Morris tribune., 1900-11-10
BOX CAR NO. 1914.
BY M. QUAD.
COPYRIGHT, 1900, Bye. B. LEWIS.
BY M. QUAD.

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You have read OF adventures and
mysteries connected with locomotives,
bit on the B. and G.. road we had a
plain, ordinary freight car which came
to be talked about more than all the
rest of the rolling stock put together.
1t was a stoutly built box car, painted
a dark brown, and the number on sides
and ends was 1414. The first trip Of
tie car was down to Petersburg, to be
loaded with wheat There were six
empty cars in all on the train, all
wheat cars, and they were in the mid
die of string of 30 cars. Fifteen miles
north of Petersburg was the crossing
of the M. P. road. At the crossing all
trains had to slacken speed, and when
this particular train drew near steam
was shut off, and the speed of 20 miles
all hour was reduced to ten. No car
had ever jumped the track at the cross
F, Ing, but on this occasion No. 1414
broke away from the car ahead and be
hind, jumped the tracks and ran a dis
lance Of 50 feet over the hard baked
earth, to bring up against a switch
mans shanty and demolish it. No 9TH
er car left the tracks The division SUI
perintendent and master mechanic
sF-ore that it was utter nonsense to-
talk of a single car cutting itself out
of a train in that fashion, but they had
to swallow their words The only dam
age to No. 1414 was the broken coup
lings and when pulled back on the
tracks she was ready to move right
off. No reason could be given why she
had cut loose, and there was consider
able gossip over the incident.
The next affair in the history of the
box car occurred about a month later
and gave her ghostly standing the
whole length of the line. She had been
ullloaded at Beamer's Station and left
on the siding to be picked up. It hap
bened that she was the only car there,
and when the station agent closed for
the night he saw that her wheels were
securely blocked against the rising
wind. At midnight, under the driving
influence of gale. that car climbed
over tie with all her wheels, ran up
to the switch, jumped the track at the
frog, and after blowing along for SO
feet she took. the rails of the main
track and went scooting to the east.
She had clear road to Elmer, 80 miles
away, but she didn't travel the whole
distance. IF she had, she would have
smashed into the express. Five miles
from Elmer No. 1414 left the rails at
what was called the Big Culvert, took
a header off the stone bridge into the
creek and next day was found quar-
ter of mile down stream. Charges
We're made against the station agent
for carelessness, but he had had help
to block the wheels. The big cedar tie
was at hand with the marks of the
wheels as they had ground over it. It
was easy to trace the car from the frog Il
to where she had gradually climbed up
on the main track. There had been no
carelessness, but there was mystery
There was, nothing wrong with the
rails where the car had left the main
track, and when the car itself was
found and Overhauleds she hadn't been
damaged to the amount of 5 cents:
Railroad men like a mystery regard
ing car or locomotive, but railroad off,
Gals detest ones When No. 1414 was
i:auled back on the track, the men were
for branding her with the title of
Ghost" but an order went up and !
down the line to keep hands or. Give |
a car or an engine bad name; and
YOU pave the way to somebody being
KILLED. While no one dared chalk mark
this car. her eccentricities became