Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-09-15
BIG THINGS LOSE THEMSELVES.
A Railroad That Lost Twent,
Eight-TOn Bridge.

Railroad That Lost a Twenty
Eight-TOn Bridge.
From the New York Press.
Human nature will insist on losing and
mislaying things. but when the articles get
to be as big as boiler or bridge, human
ingenuity fails to understand how 1t hap
pened.
A short time ago a western railroad had
to issue a pathetic advertisement in the To-
cal papers. They had fixed twenty-eight-
ton steel bridge ON three fiat cars chained
together and dispatched it to Dayton, Ohio,
with their blessing. r.
At an intermediate station the bridge was
observed to be bearing the journey extreme
ly well, and was seemingly in the best of
spirits; nevertheless, when the train arrived
at It's destination mot sign of the bridge
could be discovered, and owing to the ina
bility of the company to discover any trace
of their lost property, the advertisement
was issued begging the public, should it
meet with a wandering bridge, to return it
to its owners with all dispatch, when a
substantial reward would be-given in ex-
change.
On the Belgian railway line between Ant
werp and Termonde "a catastrophe was
spring, OF 1881, Tie. passengsrs at the inter-
mediate stations between these places. af-
ter waiting for some time Tor the train due
to leave the former place at eight minutes
past in the evening, were not little
alarmed when no train was forthcoming.
Many people thought an accident had hap
pened. others shook their heads and
thought of all the kidnapping stories they
had ever read, while the light-hearted sug-
gested that the Grant train had lost its
way. As matter of fact, there was no
accident and no trainnaping, nor did the
engine lose It's way; indeed, the only in
dividuals who lost anything were the Of
ticials who lost their heads, and, by an I'M
accountable oversight, forgot to dispatch
the train.
Railway wagon No. 6o,474 is the property
Of the London and Northwestern railway
and fifteen months ago 1t was missing
with its contents consisting of one ton of
copper. Toward the end Of August the
wagon turned up on a siding at Leicester,
but how 1t got there passed the understand
ing of all railway men.
A year ago an advertisement appeared
in an English country paper stating that
a reward of $50 was offered by great en-
gineering firm to any one who produced a
full grown torpedo that had been lost about
a mile and half east of the Trow rocks
1t was comforting to learn that there were
no explosives in the torpedo. Strangely
enough, month later. similar fish put
In an appearance at Aldeburgh. In Suffolk
This torpedo was marked with crown and
numbered 2414 X, and though originally
charged with a working pressure of 1,050
pounds, when 1t was recovered it was ex-
hausted.
Early in 1897 a peculiar case was tried at
Woolwich regarding an extraordinary piece
of lost property. 1t appeared that man
bought for S15 a boiler, whose size can be
estimated from the fact that it took six
horses and twenty men to move 1t. While
this operation was being carried out the
boiler, by some remarkable freak. managed
to lose itself. and where it went to no man
knew nor could they find out, though the
police were put on its track, and 1t was
requested to return to its sorrowing friends.
Some years elapsed, and then. when sur
veyor in the office of works was estimating
the value Of fine crop Of scrap iron that
piece of ground known as mo Mans
Land" had yielded, he spied the boiler; but
being Ignorant of it's history. ordered it to
be sold at auction, at which sale it realized
$3.50. Then the original owner recognized
his long-lost property. and sued the sur
veyor for the $75 1T cost him Eventually
the judge awarded him $50. while the sur
veyor received 81 for the trespass 1t was
learned that the three-years-lost boiler had
hid itself on piece Of land quite near it's
owners residence