving the soldiers and
their families and belongings from one
| post to another. One morning l was
called to go out on one of these runs,
and as coupled my engine to the train
the conductor handed me q message from
the superintendent telling us to rush that
train through with all possible speed. 1t
yuop SuitSN ilc CAaC'iy' I'iu % IlRHt Tram
-four baggage cars three coaches and a
'sleeper'-and l knew could make rec
ord for a fast run, something had been
waiting for for long time.
''In the first hour made 80 miles, and
thon-well, l never had chance to better
1t. We received an order TO meet passcn-
ger train and pass freight going in the
same direction as ourselves at tho next
stat on.
"There were two side tracks there. and
the freight train occupied ono of them, and
pulled In on the other. Tho station was
right at the top of n very heavy grade, and
the track down this hill was very crooked.
Tho passenger train camc a little late and
In my hurry to got out did not give tho
brakeman time to open the switch, and I
got the front truck of my engine off tho
track. 1t did no damage to the engine
but it gave the fire that left me MS am
now good chance to get a.going.
AT last we got started, and as looked
back from my cab at tho first curve saw
the freight train on the main track ready
to follow us down the hill. My train was
running at full 80 miles an hour as
turned the last long curve at the foot OF tho
grade, and there in plain view was tho
mouth of Winnemucca tunnel choked from
the rail 10 the roof with mass of roaring
flames. II was nearly q quarter of milo
away and knew | could stop my train,
but / looked back across the curve and
could see hardly / 600 feet behind me,
that heavy freight train rushing along al
most rs fast MS | was running 1t was be-
fore the time of airbrakcs on freight
trains and realized In less than second
that no power then in uso could stop that
train in time to save the lives of the hun
dreds of soldiers and their wives and little
ones in the cars behind mo. Tho very
force of the collision would drive my train
into the tunnel, where, without power to
move, they would surely perish.
II thought quick then. Ny fireman had
jumped the minute he saw the fire. and I
was alone on tho engine. i knew the tim
bers in the tunnel were very heavy, and
my only chance was that the fire had not
burned through them so that they had
dropped TO the rail. l threw coal into the
frebox until we reached the mouth of the
tunnel. and then l dropped tho cab cur.
tains, shut the windows and waited.
II was right In my guess. None of the
timbers was down, but ono big one, burned
out at the top, was started by the jar OF
the train and fell just in time TO catch tho
threw the log lengthwise with the track,
but it took the engine cab with 1t. had
been all right until this happened but
then in the intense heat / commenced to
roast. pulled out the throttle Us far ms
1t would go and then orawled back into
the tender and lay down beside the iron
water space and prayed for death. just
remember seeing the blue sky rs we shot
out of the mouth of that living holl, and
that was the last knew for over u week
was in the hospital for over year, and as
no one else was hurt except my fireman,
and he was at work again in about "A
month, l have nothing to regret. When
could get out and get around, the general
manager told me | should draw engineers
pay as long rs / lived, work or not, as |
pleased. try TO do what can, but rs you
see, it's not much, but l always get my
pay just the same.
Brave old John bartholomew He was
made of the stuff of which heroes are fash
toned, and in these days of soulless corpo-
rations it Is pleasant to know that the man
aaement of one great railroad appreciates
his sacrifice and tries to make his declining
years MISUNDERSTANDING.