The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-03-22
BY CY wARMAN.

Copyright, 1896, by S. S. McClure.)
When the Rio Grande Western was a
narrow gauge road it was very crooked.
Even in the Utah desert there were
many curves among the sand hills that
have been piled UP during the past few
thousand years. A locomotive-one of
a type known as sewing machines,
because all their machinery was in
sight-was trying to make a spur for
the general managers special, against
which she had time order The time
was growing alarmingly short, and the
driver of the light engine knew that the
man on the special, with the u. M pc
hind him, would be crowding the limit.
These sewing machines We're famous
riders. The springs were SO light ana
so perfectly adjusted that one of these
locomotives would ride as easily TO
the engineer as Pullman car does 10
a commercial traveller, with one seat
for himself and another for his 1eel-
AS the little machine rocked round the
corners, screaming at every curve, the
engineer and fireman kept sharp look
out ahead az the same time counting
the minutes and reckoning the miles
that still lay between them and the
spur.
Down the desert one of the swiftest
engines on the road was trembling
away towards the sewing machine. and
at the end of each minute the two loco
motives were a mile and half nearer
each other.
To be allowed to pull" the general
manager is an honor earnestly striven
for by engineers, and when once OBJ
tanned it is carefully guarded. What
ever record man makes at the head
of such a train is sure to count for or
against him, since he is then directly
under the eye of the management. The
chances are always in favor of a good
run, for the train dispatcher, with his
own reputation at stake, can be de-
pended upon to keep the track clear.
He will hold a passenger train ten
minutes rather than hold the special
five. Another point in favor of the fpe-
cial is the fact that he is due at no
particular point at any specified time,
and having no time card to hold him
down he may regulate the speed of the
train to suit himself. He is always an
experienced runner who knows the road
knows every low joint and high cen
ter, every curve and sag on his divi-
sion--consequently the officers put no
limit upon the speed of the train, but
leave it all to the good judgment of the
engineer. 1t was a clear, dry day in
the early autumn, the very best time
of year for a fast train, and 'Old Sam"
had been gauging his speed for fifty
miles back SO as to hit Coyote spur on
the dot, and break the record for fast
running on the Alkali division.
BY the rules of the road five minutes
We're allowed fer the variation of
watches, but the rule is not always
wholly respected. and as the man on
the special was known to be a daring
driver. the sewing machine crew saw
they were in a close place long before
the smoke OF the approaching locomo-
tive was seen. Now they had barely
five minutes left and nothing for the
variation and the coveted siding four
miles away. If the opposing train
failed to respect the "five-minute rule"
she might at that moment be passing
the spur At last there remained but a
single mile and only a minute to do it
in. The throttle was wide open and
the little engine was rolling SO that the
bell rang continually. The fireman had
put in his last fire, and was now strain
ing his eyes to catch the smoke of the
special. The engineer, with his left
hand on the whistle rope, chung to the
side of the cab to keep from being
thrown out of the right of way.
The wheels under the sewing machine
were so small that the best she could do
was forty-fve miles, and now when she
came down to the very last second
there was still quarter of a mile be
tween her and the meeting point. but
at that moment the flying wheels of
the special engine crashed over the
switch and shut her out. The little
rewing machine, hid among the sand
hills was straining every nerve to
reach the passing point at which she
was already overdue. The man on the
special was just beginning to feel sure
of his position when he rounded a
curve and saw the light engine emerg-
ing from a shallow ant. OF course he
shut off and tried to lessen the force of
the collision, but to stop was out of the
question.
The fireman on the light engine saw
the special and warned his companion,
for they were curving to the left and
the driver could not see, but the four
men knew that nothing short of mira
Gle could prevent dreadful collision,
and thai in few seconds time they
would all be piled up in a heap. Both