Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1897-10-14
A DARING ENGINE RIDE.
How Charles Croker Saved the Central
Pacific Railroad.

- lOHhliN0. EN1lINE HIDE.
How Charles Croker Saved the Central
Pacific Railroad.
Zone of the most exciting and
dangerous rides ! ever had was made
on locomotive in California in the
Sixties" said an old resident of San
Francisco, to the writer, who had
been speaking of the remarkable
GOODNESS exhibited by two men while
riding behind runaway horse.
"The ride to which ] refer hap.
pened shortly after Charles Croker
and few other men inaugurated
the Central Pacific railroad. The
tracks of the road had been laid as
far as Newcastle, and the-company
was in debt and dependency, and
L. l.. Robinson, who then owned the
old original railroad from Freeport
to Folsom, was laughing in his
sleeve at what he called the Dutch
Flat swindle.' The stages then went
from Folsom to the great mining
camps of Nevada, especially to vir-
ginia City, and it was the boast Of
the Freeport and Folsom road PEG.
pie that the Central Pacific would
never be built beyond Newcastle.
"Well, one morning Charles Crock
er left San Francisco on the steam
er bound for Freeport with three
gentlemen, including myself. When
the steamer had reached Freeport,
the mail and newspapers from San
francisco for Virginia City were
Immediately put aboard the Free.
port and Folsom train, which then
hurried away on its journey. A
spirited team was waiting for Mr..
Croker and his companions, and we
quickly left the steamboat, got into
the coach and were driven rapidly
off for Sacramento City. Arriving
there, we found an engine and coal
tender waiting for US at the Central
depot, and Mr.. Croker gave orders
to the engineer to run the locomo.
tive at every pound of steam she
could carry to Newcastle.
"When we started, all of us, with
the exception Of Mr.. Croker, who
stood at the back of the engineer,
were seated in the tender on various
Jumps of coal and wood, and it didn't
take us long to realize, from the
awful jolting and swaying of the en-
CINE, that the road was unballasted
and in very poor condition for
speeding. Much to our relief, after
we had passed beyond the American
river and our arms fairly ached
from our exertions to hold on and
keep ourselves from being thrown
out of the tender, the engineer sud
denly lowered his rate of speed and
at the same time informed Mr..
Croker that it would be extremely
dangerous to run any farther at the
rate we had been going.
mr.. Croker looked annoyed and
said: "Nonsensel If you are afraid,
you had better get off the engine. /"
He then took hold of the lever
and pulled-it to the farthest limit.
OF course we all thought that Mr..
C1ocker was crazy and that the
engine would soon jump the. track.
But Mr.. Croker would not listen to
remonstrances, never moved mus
Gle and stood at the lever until we
were all scared out of our wits, and
the engine, painting and throbbing
like huge wild beast enveloped in
a cloud of escaping steam, reached
Newcastle. Here we were hustled
into a waiting coach and driven
away. At each ten miles between
that town and Virginia City there
was relay of horses. At various
points along the mountain roads
even the drivers were afraid to obey
Mr.. Crocker's orders, and in two in
stances he took the reins himself
and whipped the teams into lively
gallop.
''The result of the whole exciting.
wild and dashing race was that
Charles Croker presented in the
business Office of the Virginia City
Enterprise copy of the San Fran
cisco Bulletin and some mail matter
IL hours before the mail agent on
the opposition railroad had reached
the city. That was the deathblow
to the Freeport and Folsom road and
the salvation of the Central Pacific. "
Washington Star.