The Virginia enterprise., 1909-10-22

SIAC, oulducl ldLA east " dIu lO"dIU
the water. tank, entering the thin fog
that partly obscured objects in the
low ground near the mills. His en-
gine was within 800 feet of the water
tank when Shrader heard a believing
roar come through the mist from the
east, and caught vague glimpse of
the onrushing passenger train. In
stantly he jammed the reversing lever
over, shouted shrilly to the fireman,
and together they jumped. Shrader
struck upon his head, and was rem
dered unconscious; the fireman felt
his left leg snap under him, and he
rolled down the bank and lay helpless.
Billy Davis, at the throttle of the
engine pulling west-bound passenger
No. I, also suddenly saw before him
Shrader's engine, that looming terror
which turns mems faces white, and,
hurting the safety lever over, threw on
the air, and jumped for his life. The
fireman came after him in whirling
curve, and was badly hurt.
With drivers spinning backward,
the monster engines then drove
toward each other, but, owing to the
backward strain of the drivers, with
slackening speed. In a few seconds
they met, the pilots crashing and
crumbling as If made of toothpicks,
the great rams set their iron skulls to-
gether and reared upward, then slowly
settled down again, the drivers of
Shrader's engine on the rails, the
drivers of No. is engine off the rails.
Passenger No. / stood still, with her
engine drivers tearing up the ties and
dirt like a mad bull paving, while
Shrader's engine, the drivers being re-
versed, instantly Get off westward.
With full steam on, she swept back.
ward past her unconscious engineer
and injured fireman. Bob Sewers.
conductor of the freight, essayed to
board her as she passed, but missed
the hand-rail. Onward she tore, up
through the yards at Gooman,
thumped sharply across the switch
frogs, on by the station, and out
through the west end switches, and
away toward Shore Gap, leaving con.
sternation behind her, and promising
to crash into east-bound express No.
near Tortoise mountain switch. No.
had just left Shore Gap, and could not
be reached by the dispatcher; no NOR
tai hand could reach the throttle of
Shrader's runaway engine. That was
the situation ON the main line. Up
on the Tortoise mountain branch,
logger No. 4 was pushing it's engine
downward over the greasy rails at an
alarming pace. Long-bodied, squatty,
with ten low drivers under her, present.
ing unusual breadth Of tire surface to
the rails, the engine was holding back
with all her power. But 10 cars OF
green logs on such slippery steel as
lay under her that. morning could not
be held. Faster and faster the long
snake-like train pushed downward
whipping ad rocking around the fall
ing curves in a Kissing, drumming tur
moil of noise.
Johnson had the air on the engine
the sand-pipes spouting on the frost
and the drivers on the back turn, but
the mighty machine went downwart
over the crystal grease like a mon
ster toboggan.
Back in the ''dinky" caboose at thu
tail of the string of loads there wal
panic. Sid Turner, conductor, ant
his two brakemen were shouting un
recordable and half-heard things q
each other. '.~.
Go out ahead and set the hand
brakes!" commanded Turner. "
Looking, down the line Of sWayin4