Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1903-12-22

the Los Angeles express out Of Oak
land early In the afternoon Of a very
hot day. The great speed was easily
made.
About two miles south Of the Mer-
cede Station he struck the double
track, and a little further on a freight
train going south on the opposite track
hove on sight running at good speed.
When within 100 feet Of the freight
the long line Of freight cars leave the
rails and strike his track
1.-THE car struck so hard that It
bounded back and turned partly over
on the south track. Posts train shot
| by the derailed car an instant after
ward at the rate of forty miles an hour
| The place at which the accident occur
red was near a culvert and steep en-
hankment some fifty feet high, and
had he struck the car terrible wreck
would have resulted.
II was on the fireman's side Of the
locomotive, and was too paralyzed at
the prospect Of instant death to move,
much less speak. When we stopped at
Mercede old Harvey called across the
cab to me:
"'Say, boy, that was terrible close
call, wasn't it? Guess no one aboard
the cars knows what shave that was
from a whooping big wreck. That's
my first CALL"
1T was along in the winter Of 1882
SO that Post got his second call. He
was then pulling the Coast express
from San Jose to Frisco.
HE was on the north-bound train
one day, and was two miles from Red
wood City. Heavy rains had loosened
the earth beneath the rails at this
point, and as Posts engine shot over
the soggy EARTH down they went.
"The sudden stop Of the engine hurl-
led about two tons Of coal and the
baggage and mail cars on top Of Post
and me, and We were in imminent dan
ger of being burned or smothered to
death, after we had escaped being
crushed to death. But we got off with
| some severe liJuiicS'
I'm two months Post was back on
his engine and as good as ever. In
describing his experiences he used to
say he was most surprised, when he
found his engine sinking beneath him,
that he had not taken the precaution
10 jump out Of the cab window. He
said he knew it was his second call,
and he could, therefore, afford to take
some chances.
II quit firing for Post after that ac-
ciGent at Redwood. Two calls inside
of two years were too much for me:
Post thought 1t a great joke. He
declared a man could do anythlns me
liked with a locomotive and not die
until fate had so decreed. Posts wife
begged him to give up engineering, or
at least take yard locomotive. where
the danger Is less. Post replied:
"Tf I can't run first-class I'll not
run at ALL"
post said that his third call would
be his end, but he was dead sure that
the third call would not come until
fate said so. Well, fate claimed him
about two years later.
"He had been working overtime for
several weeks, running between Frisco
and Santa Cruz. There were lot oil
big seashore excursions, and Post was
making money by extra work In haul
ing them.
"He went without sleep. and nod
ding for q moment while he was at
the throttle, he ran past a siding which
the train dispatcher had ordered him
to take. A few seconds later his loco
motive crashed full into an engine
pulling a fast northbound freight.
| "It WAS a horrible wreck. Tne
freight engineer was bruised and cut
lfrightfully. 1t didn't seem as II he
could live a day, but it was his first
call. So he ultimately got well.
Post was taken out Of the wreck
scalded about the legs. He had been
jammed against the smoke stack. Ev.
cry one of the railroad boys knew 1t
was his third call. Death claimed him
an hour later"
Speaking Of snperstitions on To-
comotive," said Dan B. Miller, re
minds me Of time had when was
pulling the California overland over
the Tucson and Yuma division, down
in Arizona. What I am going to say
proves that there Is something uncan-
ny, something human-like about 10
lcomotive-that an engine can be your
hoodoo or your friend.
Zone evening / got orders to take
the Sunset Limited westbound out OF
Tucson at midnight. Everything SEEM
ed to go wrong with the engine. The
roundhouse hostler had forgotten to
set the oil valves properly, the fireman
was slower than molasses, and the
baggagemen were woetully slow. Be
sides, the dispatcher kept us In the
station half an hour past leaving time.
"Just as we were about to pull away
the conductor came and whispered IN
my ear that one of the railroad vice
presidents was back in q Pullman on
the train. That was enough to make
any man in an engine cab want to do
his level best for his reputation.
Notwithstanding the dark night,
the danger Of track washouts, and the
lateness Of our departure, I made up
my mind to make up time between
Tucson and Maricopa IL the wheels
stayed on the tracks and the trucks
and cars held together. The fireman
said he'd risk anything to make time.
So, two miles out Of Tucson, I put on
all the speed the engine had.
But she didn't seem to move much
| faster The steam ran down. l was
perspiring with anxiety. Right In the
midst Of 1t all the pumps began to act
wrong. One quit work altogether"
II was beside my self. We began to
drop even our running time. We left
Maricopa a. little before daylight, an
hour and half late.
At that station the conductor came
to the cab and said: Hope we will get
to Yuma in time for dinner and was
boiling at his sarcasm. Yuma was
breakfast station, you know.
| Things went worse. We lost time
all along. Three miles east Of Aztec
| Sprinps T fOund the water was getting