Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1896-04-12
/ TRAIN ILLUSION
An INCIDENT OF RAILROADS.&C. IN
THE UTAH DEsKRr
Narrow Escape Of the Special Train
from the Sewing Machine Engine
ON q Single Tracl-Supersdtion
Among Crew and Passengers.
fc,v warman IN New York sun.)

! ICY Warman In New YORK SUM-
When the Rio Grande Western was
narrow-gauge road II was very crooked
Even In the Utah desert there were many
curves among the sand 1fslls that -have
been piled up during the last few thou
sand years. A locomotive-.one OF
type known as Sewing machines" be-
cause all their machinery was In sight
was trying to make spur for the gene
raj managers special. against which she
had a time order. The time was growing
aiarmingly short. and the driver OF the
light engine knew that the man on the
special with the G. M. behind him, would
be crowding the limit These sewing
machines" were famous riders. The
springs were so light and SO perfectly
| adjusted that one OF these locomotives
woIid ride as easily to the engineer as a
Pullman car does to commercial travel
Ter, with one seat for himself and an
other for his feet AS the little machine
rocked round the corners, screaming at
every curve, the engineer and fireman
| kept a sharp lookout ahead, at the same
time counting the minutes and reckoning
the miles that lay between them and the
spur.
Down the desert one OF the swiftest en-
gines on the road was trembling away
| toward the sewing-machine, and at the
! end of each minute the two locomotives
were mile and half nearer each other.
To be allowed to pull the general man
ager is an honor earnestly striven for by
engineers, and when once obtained ii IL
carefully guarded. Whatever record a
| man makes at the head of such a train II
sure to count for or against him, since he
| IL then directly under the eye OF the man
| agement. The chances are always In
favor of a good run. for the train des-
| patcher, with his own reputation at stake,
| can be depended 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 special en-
| gineer 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 centre. every curve and
! sag in his divison-consequently the OIL
| Gals put no limit upon the speed OF the
train, but leave II all TO the good tudg-
ment Of the engineer. II was clear, dry
| day In the early autumn. the very best
time OF year for fast run. and "Old
Sam" had been gauging his speed for
fifty miles back so as 70 hit Coyote spur
| on the dot, and break the record for fast
running on the Algali division.
BY the rules of the road, five minutes
were allowed for the variation OF watch g,
but the rule is not always respected, and
as the man on the special was known 10
be a daring driver, the sewing-machine
| crew saw that they were In close place
| long before the smoke OF the approaching
| locomotive was seen. Now they had bare
ly five minutes left, and nothing for the
variation and the coveted siding four
miles away IL the opposing train failed
TO respect the fve-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 1t In. Ths throttle
was wide open, and the little engine was
rolling SO that tbs bell rang continually.
The fireman had put in his last fire, and
was now straining 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.
DID HER BEST.
The wheels under the sewing-machine
were so small that the best she could do
was forty-five miles, and now when she
came down to the very last second, there
was still a quarter Of a mile between her
and the meeting point, but at that mo-
ment the flying wnsels OF the special en-
CINE crashed over the switch and smut
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 beginning to feel sure Of
his position when he rounded curve and
saw the light engine emerging from q
shallow cut. or course, he shut of and
tried to lessen the force OF the collision,
but TO stop was out OF tho question.
The fireman on the light engine saw the
special, and warned bis companion, for
they were curying to the left and the
driver could not see. but the four men
knew that nothing short ot a miracle
could prevent dreadful collision, and
that in a few seconds time they would
ali be piled up In heap. Both drivers
had called to their firemen to jump. and
the fremen had turned to their windows.
The special engineer was In the act OF re-
versing that he might take the good opdn-
ion of the official with him. The other
driver only showed the throttle lever In.
braced himself and waited the fAock.
A man who has never lived up TO what
he thought his last moment on earth, and
survived to tell about II afterward, can
never know how much business one can
transact, In his mind, during that mo-
ment In which he waits and listens for
the swish of the scythe. But one does not
always review his past life at such @
moment often he wastes times thinking
upon a mere trifie. Lafe Pence was In a
wreck the next day after his election,
and, although he had been a Democrat
and had become a Populist he gave no
thought to the past nor the future. but
said to himself. as the sleeper plunged
down an embankment Now. what the
devil was I elected fory'
The driver OF the special engine had a
boy. and this boy had climbed up on a
picket-fence to kiss his father good-by
that morning at their home. In Salt Lake.
but he slipped fell and. hung there
with a fence-picket through the seat
Of his first pair OF trousers. and 1t was
ali so funny that. now as the engineer
recalled the circunptance. he threw
back his head and laughed as heartily as
he had ever laughed In his life The fire.
man, casting a farewell glance at his
companion, saw him laughing. and con-
cluded. In his last moment that the
driver had suddenly become insane. but.
as he glanced ahead. where death was
| waiting he was not glire that he was