The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1896-05-28
THE GHOST TRAIN.

When the Rio Grande Western was
o 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 dur
ing the past few thousand years. A
locomotivo--one Of type known as
"sewing machines" because all their
machinery was in sight-was trying to
make a spur for the general managers S
special, against which she had time
order. The time was growing alarm
irgly short, and the driver of the light
engine i----@, tiat tho man on the
special with the general manager be-
hind him, would be crowding the
limit.
To be allowed to "pull" the general
manager is an honor earnestly strivcn
for by engineers, and when once OBJ
tanned it is carefully guarded. 1t was a
clear, dry day in the early autumn, the
very best time of the year for fast
run, and "OId Sam" had been gaug-
ing 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 min
utes were allowed for 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 sowing machine crew saw
they were in close place long before
the smoke OF the approaching loco
motive was seen. Now they had
barely five minutes left and nothing
for the variation and the coveted sid.
ing four miles away. If the opposing
train failed to respect the ''ive-min-
ute rule she might at that moment be
passing the spur. At last there re-
mained but a single mile, and only q
minute to do it in. The throttle was
wide open and the little engine was
rolling so that the bell rung contin-
ually. The fireman mad put in his
last fire and was now straining his
eyes to catch the smoke of the spe-
cial.
The engineer, with his left hand on
the whistle rope, clung to the side of
the cab to keep from being thrown
out of the right of way.
The wheels under the sewing ma
chine 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 between 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 sewing 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 begi ming to feel
sure of his position when he rounded
curve and saw the light engine
emerging from shadow cut. 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 COM
panlon, for they were curving to the
left and the driver could not see, but
the four men know that nothing could
prevent q dreadful collision aud that
In few seconds time they would all
be piled up in heap. Both drivers
had called to their fire men to jump,
and the firemen had turned to their
windows The special engineer was
In the act of reversing, that he might
take the good opinion of the of1icia
with him. The other driver only
showed the throttle in, braced himself
and waited for the shock.
The driver of the special engine bai
boy, and this boy had climbed up OF
picket fence to kiss his father good
byethat morning at their home in Sal
Lake, but he slipped, fell and huns