, 1896-03-02
A RUNAWAY TRAIN.
An Old Railroad Engineer Tells II a
Startling Experience.

Il lived then in a small Massachu-
sets city, and managed a road where
every employe. from the section men
up. was personally known to me. and
~railroading was more of a pleasure
than it is here. where the roads are so
vast and long hat one hardly knows
the members of his own Office staff
My Office windows. | remember, looked
out directly upon the principal bust
ness street Of the place and the en-
trance to the Union depot, the streets
crossing the tracks at right angles not
20 feet from the great arChed station
entrance. Every hour or two New
York and Boston express trains were
arriving and departing, and it was al
ways an interesting sight the day be-
fore Thanksgiving when every train
was running in two or three sections,
and each II drawn by two locomo-
tives, loaded down with passengers
anxious to get to the old farm in time
for the Thanksgiving dinner.
One snowy, clustering day, l sat
waiting to see the ll:25 train pull in
from Boston, for somehow, | kind of
smclt danger. as a railroad man often
does. | knew the train was a heavy
one, the rails slippery, and that before
it struck the crossing it came down a
heavy grade four miles long. Out at
the other end of the depot was a great
long bridge carrying the train off to
jhc west. and also the tracks branch
ing south to New York. On both these
tracks stood huge locomotives blowing
off steam ana seemingly in haste to
Coupl" on to the coming train, which
was destined for both the south and
west. and hurry it off to its d%estina-
ton Well. to make a long story short.
mat train got the best of the engineer
that day. owing to ONE defect in the
air brakes. and there was one of the
most ha%ir-raising train runaways |
guess | will ever witness. A mile up
the grade | heard old Seth Mayor. the
engineer, making old l04 whistle for
brakes in a way that made me turn
cold. Almost at the same time the
train came tearing down over the
street crossing and into the depot, 60
ing 60 miles an hour. and | remember
to this day and always will how cool
Mayor looked as he dashed by, blow
ing his whistle for dear life, as a warn
ing to give him a clear track.
That they would ever get those en-
sines at the other end of the station
Out of the way | thought was an i'm
possibility. but they did. They were
cool men about that place tina day.
and No. l0iis great Crawford whistle
had given the warning. The switches
were hastily set straight on to the
bridge and away dashed the waiting
engine in a race to get out of the way
of the runaway train, It was a close
shave, and it unnerved me for a week,
but luck saved the day. That run
away ran four miles before it stopped.
and the engineer with the light engine
tearing along ahead OF it was begin
ming to wonder if the tracks were clear
way out to Buffalo, when the brakes
worked and the runaway was brought
to a stop. For years | have been won
dering how that train ever dashed
down that grade and through the crowd
ed depot, following the switches in and
out, without a most frightful smash
up.
"Old Seth Mayor, when he stepped
down from the cab after backing back,
regarded it as a huge joke, but it
scared everybody else within a mile Of
the station out of a weeks growth
Chicago Chronicle.