Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1896-01-11
4 RUNAWAY TRAIN.
e HaA Q Clear Track and . cooi.llead.
ed &ngineer.

vt HoA . Clear Track ana . COolsHeads
ed tnGineer.
1.-THE approach Of Thanksgiving al.
ways sets me thinking about the time,
several years back, that spent rail.
reading It up in the New England
hills" said an official one stormy day
last week, who sat gazing gloomily out
Of his Office window, just before closing
his desk for the day.
II lived then In q small Massachu.
sctts city and managed road where
every employee, from the section men up,
was personally known to me, and rail-
reading was more Of a pleasure than 1t
IL here where the roads IRE 30 vast and
long that one hardly knows the men,
bers Of his own Office stan. My office
windows, I remember, looked directly
upon the principal business street Of
the place and the entrance to the Tn.
lon depot, the street crossing the tracks
at right angles not twenty feet from
the great arched station entrance. Ev.
cry hour or two New York and Bos.
ton express trains were arriving and
departing, and 1t was always an inter.
csting sight the day before Thanksglv.
Ing, when every train was running IN
two or three sections, and each one
drawn by two locomotives, loaded down
with passengers anxious TO get to the
Old farm In time for the Thanksgiving
dinner.
-. zone snowy, clustering day sat
waiting to see the II :25 train pull In
from Boston, for somehow I kind Of
emelt danger, as O railroad man often
does. knew the trnin was heavy
one, the rails slippery and that before
1t struck the crossing 1t came down
heavy grade four miles long. Out at
the other end Of the depot was great
long bridge carrying the train of to
the west, and also the tracks branching
south to New York. On both these
tracks stood huge locomotives blowing
on steam and seemingly In haste to co,i.
pie on to the coming train, which was
destined for both the south and west,
and hurry 1t or to its destination.
Well, to make long story short, that
train got the best of the engineer that
day. owing to some defect In the air
brakes. and there was one Of the most
hair-raising train runawnys I guess
will ever witness. A mile up the grade
heard old Seth Mayor. the engineer,
making old 104 whistle for brakes In a
way TINT made me turn cold. Almost
at the same time the train came tear-
ing down over the street crossing and
into the depot going sixty miles an hour
and I remember to this day and always
will how cool Mayor looked rs he
dashed by blowing his whistle for dear
life as warning to give him clear
track.
'"rhat they would even get those on.
gines at the other end Of the station out
Of the way I thought was IN impossl.
bility, but they did. There were cool
men about that place that day. and No.
1O4's great Crawford whistle had given
the warning. The switches were hasti.
" ret straight on to the bridge and
away dashed the waiting engine In a
race to get out Of the way Of the run.
away train. 1t was close shave and
II unnervcd mo for week, but luck
saved the day. That runaway ran four
miles before It stopped, and the ensi.
neer with the light engine tearing
along ahead OF itwas beginning to Won
der II the tracks were clear way out to
Buffalo. when the brakes worked and
tho runaway was brought to stop.
For years have been wondering how
that train ever dashed down that grade
and through the crowded depot, follow
Ing the switches In and out, without a
most frightful smashup.
"Old Seth Mayor, when he stepped
down from the cab after backing back,
regarded It as huge joke, but 1t scared
everybody else within mile Of the
station out Of weeks growth.
cagO Chronicle.