The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1903-12-25
II - II II Il II II $> II II It II II II

train and see if the caboose were COM
ing. He went off growing, but he
went, which was the main thing. From
the back of the tender he gave me
what expected and dreaded, signal
that the train had broken in two. l
whistled the flag back to protect the
rear and kept on. took the cars had
to the next siding, four miles away.
had two more cars than the siding
would hold. I backed them all in hard
against the stop block. Then 1 cut the
two head cars off, pulled them out Of
the switch and backed down the main
track with them until the engine was
behind the two head cars in the siding.
I had the brakeman cut these two off,
and ''stoked" them out on the main
track ahead of the engine. ran ahead
until the two cars behind the engine
were over the switch. backed them
in on the siding, leaving the other two
out ON the main track. Then 1 came
out with the engine and went back
after the rest of the train.
had a four mile back up in the
teeth of the blizzard. 1 couldn't see a
thing and never knew where was. I
didn't dare go fast, for l expected ev-
cry minute to hit the train, and could
not force myself to go slow enough to
stop without punching hole in news
paper. Snow and coal dust swirled up
under the foot of the curtain, binding
us, and the boiler might have been an
ice cream freezer for all of it's effect on
the temperature. l tried to invent a
suitable reward for the yardmaster at
Tabor's for not giving me shove, only
to remember that engineers seldom
have chance to get square.
The crew had tied a red lamp to the
brake rod of the head car and gone
back to the caboose Long before got
back the lamp was transformed into
miniature iceberg, but didn't happen
to hit hard enough to smash anything
We found the drawhead of the other
car hanging to this one by the link and
pin. We got it up in the tender after
awhile and coupled it. l called the
flag, and Davis, nearly frozen, climbed
the tail lights being in plain sight from
the yard, and he commenced to criticise
my solution of the recent difficulty, say
ing l should have backed the whole
train down into the yard and demand
ed the services Of pusher. There
may be time for all things, but that
didn't seem to me to be the time to lis
far 70 IN, bor ~ L
shut him and drove him back to his
doghouse. By the time they got the
drawhead back into its place in the
car and we got away from the siding
we had been four hours coming little
over four miles-a magnificent begin
ming truly.
"Our turkey III be cold, Alec" Harry
remarked jokingly after we had start
ed again.
"Frozen," replied slowly.
couldn't get them going over twelve
miles an hour, and from that we ran
down to about the speed of a slow
walk. She didn't steam very freely,
which was to be expected. The wealth
er would have chilled a boiler jacketed
with foot Of asbestus. She kept call
ing for more water, so was not sur
prised when while oiling l discovered
her fiues to be leaking badly. After
that l never passed water plug, and
the plump vision of my Christmas tur-
key faded in inverse geometrical ratio
to my progress.
Daylight showed us a white Christ
mas with Vanpeance The storm wa q