The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1896-03-07
STORY OF ENGINE 1O7.
Finished ON Friday, She Was AL
ways Gre tting Into Trouble.
u.r Twin, 100, Was Finished on Thur
day, and Ran True, hut LOT
Was Four Times Wrecked and
Finally ALLIED Her Man.

Some Is years ago "Baldwins" re
.e;yed an order from a western road
for two locomotives of peculiar type.
They were for nnrrow-gauge line
which ct that time connected the east
and the west, and by which the tourist
travelled across the Rocky mountains.
They were to be compact, short, strong
md swift, capable Of pulling like
mule on a heavy grade and running like
n scared wolf in the valley.
At that time the concern was turn
ing out u locomotive complete every
% hours. Look ut 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
md from this heap the helpers bring
one of each Of the duplicate parts, and
the macbinists put them together UNI
ill one locomotive is completed and
rolled out to be painted. Out of whst
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 locoino-
tiyes should not ride, run and steam
equally WELL When the two engines
were completed, painted and num-
bered, they were loaded onto n stand
ard 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 lO7 and 100, ard attract
ed d great deal of attention from the
englnemen of the division.
She's scary looltin' devil" said
Badly Hooten, as he stood III front OF
IO7; and she really did look bit top
heavy with her long legs, short body
and feet" so close together that they
could almost run on one rail.
Take her, you fellows that are look
iE' for fly runs. l do want her," And
with that Badly walked out of TIE
ruundholse and over to the place of
the Triangle and shook the man there
for cigar.
When the two engines had been
raced around the yards few days and
''limbered up" 100 was couried on to
the Pacific express one night and in
troduced to the curves and corners Of
the Grand canyon. The road then
was not what il 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 n new runner was
sure. at some of the corners, to shut off
for his own headlight. However, 109
held the rail and made a good record;
50 good. indeed, that, notwithstanding
il was Friday, 1O7 was sent out on
the following night. She left the
house an hour before leaving time. and
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 train
out.
No man can call me supeTstitious,"
said the engineer. But they amt no
sense in temptin' Providence by takin'
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 ef it's down
that way was the sullen response of
the driver MS he backed down and
coupled on to the express.
II 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 rum
ming away off yonder and meeting and
going on together where the darkness
begins. Being new, with clean boil
er, LOT steamed like n 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 OH the cold, white bosom OF
the winding river along whose banks
the road lay.
Not a word had passed between the
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 a coach.
1t was 1850 when they passed Good
night, and two minutes later the fire.
man was startled by that dieadfulword
which almost every fireman has heard
Mt some time or another: "Jump!"
1t is as natural for an eng ineer to
call to his fireman to jump and save
himself-for he is of no use on loco
motive about to be wrecked-as it is
for the engineer to remain at his post.
"Jump!" shouted the driver, and the
fireman glancing ahead saw confused
mingling of horns, hoofs and tails be-
tween him and the track. He jumped
and came down on bunch of sage