Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-03-25
RAILROAD PIPE DREAM
A Story OF the Narrow Escape
OF a Train Credited to En-
gineer Jennings.
Iowa Central Engineer Is Inter.
viewed" by the Champion
Railway Dreamer.
An Incident Related That Will
Be News to Railway Men Of
This City.


publishes railroad story" in the Sun
day edition of the Des Moines paper.
picks out the Iowa Central as the sub
ject for his tale and quotes Engineer
Will Jennings, of the Central, with tell
ing about a narrow escape from run
ming into burning bridge few years
ago on the eastern division. Mr.. Jen-
nings, as we'll as his brother engineers
and railroad men, will probably be in
terested in knowing of the close call
from death and the story is reprinted,
as follows:
will Jennings, one of the legislative
committee of the Brotherhood of Loco
motive Engineers, whose duty 1T is to
keep tab on legislators and see they
don't do any more political porch
climbing than can be prevented at the
behest of the railroad and other cor
porations, elevated his heels on my
desk, drew forth a cigar and as its
fragrant odor diffused itself about the
room, he fell into a mood of abstrac-
ton. Presently he emerged and be-
coming vocal, said: II believe I'll tell
you how doubling hill over the Iowa
Central once saved our train from tax
ing running jump thru burning
bridge one night about a year ago. We
left Grinnell about o'clock a. M, on
an extra, and run to Monmouth, ILL.,,
without incident. Before we started
from Monmouth on our return, 1 had
the fire in my engine cleaned. We put
in two hours switching at Kiethsburg.
When we left there the engine was
leaking some. We had another jag of
in the yards at Elerick juno
ton, and when we pulled out of there
she was leaking right She did not
steam and because of the delay Incl
dent to lack of power she could not
handle the train on Coppack hill, east
of Brighton, and had to head in at Oh
ley for passenger train No. 4. Obey
was station without any night oper-
ator, so when we pulled in on the pas
senger track we had no idea where the
vanished cars were, tho If the train
had been on time it would have passed
us in a few minutes after our arrival.
When we had loafed about on the side
track fifteen minutes no head light
showed up, we routed the day operator
out of bed and got him to the Office. All
he could learn from the dispatcher at
Oskaloosa was that No. had left
Martinsburg on time more than an
hour before. Whether it was in the
ditch, at the bottom Of a creek spanned
Ia Il; hri1 mil &c
east of Martinsburg, or had been held
up by train robbers, we could not as
certain. However, in about an hour
the operator received a message stating
that No. had escaped by only the
length of rail running into a burning
bridge at the foot of Nugents hill, ten
miles east of Martinsburg The emer-
gency brake and two pipes of sand
saved it. Had No. been on time it
would have met and passed us at
Brighton. Our train would have taken
a header thru the burning bridge and
the chances are about ten to one I'd not
been here reeling off this story today.
THAT reminds me Of an accident, the
mystery of which has never been ex-
planned. refer to the time that En-
gineer Frew, in charge of light en-
CINE, was given orders to run from
not, of course, give him any rights
against carded trains. He made 1t all
right to Clifford, where the Iowa Cen
trail crosses the Northwestern. No. 4,
southbound, was due at Clifford within
five minutes of the time that Frew ar
rived. He sent his fireman, Patton, to
the telegraph Office to ask IL there
were any orders for him. Patton, who
was a new man, returned and evidently
told him there We're no orders, for he
pulled out. No. was a regular pas
senger train, and just how Frew over
looked the fact that he was pulling out
right on it's time is secret that died
with him when the engine collided with
that of the passenger train three miles
out and killed him as it rolled down
the bank into the ditch. Engineer
White, on No. As engine, received in
afterward Tho he survived a few
hours, White was utterly unable to ex-
plain why Frew had come out almost
to the minute on No. As time. That
secret died with Frew. Three of the
engine crews We're instantly killed. Had
No. gotten round the base Of a big
sand dune that TANKS the track at the
points the collision occurred or had
Frew been minute sooner he could
have seen the headlight of the en-
CINE on the passenger train and the
wreck could have been avoided. Frew
had just recovered from protracted
illness and the trip on which he was
killed was the first he had made for
several months. l imagine he was not
we'll and suffered momentary lapse of
memory 1 cannot explain in any 9TH
er manner his act in pulling out against
No. Az