The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1906-09-06
SAVED BY TWO MINUTES.
Story of How a Railroad Wreck on
the South Branch Was Narrow
Iy Ayerted.


The Red Oak Express publishes the
following story, of which former we'll
known resident of this city is the hero,
G. l.. Lamb, who was telegraph operator
at the Leon depot for several years
while A. N. Frazer was station agent:
The average railroad telegraph OPP
orator who has been engaged in that
business for quite number of years
can usually turn to his stock of railroad
"reminiscences and find therein facts up
on which might be based many thrill
ing story. The number of hair breadth
escapes from death experienced by rail
road employees, and the number of mar
rowly averted catastrophes known only
to those men who handle our railway
trains would, if published, make volume
after volume of history.
Operator G. L. Lamb at the depot in
this city isn't given to exploiting in
cidents in railroading in which he has
played a conspicuous part, but we
wrung from him the other evening a
story that ranks with some of the most
thrilling accounts of railroading to be
found in the columns of the modern
magazine. The story that Mr.. Lamb
gave us is true, as many of the en-
ployes of the western division of the @
will testify. 1t is the account of
"close shave" in railroading, and is as
follows:
The incident took place in the Red
Oak yards about s o'clock one evening a
year ago last winter. A long freight
train had pulled into the yards from the
west and was doing some switching pre-
paratory to continuing it's journey east
ward. The yards were dark and de-
serted save for the one train and sever
al strings of cars standing on the side
tracks. The engine of the freight train
was doing it's own switching, as the
yard engine had been put away for the
night. The freight was a long one, so
that while the caboose stood about OPP
posite the depot the engine was away
around the curve east Of the depot
The caboose held six passengers, stock
men on their way east.
Opera tor Lamb sat listening to the
clicking of his telegraph instruments,
when he happened to peer through the
window of his Office at the line of
cars which were being pushed back and
forth in front of the depot as the work
of switching progressed. Mr.. Lamb
saw something that caused him to start
with alarm. The freight had backed
onto the south branch track, and Just
as Mr.. Lamb looked out the caboose and
eight loaded cars, released from the
rest Of the train, had started down the
steep incline which leads to the "Y"
switch and out onto the south branch
track a half mile down the slope to
the west. Mr.. Lamb knew that with
such drop before them the cars would
gather fearful speed and no telling how
far down the branch they would run be-
fore they stopped of their own accord.
No engine was near to make dash fer
their capture, and worst of all, the
south branch train was due in a few
minutes.
Mr.. Lamb realized very well the GER
tain and awful result should those
freight cars dash, caboose foremost, into
the incoming passenger. The darkness,
the winding track and the speed of the
runaway cars would make collision in
evitable should the south branch train
be then within few miles Of the sta
ton. There was just one hope, and that
was that the branch train had not left
Coburg. Mr.. Lamb looked at his watch
and reached instantly for the key. The
! Coburg operator responded with the
welcome information that the train had
not passed his station-it would be
there in only two minutes. The message
was in time and the train was held.
An engine dispatched from the Red
Oak yards short while later found the
runaway cars two and half miles be-
low Red Oak, the stockmen still in the
caboose, little realizing what narrow
escape had been theirs. They were
never apprised of their close call
Engineer Combs and conductor Smalley
of the south branch train felt very
thankful that they were still alive when
they pulled into the Red Oak yard an
hour late that night. For his alertness
and his efficient work on that night Mr.
Lamb has received hearty commenda.
tion from his brother railroad men, and
too such praise he is justly entitled, for
no more competent and painstaking
operator than Mr.. Lamb is in the Q's
employ today.
If all dyspepsia sufferers knew what
DR.. Shops Restorative would do fol-