Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1896-03-12
STORY OF ENGINE 1O7.
Finished on Friday, She Was AL
ways Ge tting Into Trouble.
Her Twin, 100, Was Finished on Thurs
day, and RAN True, But lot
Was Four Times Wrecked and
Finally Killed Her Man.


for two locomotives of a peculiar type.
They were for narrow-gauge Lille
which at that time connected the east
and the west, and by which the tourist
travelled across the Rocky mountains.
They We're to be compact, short, strong
and swift, capable Of pulling like
mule on heavy grade and running like
q scared wolf in the valley.
At that time the concern was turn
ing out locomotive complete every
"a hours. Look at the workmen as
they begin to erect the two "Rocka
ways" as they were afterwards called,
probably because they rolled and
rocked when running at high rate OF
speed through the crooked canyons
of Colorado. On the floor of the shop
are two boilers, two sets of frames.
cylinders. eccentrics-in short, all he
parts of locomotive in duplicate
and from this heap the helpers bring
one of each of the duplicate parts, and
the machinists put them together un-
til one locomotive is completed an1
rolled out to be painted. Out of what
IS left the second engine Is made.
Thre is no culling or sorting, and as
the separate parts of each are made by
one and the same pattern, there is no
good reason why these two locono-
tives should not ride, run and steam
equally well. When the two engines
were completed, painted and num-
bered, they were loaded onto stand
scd gauge fat car and shipped to the
road for which they were built. When
they arrived and had taken stalls in
the roundhouse at Pueblo, they be-
came engines 107 and 100, ard attract
ed great deal of attention from the
enginemen of the division.
"She's a scary looltin' devil" said
Badly Footen, as he stood in front OF
107; and she really did look bit top
heavy with her long legs, short body
md fleet" so close together that they
could almost run on one rail.
Take her, you fellows that are look
IN for fly runs, do want her." And
with that Badly walked out of the
roundhouse and over to the place of
the Triangle and shook the man there
for a cigar.
When the two engines had been
raced around the yards few days and
Numbered up" 100 was coupled on 10
the Pacific express one night and in
PRODUCED to the curves and corners of
the Grand canyon. The road then
was not what it is now. The next
time you go through there, il you sit
on the rear platform, you will notice
that the crumbling grade that marks
the route of the old narrow-gaugc
crosses the present standard track 100
times in so miles. 1t was so crooked,
Badly said, that a new runner was
sure, at some of the corners, to shut off
for his own headlight. However, 100
held the rail and made a good record
so good, indeed, that Notwithstanding
1t was Friday, 1O7 was sent out on
the following night. She left the
1t was lucky she did, for she ran off the
track at the water tank and was got
back barely in time to take her traiu
out.
"No man can call me superstitious,' ~
said the engineer. But they amt no
sense in temptin' Providence by takin'
a new engine out on Friday"
It'll be midnight before you reach
the canyon" said the night foreman,
'and there is no danger this side"
There's danger in bed eff it's down
that way was the sullen response of
the driver as he backed down and
coupled on to the express.
1t was one of these clear moonlight
nights that make every peak and
pinnacle on the mountain ranges stand
out as clear and distinct against the
cold sky as they do in the daytime;
a moon that shames the headlight, and
shows the twin threads of steel run
ming away off yonder and meeting and
going on together where the darkness
begins. Being new, with clean boil.
er, 1o7 steamed like a burning house
and the fireman, not being affected by
the fact of it's still being Friday, found
time to hang out the open window and
watch the silvery ripples that were
romping on the cold, white bosom OF
the winding river along whose banks
the road lay.
Not a word had passed between tn,
engineer and fireman since they start
ed out, and now they were swinging
round the curves at good express gait
The new engine was rocking like {
light boat on a rough sea, but other
wise she was riding as easily as q coach
1t was 1850 when they passed Good
night, and two minutes later the fire
man was startled by that d. eadful wor,
which almost every fireman has hear
at some time or another: "Jump!"
1t is as natural for an engineer T.
call to his fireman to jump and say
himself-for he is of no use on a loco
motive about to be wrecked-as it
for the engineer to remain at his DO.
Jump" shouted the driver, and tn
fireman CHANGING ahead saw a confuse
niingling of horns, hoofs and tails b.
tween him and the track. He jumpe
and came down on bunch of sag
brush amid shower of steers, and sa,
l07 leave the track, pillow along IL
side of the low bank, and finally ste
without turning over. The train-ti
enUineer having aet the air -StODDt