Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1895-08-17
LOCOMOTIVES SEEM TO KNOW

LOCOMOTIVES SEEM TO KNOW.
Ensiaeer Tells Of sample 1acidsns Il
Rai1r0adins.
II will tell you about one Of the
strangest freaks Of a locomotive that
ever occurred In my experience on the
road" said Harmon p. Butler, the best
known Southern Pacific engineer IN
California, the other day. 1T happen.
ed In the summer Of 1884, when I was
pulling freight from Tucson, Ari., 10
Los Angeles. and have never come
across anybody who could give an q.
PLANTATION Of my experience. and have
never been able to see through Il my.
self. You may draw your own conclu.
sions.
1.-THE night I had my experience was
dark and stormy. It was In the period
Of peculiar storms and cloudbursts
down In Arizona. I was ordered from
Tucson for the overland express that
left there at midnight. The fireman
seemed to be slower than ususi, and
he had great time getting his coal
placed In the tender. The locomotive
hostler at the roundhouse had forgot
ten to Ak the oil valves, and the boiler
never made steam 80 slowly. To make
matters worse, the train dispatches
kept us In the station a plump hour past
the regular leaving time, and Just BE-
fore we started the conductor came To
me and said the general superinten.
tent was on board the train and would
60 way through with Us. Well, we pull.
ed out Of the station with my mind
made up to reach our destination on
time II the wheels would stay under
her. Az soon as were out Of Tucson
I put on all the steam and let her 30.
But she didn't seem to move at half her
usual speed, and then she didn't make
steam well, either. began to be impa-
tient, and scolded the fireman for MOI
doing good work with his fire. He
seemed to try his best, but It was no 20.
She would not steam well, In spite Of
his exertions. Then the pumps began
to be troublesome. One Of them stopped
working altogether, and tho other bs.
came more ineffective every minute. II
began to dawn on me that making up
time was out Of the question.
"When We left Maricopah we were
one hour and ten minutes late, and the
conductor had just made o remark
that nettled me quite q little. I asked
him II there were any orders at Mari.
copah. He answered: None except IA
try to set to Yuma In time for dinner
which was pure sarcasm, for II w
made our running time We would GET
there In time for breakfast Well, my
heart was clean down In my boots, and
when shut OF the steam going into
Big Wells found the water 20 low In
the boiler that something had to bs
done for the pump before we could
leave the station, 40 there was then q
heavy grade to climb for several miles,
I informed the conductor that We
would be delayed fifteen or twenty min.
utes with the work Of taking down one
Of the pumps, and then proceeded with
the work. We were just about ready
TO start again when heard the sharp
whistle Of an engine, and, looking up,
I saw q special tourist excursion train
from Southern California approaching
from the very direction In which w
were going. When the train pulled into
the station We found that the telegraph
operator at Maricopah had neglected
to give 10 meeting orders for this train.
Had II not been for the pumps We
would have rushed on to what would
probably have been one Of the most
terrible collisions In the history Of rail-
roads.
Nov comes the remarkable part Of
the story. From the time We left Big
Wells both pumps worked like charm
bear In mind that I found nothing
whatever the matter with the pump
that had taken down, and there waa
apparently no reason for Ito not work.
ing-and the old engine seemed to dart
along with twice her usual speed. Grad.
ually she began to pick up time again.
and In the next hfty miles we made up
fifteen minutes, which was lightning
speed In those days. There were Just
nineteen minutes to make up In the last
twenty miles In, and I need not say
that we pulled into our destination on
time. Here was an instance Of q
cranky engine saving collision that
would probably have resulted In great
loss Of life and property."-New York