Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1902-10-17

way trains are of frequent occurrence
IN 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.
zone day"-as Powers tells the story
1.-THE fruit steamer Breakwater an
chored unexpectedly in the of1ing Of
pur 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 a fruit train was
being made up.
"Then We learned that the Break
water was expected to sail for New Or
leans with a cargo of bananas early
The next morning. Extraordinary ef-
forts must be made to load her with
suitable shipment in less than days
hme. To hurry was decidedly untrop-
cal, but the bonus given by the rail-
road officials was as oil to lubricate the
machinery of the transportation de-
partment,' and I was handed these or
ders:
Engineer Powers will take Engine
No. Is, with eighteen platform cars,
and proceed with best speed to La Pi-
nienta, load cargo of bananas, return
to 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 10, the only locomotive
available, and the yardmen made up
The train. By noon We were started.
There was work enough ahead to keep
us all out of mischief for the next ten
hours. To cover round trip Of 100
miles, load eighteen cars with bananas
and pull them into Porto Cortez within
len hours would be the record for speed
upon the Honduras Railroad.
$50 old IS, with throttle wide open,
was soon putting up the rough roadbed
pace. The telegraph line was equally
busy, ihnd when we ran past San Pc
aro 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
whistled for La Pimienta, the ter
minus.
''There the station agent had gang
Of leaders ready, and before the train
had quite stopped the green punches
were being passed to the leaders in the
cars. In an incredibly short space of
time the bananas rose, tier upon tier,
to heavy load, and all the time my
fireman fed the sticks of soft pine to
our roaring tire-boX, for we should
need good load of steam to get back
to San Pedro in season. The agent sar-
castically asked me, is the engine
good for the heavy pull without n
breakdown and I replied, Number 13
Is about to surprise everybody by a rec
ord trip And so we did, both because
Of and in spite of an unprecedented ad-
venture.
"At G 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 were taking the fruit
aboard from our last stop.
Delay began here. There were few
men to load the fruit, and the handling
Of it was slow; every bunch was thor
oughly inspected by the leaders, Test
they should grasp tarantula crawling
among the bananas. But at S o'clock
the train was loaded, the pitch-pine
headlight was lighted, the throttle
opened and the whistle shrieked its
farewell to San Pedro.
1.-TWO hours only We're left in which
to make the run in schedule time over
thirty-five miles of rolling country and
with weight OF eighteen heavily load
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
go quickly that my fireman lost his count,
and we could not tell where we were.
But No. 13 was doing her best. Not n
valve had blown out nor rod broken.
Our Gathering over the track was va
ried only by the frantic squealings of a
fine, fat pig sent by the agent at La
Pimienta to the captain of the Break
water as dellcacy for his table. Piggy
continually squealed from its berth in
an open fruit car.
'In one place a large limb extended
from a tree out over the track, just
high enough to clear the stacks of the