The Lamar register. [volume] (Lamar, Colo.) 1889-1952, 1909-09-15
a Railroad Ghost
Explained

IL WAbu my Iauit, 80 every one
said. that Hipe Conklin missed bis
footin' when he was tryin' to board my
enjine after he had tagged me on
the midnight express n fell under
the wheels, losin' his life," said the
fat engineer; but / blamed myself
considerable nevertheless, m took II
some to heart. It's customary when
you're tagged to just slow down m
let the fiRgman make the tank step
to git on the enjine n tell you what's
doin' on ahead. This night when Hipe
swung me up because his fast freight
train was stalled couple of miles
down the line l eased her up n was
scarcely maxim more'n seven or eight
mile an hour when the tank step came
along to HIpe, but some way or 'nuther
he missed n went under. bein' killed
before could stop.
81 took a week or SO OF before !
went back on my run again. but !
made up my mind that railroadin' at
its best was a serious business N II
was up to me to get down to cases
n 20 back to work or move on down
to the poorhouse.
ENdtChCliy NY hbk mp thV
accident was quite squeamish comm
down along by Nicholson's curve,
where Hipe had met his death. Just
as we commenced to take the curve
I gritted my teeth n got myself on
edge. As the train commenced to
straighten out on the main line after
comm aroun' the curve saw white
light swingin' horizontally across the
track, which OF course is a signal to
stop, n stop I did. After we had
come to n standstill, however. we
could md no white light nor anybody
aroun' who might have been swingin'
IL
"Tts mighty peculiar. mighty pc
culiar.' I says. climbin' back.
"Of course the boys all thought I
was seem things. but l declared up
n down that ! had seen white
light bein' swung across the tracks
n I wouldn't have 1t any other
way. Incidentally such an occurrence
didn't go very far toward smoothin'
out my pcnt up feelin's.
'T wasn't the only man who had
seen the light at that. for II soon got
passed aroun' up In the stove commit
tee n elsewhere at meetin's of the
railroad men. n other boys allowed
that they'd seen the same thing.
MY next trip down there on the
midnight express I Just called to my
fireman as l came in the vicinity Of
Nicholson's curve n made him keep
his peppers peeled Just to see what
he could see. As we come aroun' the
curve the little white light was on the
Job all right.
"'Ddd you see It. Murfr hollers
to my fireman.
ct certainly did, he says, his teeth
a-chatterin'. You goin' to stop?'
"'Stop nuthin'.' answers, for I was
gsttin' my nerve back now. II that's
Hipe Conklin's ghost he wants to read
up on the rules. 1t amt good form
to mig q train with a white light
81 jerked the throttle open n We
went away from there full tilt, but
wasn't scared . bit.
I'VE were not through with the
spookin' of Nicholson's curve. how
ever. for the next time I was comm
east with that midnight express
got . whistle signal from the conduc-
tor to stop and no monkey business
about II. So set up the brakes n
We stopped. One OF the journals on
the sleepers was gittin' agitated n
the conductor had signaled me to stop
till they could soothe It.
well. OF course I was Just tickled
to death to stop right there in the
community of interest Of that will
O. the wispy light. We came to q
standstill Just as I was on a direct
line with 1t. There It was all right,
swingin' slowly n steadily. Now that
I could get q good sight on It while
the enjine was standin' still / saw that
II was considerable to the right Of the
tracks n some distance away n only
the speed Of the train comm aroun'
there made It appear to swing direct.
ly across the track.
~Knowin' that We would probably
lay to some minutes while the crew
were pacifying the anarchistic box I
Just stepped down OF the enjine n
went to q little clump of trees at the
side Of the track n peered through.
An what dye think It was? Why,
there ON factory in village = couple
Of miles to the right Of the track they
had erected one of them big clocks
for advertisin' purposes. The long
pendulum was htted with an electric
light n as the pendulum went from
right to left, left to right. the light
would swing. Comm around the
curve you could get a glimpse Of this
swingin' light through a clearin' in the
trees. but after the train got straight
ened up again you'd lose sight Of It.
As I said before. I'm NO believer
In ghosts. but was mighty glad to
0ow that It was only clock pen
datum n not Hipe Conklin's ghost
that had been a-hecklin' me. II
hadn't got nervous n ran SO far by
would have found it out the FIRST night.
n saved myself lot Of frettin'."
nj