The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-10-18
EYER On A RUNAWAY TRAIN?
IF NOT, READ THIS AND SEE HOW
you THINK you'd LIKE IT.
A Fireman's story Of . Train Getting
Away In the Pass In Colorad0-When 1t
Comes TO Jumping or Not Jumping.

A Flreman's story Of . Train Cettinl
Away In the Pass In Colorado-When II
Comes TO Jumping Or Not Jumping
From tie Colorado Springs Telegraph.
How 1t feels to be face to face with death
looking the grim monster In the eye at sucl
close range that rather than hold the gazt
one will take as An only chance something
that seems to put the end Of things for thu
world only little further away. 10 not Al
easy thing to describe.
good many persons have wondered how
II feels to go out into space from the cab Of Z
locomotive going at q rate anywhere from
forty to Atty miles up because Of conviction
that the chances Of life are greater by taking
such a leap than by remaining on tho seat Of
the cab and taking chances with the machine
To make such leap into a level or grass.
grown right Of way Is something that would
make an ordinary man hesitate somewhat
but great many have made 1t and made II
successfully. To make such leap out Of q
runaway engine that 10 descending q stretch
OF track such as the Midland has down Ute
Pass, however. taking chances on landing
against a granite boulder or the side OF q
mountain. against a rock ribbed tunnel OF
over the side of precipice over which nc
one could 60 and live, II 10 even little more
strenuous. but this Is the feat that Engineer
Frank Watts and Fireman James Brandebery
performed at clock last Monday morning
and both men are still alive to tell the tale.
The fact that the air brakes would not
stop the train dawned upon Engineer Watts
csso deter ne snsp sws be
with the operations OF this road. every train
that comes down Ute Pass. regardless Of how
late II may be. stops at Cascade for inspection.
the brakes are examined and tested. and
four different men have to sign book tn at
says the train Is IN shape to make the descent
allowed to pull the throttle to start his ma
As a further safeguard against runaways
shs hns s aso ssI Sa built 9 S.a n
Cascade. and before any, train can have the
main line to make the descent the engineer
must must whistle for the track. when Uncle
characters OF the mountain around this
vicinity. turns the switch and opens the main
line. II the engineer fails to whistle for this
tain and see-saws' Back and forth tn on ' the
switch and the main track until 1t comes to a
stop in the bottom Of the .saG.'
inspection at Cascade and secured the main
thereafter, however, that Engineer. Watts.
IN T'fnfTElHE MS air DTuheb, Uuue tn6 NAlT-
raising discovery. that his train was beyond
his control His brakes were not Of sufficient
power to withstand the powerful weight Of
bic sixteen cars Of gold ore and lead and silver
bullion. and there was no reasonable OK
pectation that the. trnin would remain on
the tracks through the first tunnel OF the eight
that lay between him and level track: II Il
should by anv miracle pass the first tunnel
the next curve--and there were curves every
where down that stretch Of track--would
probably pretipitate the train over the side
Fireman Brapdeberv. as he tells. the story
now, says: THE train was inspected at Cas-
cade by the regular inspectors and every
Inps ssT vcS 10 "s p ~s X.
safely down the mountain side; Il ran as
usual until we had covered about three -fourths
OF mile. when the en- 1ineer thought ne d bet
ter recharge his mir brakes. There Is a cor
tain amount Of loss Of air in running the train.
and II is necessary from time to time to re-
their sr 1 on the Wheels. s' ri. es @ Ing
process REQUIRES nearly three minutes and,
bringing down this time, gave US a terrific
charged the engineer applied them. but there
s ss.n 2 be but IF sRss hsI
effect whatever. You may inar CINE that we
were feeling mighty nncon,fortable Just then.
situation as best we might and decided that
we had a chance only by jumping from the
cab, and small chance at that, and that the
chance that we - had. When we We made mad sup up
our minds to make the leap. we had stayed
with her for three -1Ta9rters Of a mill and
sniT ss shs va: s and w snt %
On a straight stretch Of track. and he was
Fortunate enough to strike the sround on a
feet fat on his stomach. and ! thought still
less Of my own chances when he had made
the, leap. think it was about twenty, sec
Of disintssrated granite. on the upper side Of
the track. I rolled over and over for about
thirty feet. and how my head kept In con.
nsSer k xh ny re s2as :amfsns E
and that il didn't stop. I was going under
tn. the wheels cbsd O. or the sn 9' atom
caught nothing When realized frat I had
stopped sliding and rolling my head was
swimming and everything was black as night
i couldn't tel until sit ; the whole train
beneath 1t or not. but knew that was not
seemed hours. 1 realized that the train had
gone. and I sat mp. There Was Watts, about
sixty feet behind me. also sitting W, and look
mt t psa %@ d aSn S Mn to- sfef su1 a wns
we remembered that the en- CINE that had
helped us down from Leadville was follow
ing and we tagged j.. From that point down
to Manitou we made a slow run. expecting
TO md the train piled UP In sone OF the ca Mons
along the way and TO have to carry the re-
msins of the rest Of the boy. down to Colorado
City with us We were forty-hve minutes
making the run to Colorado City. Our sur
prise at finding that there had been no one
hurt In the wreck that we found there was
euualled only by our surprise at being alive
ourselves.
An in vest pation was held last Tuesday
NJ the Office OF the supe rim tendpnt az Colorad o
City Those present were tho crew Of the
MOTIVE power, the travelling engineer. the
air brake expert and the general eUperir-
tandent The main reason for the cause OF
the wreck brought out In the invcsti cation
was that the train WAS composed OF so many
foreign ears with low brakinR power. An
explanation Of this IL that the brakpg power
OF the foreign cars Is only from 40 to SO per
cent md that Of the home cars II from 10
10 o. per cent, the difference heIpg due TO
the vt that forej IN cars, as a rule. have COM
parntively level roadbeds 70 travel over. while
the home cars are adapted to the steep and
curvjnK tracks Of the mountain sides When
the FOREIGN cars ara placed on the mou ntain
roads and loaded heavily and the air brakes
beIng about 20 per cent OF he weight OF the
ears, they cannot be. spilled with nearly
whose. brakins power 10 about 30 per cent
Of the weight
This train was composed mostly Of forsisn
ears We have descended tho same noun
tains over the same road bed with Just ~
many cars aA we had Monday morning,