The Brunswick news. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 1901-1903, 1902-10-05

NfAAaNTaNAAtf
way trains are of frequent occurrence
ON its fifty miles of length, but its most
extraordinary incident was that in
which George Powers took part
1t was in the dry season. " when the
banana plants We're weighted with
their punches of green fruit, ready for
cutting.
One day'-as Powers. tells the story
the fruit steamer Breakwater an
chored Unexpectedly in the offing of
our Caribbean Sea harbor of Porto
Cortez. Soon, at her agents orders,
there was hoisted at her masthead the
signal indicating. Fruit, ready for
quick cargo And when the ship had
reached the dock Il fruit train was
being made up.
Then We learned that the Break
water was expected to sail for New Or
leans with cargo of bananas early
% The next morning Extraordinary eff
k6rts must be made to load her with Il
suitable shipment in less than a days
81 line. TO hurry was decidedly untrop-
Neal, but the bonus given by the rail-
road officials was as oil to Intricate the
machinery of the transportation de
partment,' and l was handed these or
derst
Engineer Powers will take Engine
No. is, with eighteen platform ears.
and proceed with best speed to La Pi-
mienta, load cargo of bananas. return
10 San Pedro, load Fruit there. Report
at this office after the run. and not
later than 10 p. m. to-day.
'Colville, Supt. of Trans.
"Such an order meant hurry. My
fireman oiled Is. the only locomotive
available and the yardmen made up
the train. BY noon we Were started.
There was work enough ahead to keep
us AL out Of mischief for the next ten
hours. To cover a round trip Of 100
miles, load eighteen cars with bananas
and pun them into Porto Cortez within
ten hours would be the record for speed
upon the Honduras Railroad
80 old IS, with throttle wide open.
was soon putting up the rough roadbed
to La Pimienta at an unaccustomed
pace. The telegraph line was equally
busy. and when we ran past San Pc
dro the ox-cars were already unloading
their nine and ten hand punches along
side the track in readiness for our re-
turn. Between 4 and o'clock we
Y7}astied FOR IN Pimienta, the ter
pms
: There the station agent had a gang
of leaders ready. and before the train
had quite stopped the green punches
We're being passed to rhe leaders in the
cars. In an Incredibly short space of
time the bananas rose, tier upon tier
10 heavy load, and all the time my
fireman fed the sticks Of soft pine to
our roaring fre-boX. for we should
3 bed a good load Of steam to get back
San Pedro ia season. The agent sa-.
castically asked me, Is the engine
good for the heavy pull without a
breakdown: and l replied, Number 10
is about to surprise everybody by a rec
ord trip And so we did. both because
Of and in spite Of an unprecedented adj
venture.
''At o'clock we had loaded all the
fruit in sight, and whistling for open
brakes we started for San Pedro.
The down grade helped us materially
In less than an hour we had covered
the distance and We're taking the fruit
aboard from our last stop
Delay began here There We're faw
men to load the fruit. and tee handling
of it was slow; every bunch was thor
oughly inspected by the leaders. lest
they should grasp tarantula crawling
among the bananas. But at o'clock
the train was loaded the pitch-pine
headlight was lighted. the throttle
opened and the whistle shrieked its
farewell to San Pedro.
Two hours only were left in which
to make the run in schedule time over
thirty-five miles of rolling country and
with weight OF eighteen heavily lead
ed cars. The passenger with her
light freight. was allowed four hours
for the same run. The darkness was
intense, and the vibration Of the train
soon became so great that the head
light was shaken into a mere sputter-
ing, and at lurch went out The
front of the engine became the limit OF
my vision.
THE white mile-markers We're passed
soquickly that my fremanlosth his count,
and we could not tell where we We're.
But No. 10 was doing her best. Not a
valve had blown out nor rod broken.
Our Gathering over the track was va
ried only by the frantic squealings of 4
fine. fat pig, sent by the agent at La
Pimienta to the captain of the Break
water as a delicacy for his table. Piggy
continually squealed from its berth in
an open fruit car.
I'm one place large limb extended
from a treeAput over the track. just
high enough 70 clear the stacks Of the