The Worthington advance., 1900-07-13
WITHOUT: THE ENGINE.
aeW an Express Train Startled the
Station Agent ON . Missouri So
Railroad. .- s%y.%H

the Santa Fe one night?'
The speaker, says the Kansas City
Star, was one of group of railroad
men exchanging "reminiscences in
little circular flag shanty out near the
suburban yard limits of a big Kansas
City railroad. The shanty was seven
feet in diameter and the mems knees
were very close to a little round rusty
| stove that showed faint dash of red
in places. A bunch of nickel-plated
lanterns shone mistily through the
smoke from several pipes and the
smell of scorched overalls min gled
with the reek of the tobacco. The
| subject of the conversation was
"freak" railroad wrecks. Some of the
young members of the party looked
| snspiciously at the veteran switch
man who had introduced the subject.
but were reassured by the expressive
mods of the old fagman, who played
the part of host. He was willing to
be interested in the story again for
the benefit of the young fellows.
1T was in 1882 or 3, don't know
which, said the veteran, "when the
land on the south side of the tracks
at Argentine was one vast swamp Be-
tween the swamp and the main line
there were half a dozen sidetracks.
The ground has all been filled in since
and forms one of the biggest railway
yards in the west. The Argentine sta
ton then consisted of one small build
ing and great long platform. A
shrill whistle and cloud of dust were
all it got from through passenger
trains in the way of recognition.
Small wonder the agent was start
led, then, one night, when the south
ern Kansas express clattered into the
station, and, with usual wheeling of
the air brakes, came to a sudden STOP
Yes, sir! Stopped with the forward
end of the blind baggage at the far
end of the platform, just as exact as
Bill Clayton himself, who never va
ried an inch, would have stopped her.
But the surprising thing about it was
that neither Bill nor his engine was
attached to the train, and at the
blind end of the baggage car there
was a complete blank. The conduc-
tor, who had run forward to learn the
cause of the sudden and unexpected
stop. looked at the agent in amaze
ment. An examination showed that
the couplings and air brake connec-
tlons were torn out bodily.
"'Ah,' said the conductor, with a
satisfied .grunt, the engines broke
loose and shot ahead, but
"A look OF perplexity came over his
face again, and peering anxiously into
the darkness ahead, he muttered: It's
time Bill found out he had no train
behind him and was making his way
back
"The agent was blamed sight more
puzzled than the conductor. He had
looked out of the window one minute
and seen the headlight flashing in his
eyes, and the next minute the train
had pulled up without anything in
the way of motive power fore or aft"
the switchman had been a sailor in
his time-"and Ed, that was the agent,
was ready to swear by the Ten Com
mandments that no engine had passed
that station since the last train went
by. The forward end of the blind
baggage was badly splintered and a
lot of coal from the tender was
spilled on the platform, but where
was the engine? Had it taken wings
and flown skyward or had the big
mass Of iron and steel been dissolved
into air?
"While they stood looking at one
| 1@% 1f
came Bill from the back end of the
train, dripping with mud and slime.
Several of the passengers had got out
and came trooping after him, all of
them with looks of wonder on their
faces. I had followed the conductor
as soon as the train came to a stop.
l was only passenger brakeman
then, with a long road between me
and the command of switching
crew.
"'Where's your engine, n,l1?' says
the conductor.
cup to her belly in the swamp back
there, outside the right of way
| "'Where's the freman?'
"'Sputterin' a blue streak of cuss
words because he lit head first in
two feet of green water. when he
ought to be thanking his lucky stars
he wasn't killed outright
'You see, it was this way ex-
planned the narrator. 1.-THE tracks in
them days ran on both sides of the
depot. Passenger trains ran on the
south side OF the building. East-bound
| trains were sw;tchod from, 4bo ~,o;r
line to the south track at point
100 yards west of the end of the de-
pot platform, and it generally gave
the train bit of jolt, going 40 miles
an hour, as this one was. On the
night in question the switch was
slightly sprung. When the engine
struck it she swung across at right
angles with the train, shot across
three lines of parallel tracks, carried
away the barb wire fence and buried
her nose in the slough south of the
right of way. where she laid for a
week before they got her out. The
rest of the train made the switch all
right and went on, but, the air be-
ing released, the brakes set them
selves and the coaches stopped at the
depot"
Debarred from the Royal Presence.
| Now and then one hears of society
ladies being offered large sums.-and
accepting them-for presenting an
ambitious woman at drawing-room;
but money will not always secure one
of the lord chamberlain's cards of ad-